We recently connected with Kristen Randall and have shared our conversation below.

Kristen, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

The daily struggle of searching for a specific ring or a match to an earring was exhausting. I’d open my vanity drawer to a tangled, unorganized, frustrating mess. It made wearing jewelry a chore. Why was I spending money on jewelry when I could never find it when I wanted it?

But then I came across a beautiful, carved wood antique picture frame. It had so much personality but was an odd size and was missing its glass. I knew it had potential for a second life, and it quickly became the inspiration for my next “impossible project”, as my husband often refers to my ideas. After many attempts, that frame became our first earring organizer.

I quickly decided that everyone deserved to enjoy their jewelry. I set out to create the most breathtaking jewelry holders for those who appreciate timeless, vintage charm. It turns out, the road was more difficult than I imagined.

We’ve definitely had our challenges. From finding quality wood that wouldn’t crack, bend, or break to finding the right way to thin it down to the perfect thickness, creating the ultimate earring holder was a struggle.

It was important to us to create a quality solution that not only solved the problem of disorganization but would also be a complimentary addition to home décor.

Through it all, we released our first run and the response has been pure love from everyone who sees our products. We’ve since expanded to organizers for rings and necklaces, and to unique specialty features such as our spinning ferris wheel designs and our antique pivot frames.

Kristen, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve always been a vintage enthusiast. I grew up going to yard sales and thrift stores with my mom and grandparents; we were always on the hunt for the next unique treasure. I still love to go shopping for vintage items and enjoy going with family. I look for the quality and character that items from the past offer. I strive to give new life to items that may not be as useful in today’s modern world, such as chafing dishes. I find these beauties discarded and dirty and transform them into stunning ring holders.

Entrepreneurship has also been a large part of my life. I ran an antique store for a few years while starting my Creatively Cluttered business on the side in 2014. I left my dream job in the antique business when my first baby was born and was thrilled to be able to work from home still doing what I loved; upcycling vintage finds into jewelry organizers. Today I am able to raise my two boys, homeschool, and run my company. It’s a dream come true!

My products help people turn their cluttered accessories into functional wall art with vintage flair. I specialize in providing custom and one-of-a-kind displays for earrings, rings, bracelets, necklaces, and even plug earrings. From home use to retail displays for jewelry sellers, my products will turn their baubles into showstoppers.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

From copycats to unavailable materials and of course the skyrocketing price of wood, no small business goes without its hardships. An unfortunate side effect of having a best selling idea is that people will want to copy it. It is always heartbreaking to see my designs offered in a smaller size and made from cheap material, but it seems they never last very long. We’ve had multiple companies try, but thankfully our clients appreciate our high quality work, customer service, and custom options.

Over the years we’ve been able to offer customizations such as color, number of earrings the frame will hold, and many add on features such as necklace hooks, bracelet bars and even shelves. Our attention to detail along with the time we spend with clients making sure we’re creating the perfect jewelry organizer for their specific needs really helps us stand out.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

Starting this handmade business was pure trial and error. Figuring out what wood to use, how to cut it, how to make it stay in a frame and hold the weight of the jewelry… there was a lot of extra firewood made that Fall! Once we got it right I then had the fun task of shopping for unique vintage picture frames. From there, it was how do I clean them? Should I paint them? If so, what colors? There were so many unknowns, but no one else was doing this, so I learned a lot from experience over the years.

Thankfully I knew a bit about selling online from being in the antique business, but there was still so much to learn. From shipping, to accounting, to SEO, to photography…there were many talents I needed to master! To me, running my business successfully became a fun challenge. I am so thankful for others who came before me and shared their wisdom online!

My main tips for others who are in the vintage niche:

1) Find something you can sell multiple times. For me, finding a stash of 10 matching frames is gold! It allows me to do the photography & listing one time but sell it over and over.

2) People love items “as found” with signs of age. Don’t try to redo everything to modernize it – add a touch of your flair but leave the original character.

3) Just because you love it doesn’t mean your clients will. I find myself thinking, “Oh this one will sell immediately!” and it sits for months, while a piece I think will never sell finds a new home that same day!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.CreativelyCluttered.com
• Instagram: @CreativelyCluttered
• Facebook: @CreativelyCluttered
• Youtube: Creatively Cluttered
• Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/creativelycluttered/ Etsy: http://creativelycluttered.etsy.com/

Image Credits
Road Less Traveled Photography