Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ryan & Courtnie Delpesche. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ryan & Courtnie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I was looking to pick up a hobby during the pandemic in 2020 and initially I tried YouTube but because of my work schedule it was difficult to find a dedicated time to do it. I use to create bracelets when I was in elementary school so I figured I could take that same hobby and elevate it. I bought a small bead kit from Walmart and started trying different patterns and designs and tested it out with family and friends to get feedback. There were alot of fails at first with design flaws and not being happy with the integrity and durability of the bracelets. With more research, I began to find different materials to work with and different beads and that’s how we began to incoroperate gemstones and crystals. I finally got to a point in 2021 where I had a product that I would be happy to sell. With the help of my then girlfriend, now wife, Courtnie, she pushed me to create R-Line Accessories. Fast forward from then to now it has been both a learning process and an evolution simultaneously. What started with a bracelet has now turned into a partnership with my wife that includes necklaces, anklets, waist beads, shirts and bags – all handmade. We look forward to expanding and scaling our business even further.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

We’re just a fun loving couple that happens to be business partners. Courtnie and I are pretty normal people separately, but the chemistry and the creative process we have as a unit shows in our products. I wouldn’t say I’m a big jewelry wearer but I enjoy the process of creating different designs and items for a wide array of people. Our niche is mainly using gemstones, crystals, and a variety of other beads to create unique pieces that include bracelets, necklaces, waistbeads, anklets, and earrings. We also started to include hypoallergenic metals, shirts, and tote bags to our lineup. There’s many people within the same industry as us but I believe there are a few things about R-Line Accessories LLC that sets us apart. For starters we have some of the most durable items that can be worn at any time during any activity. We also like to have fun with our collections and create different themes like our 4 elements bracelet which is a tribute to The Avatar the Last Airbender. We offer our customers the option to be apart of our creative process and customize their own pieces of jewelry. The biggest thing I would like to highlight with our business is that we hand make about 90% of our entire lineup and we use 10% of our proceeds to make care packages for our homeless brothers and sisters.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One of the biggest lessons we had to unlearn is seeing others especially in the same position as us as our competition. When you first start out, you compare yourself to other people whether positive or negative and the issue with that is you cheat yourself out of your own journey. For instance I may see someone else that does the same thing as us but they get more sales. I had to learn that even though we have similar businesses, we didn’t travel the same road. They may have started before us or even put in more work and effort than we did. Instead of seeing them as competition, I should look at them as inspiration and try to form relationships so I can learn from someone that has already reached the destination that I am heading to. Once that mindset changed the door opened up for more opportunities to attend various markets and the opportunity to meet and grow with other small businesses like ourselves. Our only competition now is to be better than we were yesterday.

How’d you meet your business partner?

I met Courtnie in our senior year attending the University of Central Florida. Our bestfriends were dating so occasionally we would be around each other. Eventually we started talking and hanging out and then we started dating. A lot of people discouraged me from going into business with my significant other. Even though she was hesitant at first to be a part of the business, I knew that she always supported me and was always a source of motivation. Though the journey hasn’t always been easy, we went from dating to being business partners, to being engaged, to recently getting married on September 2nd 2022 all while still keeping our business afloat.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.rlineaccessories.com
• Instagram: R_lineaccessories
• Facebook: R-Line Accessories LLC