We recently connected with Liliana Estep and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Liliana, thanks for joining us today. Before we talk about all of your success, let’s start with a story of failure. Can you open up about a time when you’ve failed?

December 2019 I signed my first contract for a year lease on a brick and mortar located on the island of Kaua’i. I decided to do a storefront after several years of craft fair circuits on Kaua’i. It was grueling work setting up tents and merchandise for craft fairs. My biggest obstacle was WEATHER. One specific downpour of relentless rain led me to my decision to open a store to protect my precious shells and gemstones…That one rainstorm ruined so much of my inventory and will always remember thinking having a store would solve everything. Yes I now had a more rigorous schedule but I also thought customers would stop negotiating for better prices. I call it Craft Fair Mentality. Why do people think less of your product price wise? Sometimes I would not sell a piece if they tried to negotiate…Its insulting. They don’t do it at Target? I did a pro/con list and did extensive research before committing to a year lease. This solved some problems but more expensive problems arose from this decision. I was located where cruise ships were disembarking and thought I would get this business easily. I actually saw $ signs in my head. I did not know our island was the last one on the tour of islands and people were exhausted and ready to go home by the time they got to our island! These customers were also not my demographic compared to the craft fairs. I was barely making it. I decided to have other artisans share space to help pay the lease. Well who would have thought a pandemic would hit and I would have to close March 20, 2020. I had to pay the remainder of my lease $12,000 no matter what. Kaua’i was closed for nearly 9 months and cruise ships did not come back for 3 years. When our island started to open I did any and every craft fair I could possibly attend to recoup $. It took me almost a year. I worked even harder to get my product out and welcomed the rain!!! I even changed my attitude toward negotiating prices. I welcome it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I was living on Kaua’i and always have been collecting shells my whole life. As I was retiring as a creative art director, I needed to find another creative outlet. I always went to the local craft fairs to get ideas of what to create and sell. I researched on pinterest what artists were creating with shells and this sparked new ideas for me as a shell collector. I began studying YouTube videos on wire wrapping and drilling shells. It took about a year to believe I could sell my creations at the local craft fairs. The business name was easy for me. Shell Of A Life.

Beachcombing, snorkeling, diving has always been my passion. Finding treasures and searching for the perfect shell has always been my happy place. Shells bring me joy and I am always looking for ones that have character…Lines, stripes, color and interesting shapes. This helps me to think outside the box and create jewelry that is really one only!

Everything was available online for starting a new business on Kaua’i and also other vendors were helpful as well. Every time I sell something I create, I feel I am passing on the Mana (Spirit or journey) of finding the shells and time dedicated to matching gems with the shells to create one of a kind jewelry. The jewelry industry is so saturated and I had to find a way to make my things different. The shells or natural objects I find to make jewelry are really gifts that I have hunted for my whole life. These gifts I search for I feel are passed on to people who love shells as much as I do. When people are attracted to my jewelry it is always the shell that grabs them. Its the same feeling I get when finding the shell on the beach. Excitement and joy. One thing about my shell collection that I preach is “no live animals were taken”. I also pick up 10 or more pieces of trash as I am shell hunting.

I feel my jewelry is joyful and brings you close to the ocean no matter where you are in life.

How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?

I started my social media way too late but have tried to use it for communicating and keeping in touch with past clients. I was against IG and facebook but it has been a remarkable tool that I wish I had started using from the very beginning of starting my business. I do everything for my small business and have not dedicated alot of time to learning how to use it properly. This year I will start working on using social media to my benefit. I do have Etsy but that too is not something I have focused on. I like one on one with customers so the craft fair has been most joyful for me personally. This year I am going to try to do Etsy better….

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

I am at a trade school for metalsmithing and also self taught using books and YouTube videos.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.etsy.com/shop/ShellOfALifeKauai
• Instagram: Shell.Of.A.Life
• Facebook: Shell Of A Life