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

Trina , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?

What helps me most when it comes to family and friend support is to never take for granted that they’ll automatically do it. While I’ve been lucky enough to receive their support, I made a conscious effort not to assume that they would just because they know me personally.

There have been many instances where I’d offer them products or services for free so that they could try it out first. This way they can decide whether or not they’d like to place an order, spread the word or give you their honest feedback on whether or not something needs improvement.

If you have a good product, this typically leads to repeat & organic support. It also takes away the awkwardness of them feeling obligated to make a purchase. I call that a win-win!

Trina , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started the Adict Charmery brand in 2013- a jewelry line with a focus on stackable bracelets made with gemstones, semi-precious stones, Swarovski crystals and beautiful pave embellishments.

Our niche is that in addition to ready-made bracelets, our pieces can be customized in your favorite colors, gemstones, themes or personalized charms bearing the name of a loved one or a special date.

Adict Charmery was born out of my love for fashion and accessorizing. I found myself purchasing trendy jewelry that was beautiful but would only get worn a few times before it either became tarnished or broke.

With my background being an artist/songwriter in the music industry, I was always looking for something new to wear to attend this event or to go to that meeting… so it didn’t necessarily bother me if the jewelry didn’t last. It just needed to look good,

Well one day, while visiting LA’s fashion district, I stumbled across a row of shops that sold nothing but gorgeous strands of gemstones & beads and a light bulb went off in my head- I can make my own!

I began to study to the craft of jewelry design and educated myself on the benefits of the gemstones with the intention of creating bracelets for myself. However, when I posted pictures of the finished pieces on social media I started getting tons of requests to make them for others. too.

So I did, and through word-of-mouth and my entertainment industry relationships I ended up making custom pieces for singers, actresses & actors for their various photo shoots, television appearances or on-set filming. This led to me designing a line of bracelets for actress/comedienne Cocoa Brown called ‘Mom Kandy’ that she sold as merchandise at her shows.

Soon after I reached out to Coko Gamble (lead singer of the 90’s R&B group SWV) to see if she’d be interested in carrying my pieces in her Virginia-based boutique. She loved the idea and featured them in her shop on consignment.

Wanting to spread my reach even further I applied to be a vendor at a pop-up event that sounded beautiful! It was to be held at a popular rooftop in downtown LA along with a catered brunch, mimosas and a host of various vendors that guests could shop with. After signing the contract, paying the vendor fee and prepping for months, the host informed me that the event was cancelled.

Well, after what I learned from the cancelled event in regards to vendor contracts & sponsorship acquisition I knew that I could curate my own; a space where I could sell my jewelry without depending on someone else.

My first pop-up was in 2015 and was held in LA at a beautiful, upscale salon. Since then I’ve hosted sold-out events in Las Vegas, Chicago, DC. and have added international retreats to the line-up as well. The retreats have taken place in Mexico & Jamaica and consists of a total of 20-25 women. Here we network amongst one another and bond with a gorgeous themed brunch to culminate the trip.

I consider it a blessing to be able to bring women together and experience first-hand the forming of lifelong friendships & beautiful memories that were created on these retreats!

To date Adict Charmery has appeared in/on media outlets such as People, In Style, Essence, E! Entertainment, HGTV, BET, Fox just to name a few.

In addition to the jewelry line and event production, I’ve recently become a Las Vegas Peerspace host. I rent out my private office space hourly catering to those who need a quiet place to create, host in-person or virtual meetings, team building sessions or do photo shoots. It’s called the Boho Chic Co-Working & Creative Space and is perhaps what I’m most proud of out of all my business endeavors!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think one of the things that has helped build my reputation within my market is my exemplary customer service, being educated in the gemstones I use and going above and beyond for my customers.

There have been several instances where a customer has contacted me and said, “I want something that represents love, strength and perseverance but I really don’t know where to start.”

It is then my job to offer the best options in terms of crystals & stones that not only look beautiful together, but possess the healing properties that they’re looking for.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

One of my favorite strategies for growing clientele has been partnering with brand ambassadors and influencers that have a strong and loyal following.

I’ve achieved this by sending them product and providing them with their own sales code to offer their following. When someone makes a purchase using that particular sales code the influencer/ambassador will receive a percentage of the total sale.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.adictcharmery.etsy.com
• Instagram: adict_charmery and bohochic_lv
• Facebook: Adict Charmery

Image Credits
Image credits: Trina Bell Image of Adict Charmery Table: Justin T. Griffin