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

Tammy, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I love to create; I’m hardwired to look at objects & see a new purpose for them. I thrive on being uncommon both personally in style & in what I create. Fourteen years ago, my mission was to reduce waste & make repurpose items fashionable. And of course, it had to be different!

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’m Tammy Rice, I create jewelry & handbags from discarded inner tubes & found objects. I have been in the retail industry for several years, first as a sale representative, then as a retail clothing store owner & buyer. These were all stepping stones to become a wholesale business owner. I wanted to create a forward thinking business with my art skills. It had to be in the category of recycling & inner tubes was a product I had available to me. I started out at art show to get feedback from customers, learned from the feedback, kept trying new ideas & that was fourteen years ago.

I feel my designs are distinctive edgy, it provides my customers with one-of-a-kind designs to match their style. They tell me all the time that they receive so many compliments on their purchases. What sets me apart are my designs, I create them to be uncommon, to be bold in style & to help our environment. I want my customers to express themselves with my art.

I’m most proud of my tenacity to keep trying! When something doesn’t work, I try another way. I like to be challenged.

I want my customers to know that, I want them to be happy with their purchases, My art is of great quality, I want them to wear it over & over again. That I’m honest, when I say it’s recycled, it’s recycled & I make all my art. It’s not created by other people. I take great care & pride in my designs.

Other than art, I personally enjoy my family, I have two great nieces I adore! Family is really important to me. I enjoy meditation & yoga. Gardening, kayaking & being outdoors.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 2014 I decided to travel by car to all four corners of the United States to sell my art at wholesale trade shows. I was “going big”. Wholesale had been on my radar ever since I started creating jewelry, that’s where the stepping stones come in. I had taught myself the different levels of retail, from a sales representative perspective to owner/buyer then wholesale.

I registered at five tradeshows, paid my fees, set my travel plans, bought a new car & sent out to sell, sell, sell. I learned many things on those trips, that I’m brave even if I don’t feel so, how to change a flat tire in the middle of nowhere & that not everything goes as planned. Unfortunately, I didn’t financially succeed at these shows, but I never gave up, I made a commitment to attend & I did. I had to dig deep within for my “why”. I clung onto the hope of “maybe this show will be the one”. Hope, that’s what kept me going.

After that, it was back to the drawing board, what happened, what didn’t happen, what did I learn, what can I change?

In debt & heart broken, I regrouped to think of other ways to achieve my goals. I decided to go cold calling (sales rep activity) to area boutiques. It would be less expensive than tradeshow fees & I get a chance to be in my potential client’s environment. From those visits, I’ve developed long standing wholesale accounts, friendships & a lot of laughs & fun.

I still challenge myself with new endeavors, I don’t always succeed outwardly, but I make sure I learn from them.

Have you ever had to pivot?

In the back of my mind, I always wanted to build a brand. To have a look, to be authentic & distinctive.

In 2017 I started by taking an online course for building a brand, I learned a lot about websites, social media & networking. I feel you have to be willing to take risks in business. For me, I had so much passion for my art. Not everyone is going to like it & that’s okay.

I created a vision board & got clear about the brand style I wanted to be. I searched for a brand designer that matched this image & hired her. It was really important to me to be authentic in who I hired, I wanted to support another independent artist.

Sometimes I’m asked how I became successful, I always say, TENASITY!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tammyrice.art/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tammyriceart/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tammyriceart