We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rosie Nowicki. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rosie below.

Rosie, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Starting my own business had always been a dream of mine, but that dream always wound up on the back burner amidst the chaos of jobs, multiple moves, and being a military wife and mom of 5. When I left the workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic, I finally found the time to get back into some old hobbies. This led me to start up a shop on Etsy, but eventually I felt like I had outgrown the platform and decided to create my own website. What started as masking jewelry has turned into candles, bookmarks, stickers, and more.
While I have plenty of ideas for new products in the future, I couldn’t be happier to be fulfilling my lifelong dream.

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

Even as a child, I’ve always had a love for crafting. I could never have enough paint or drawing supplies, and I even painted a few murals in my parents’ house during my teen years. I’ve dabbled in sewing and crochet, but jewelry making is really where my business began. My website currently houses a selection of earrings, necklaces, soy candles and wax melts, bookmarks, lip balm, keychains, and stickers. I have other ideas in the works, but I‘m fine tuning them before offering them for sale. My children regularly offer their input for new products and designs, which is a great way for me to not only connect with them, but connect with the younger generation of customers as well.
All of my products are carefully designed and thoroughly inspected before being packaged and sent out, as I feel that it’s important to uphold myself and my work to a high standard. I pride myself in the quality of my products and the hard work that goes into each and every one.
Every order that comes in helps support a proud military family, as well as teaching the next generation about effort, determination, and following your dreams.

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

At the moment, all of my products are handmade by me (and occasionally a teenager handing me supplies). There was a lot of trial and error at first, including finding the best supplies for the job and figuring out the most efficient production practices. Working with soy wax for the candles and wax melts was probably the most difficult to learn- there are a lot of measurements involved to get the desired scent throw, coloring, etc. Some of my ideas for future products will include using vendors, as I don’t have the space for the equipment needed. I’m still researching vendors in order to create items that have both the quality I require and a price point where my business will still make a profit, but I’ve definitely narrowed down the list. The internet offers a lot of options, and it’s important as a business to really find the right vendors to partner with.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My social media accounts are still pretty small, but I’ve found it helpful to post regularly, especially with any big announcements like sales or new products. My Instagram and Facebook accounts are linked, and it’s helpful to be able to make one post or ad and have it show up on both accounts. My TikTok account is fairly new, but I started posting “featured product” and order packing videos. My biggest advice for those just starting out on social media is to follow other accounts like yours- you’re more likely to be discovered by people who are already interested in your line of business. Hashtags are another great way to get discovered by the right clientele. However, beware of scam accounts- I’ve gotten a plethora of messages on Instagram from “business building” accounts that want you to pay them to promote your business or send them free products. Do your research before agreeing to any kind of partnership.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.andyandjade.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/andyandjadeonline
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/andyandjade
• Other: TikTok: @andyandjadeofficial