We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Samantha Parlato a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Samantha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

Jewelry making has been a hobby of mine ever since I was a young child. I used to make little flag pins out of safety pins and seed beads, and sell them at the foot of my driveway—I guess the entrepreneurship started early as well. I up-cycled old and broken jewelry, and taught myself several techniques that evolved over the years. I loved to collect broken seashells and findings from my beach trips and travels, and I began using them to create necklaces and earrings. I was drawn to using pearls as accents along with them.

Fast forward some years down the line—I went to college in New York, majoring in graphic design. For my senior design project, my class was tasked with creating a brand identity for a “fake business.” At the time, jewelry making was still just a hobby and creative outlet for me, but I decided to create a brand for it as my project. I designed everything from a logo set, to handmade packaging, to a website, to a handcrafted sculptural display made from driftwood. Upon completion of the project and graduation, I had all of the assets to actually start this business, so I decided, why not? So in 2015, Salt Water Designs became real.

Samantha, 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 touched a bit on how I got into jewelry making, and how my business came to be, but I wanted to elaborate on my choice of materials, and how they have evolved within my business over time. As I previously mentioned, Salt Water Designs began with pieces crafted from seashells I would collect during my travels. I was always drawn to the broken pieces, odd shapes, shell fragments that had been eroded over time. I loved the juxtaposition of the rough textures paired with the smooth, shiny pearls. I could always find potential and beauty in the irregularity. This laid the foundation for my business, and became an underlying motif over the years.

I did branch out to other materials, and explored new techniques and styles. I utilized other semi-precious stones, crystal points, etc., tried more elaborate wire wrapping, and fully beaded pieces for a little while. Eventually I found my way back to where I started though, with freshwater pearls, and knew I was meant to be there.

I began sourcing a wide variety of irregular shaped pearls (often called Biwa or Keshi pearls) to use in my pieces. I focused on hand-forged organic metal shapes, and a lot of asymmetry in my designs as well, always with that theme of uncommon, eccentric beauty at the core. Pearl jewelry has been around forever, and there are endless variations of it, but the combination of these characteristics I think sets my jewelry apart from others. I like to classify my brand as “a modern take on a timeless classic.” Since deeming this my tagline, I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment. Ask any creative—it is such a gratifying feeling to have fully realized your true style.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I officially started my business in 2015, however, I was not doing it full-time. In fact, I was doing it very part-time. As a post-college grad, I worked several other jobs. I simultaneously did freelance design, worked gigs for TaskRabbit, and worked in a restaurant in NYC. After two years, I transitioned into a full-time position doing packaging design for a wholesale bath and beauty company. This left only small windows of time here and there to create jewelry on weekends, and I only partook in a couple events/markets back then.

In 2018, I moved with my design job out to California, and since I worked remotely from home, I was able to start devoting a little bit more time to my business. Fast forward to the end of 2019, I was laid off from my full-time job due to the beginning of the pandemic. During this time, it was extremely difficult to find another graphic design job. I had the time, and I needed to stay busy, and needed to make money, so I shifted focus toward Salt Water Designs. I created new pieces regularly, and updated my online shop. I was able to partake in lots of open-air outdoor markets/events, selling my products in person. I was so grateful to be able to do so because at that point in time, my small business unintentionally became my livelihood, and I’ve never looked back since.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

Something I’ve had to unlearn, and continue to unlearn, is “hustle culture.” I’ve grown up in it, and lived most of my adult life in it. I really do love to work, and I give 110% in all of the work that I do, no matter what it is. I like to hustle, but I also understand that with the hustle comes burnout. Most of us have had to learn this the hard way, and not quite realize we’ve been burning the candle at both ends until it has completely gone out.

I’ve gone through spurts of time where I was working multiple events every single weekend, while also working a bar job. Sometimes I would go straight from a market to work at the bar that same night and then do it all over again the next day. I would stay up until 3am some nights prepping for an event the next day because I never felt like what I had was enough. This left me so exhausted that I would then slip into these phases where I’d go weeks or even months without wanting to partake in an event at all. At the end of the day, it wasn’t healthy for me mentally or physically, so I have since been working towards a balance. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure I’m still going to hustle, BUT…the night before a market these days, you can find me in bed before midnight because I now tell myself, and ACCEPT that I have done enough.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/SaltWaterDesigns
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saltwaterdesigns_
• Other: Pinterest: https://pinterest/saltwaterdesigns_

Image Credits
Fior Fine Photo Jessica Nguyen Photography Troy Cooper Katelyn Bradley Photography