从职场白领到手作珠宝创业者
I’ve loved making jewelry since I was little. My mom used to take me to bead shops. In my twenties, after graduating from college, I tried working in tech sales and later at a big company. But I always felt that those office jobs were not for me. The whole time, I kept making jewelry as a hobby, never imagining it could become a real career.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I lost my job and found myself making jewelry all day long at home. I bought beads online and sold finished pieces and DIY kits to friends. Meanwhile, I was also studying for business school exams, thinking I would go back to the finance world. But slowly, more and more people started reaching out, asking me to create custom gifts for them. I began using larger, old-style beads and shiny chains to make unique charms, and I even set up a simple website for my work.
Sadly, my father passed away suddenly around that time. I felt I couldn’t focus on my office work anymore, so I poured all my energy into making jewelry. I signed up for local farmers’ markets and pop-up shops anywhere I could. I was determined and worked nonstop. Then in 2024, something unexpected happened. An online influencer wore one of my necklaces in a video. Within 24 hours, I went from selling a couple of pieces a month to receiving forty orders in a single day.
That viral moment changed everything. I realized I couldn’t make all the jewelry alone, so I found a skilled woman named Melinda who lived nearby. She and her small team of local women started handcrafting the designs for me. By the end of 2024, I had left my corporate job to run the business full-time. My brand, Spicy Dan, grew slowly but steadily, and we now have a few full-time employees working with us.