Today we’d like to introduce you to Karina Harris.
Karina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The Hunt Collection started early this year in January before all the craziness began. I was looking for dainty pieces that I could wear 24/7 without irritating my sensitive skin or costing a fortune. When I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for, I thought to myself – why not make my own? I had a ton of fun designs in my head and had a feeling that my friends would love them too. In the horse world, so much of the jewelry is either geared towards western riders, for kids, or just not my style. There are so many cool new Millenial brands offering high-quality pieces at direct-to-consumer prices on the market, and I wanted to bring that to the equestrian world.
I immediately got to work with starting an LLC, getting a business account, and a resale license, then built my own website, designed and made my own packaging, and started to order supplies. All within two weeks. It was a total whirlwind, but my excitement and passion for what was to come gave me an insane drive. I had never done any of this before but had worked at an e-commerce startup prior so I was lucky to have some idea of what I needed to do. And so, The Hunt Collection was born: a line of dainty demi-fine jewelry, with modern equestrian-inspired pieces that would be durable enough and comfortable enough to ride in.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Hahaha. Well, I’m sure most new business owners don’t experience smooth sailing in their first year, but it’s been especially rough in 2020. Just two months into being in business, everything got shut down due to COVID. I have to admit I was panicked, as only a few months into the pandemic, I was seeing small businesses shutting down left and right, and it broke my heart. Adjusting to implementing COVID protocols for shipping, adjusting to everyone in my household being home…all the while wondering if I’ll ever be able to do what I wanted with this brand has been stressful to say the least, but I’m extremely grateful to still be standing.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Hunt Collection story. Tell us more about the business.
My main goal with THC has been to get people excited about jewelry. I’m probably not the best businesswoman, but it was really important to me that my products be affordable AND high quality. You know when you’re online shopping and you see something that catches your eye? Then you click on it and find out that it’s WAY out of your price range? I hate that feeling, and I didn’t want anyone to feel excluded from being able to have a beautiful piece of jewelry…or two, or three. As riders, most of our hard-earned money goes to horses, so buying fun things for ourselves often comes last. Seeing customers get excited makes it 100% worth it. I chose materials like gold-filled and sterling silver because I like to live in my jewelry, and these make for beautiful, durable pieces.
My jewelry reflects subtle nods to the equestrian world with chains reflecting jump types or dainty horses and horseshoe charms. I make pretty much everything to order, so I can also do customized pieces with your horse’s name tag or add a unique charm. While the line is geared towards equestrians, I wanted them to be covetable for non-equestrians too – and turns out, a quarter of my customer base is actually made up of non-riders! I love that THC is for everyone.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Good luck has played a role in that I’ve had tons of support from fellow small business owners and others in the equestrian community. Bad luck-wise, I’d say starting a business right before COVID is pretty bad luck, but I’m trying not to let that stop me.
Contact Info:
- Website: shopthehuntcollection.com
- Phone: 6617559005
- Email: shop@thehuntequestrian.com
- Instagram: @thehunt_collection
- Facebook: @thehuntcollection
- Other: thehuntequestrian.com
Image Credit:
For main horizontal photo only: Anasofia Vazquez Photography
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