Today we’d like to introduce you to Jane Nguyen.
Hi Jane, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Black + Jane was born in 2015 in my bedroom when I was living in Venice, CA at the time. It’s funny to say out loud, but I was dating a “hippie” boy who introduced me to that holistic Venice Beach lifestyle everyone talks about. I’ve always been creative and really good at working with my hands, so when I sparked a desire to make something, it started with a crystal horsehair keychain. I remember searching for one that I had in mind, but I couldn’t find it. It lead me to doing some research, finding suppliers, and ultimately making my own.
I would make them for friends and eventually, I was encouraged to open an Etsy store. I used my background in wholesale and would research every store in LA that I thought was suitable to carry my product. I would spend hours cold calling, making really basic line sheets in Word and emailing them to any store that provided a public email address, or I would sometimes just show up at the store and drop off samples and line sheets. If I was lucky, I would get a sales meeting right there and then. Fast forward to a few months after opening my Etsy store, Urban Outfitters contacted me and placed an order.
From there, you’d think that business boomed, but it didn’t. I got more and more busy with my “real” job as a production manager at a high-end jewelry company and I had less time to focus on my own projects. From about 2016 to 2018, the business was quiet until one day I decided to quit my job (horrible bosses will make you do that) and put all my energy and money into Black + Jane. I had a spurt of creativity with my love for flowers and holistic practices and started making sage bundles by hand. December of 2018 is when things really started to grow and I realized that I might have a real, working business on my hands.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Surprisingly, the road up until I realized I needed an accountant was pretty smooth. Obviously, you run into normal setbacks like production issues, but they were relatively easy to manage considering I had in-depth experience from my previous job. As soon as your business becomes even somewhat profitable, every aspect of what you do starts to feel more serious and everything becomes more expensive. Once Black + Jane was officially registered as a business in California and things were finally feeling legitimate, Covid hit!
What could have been a terrible ending to any small business ended up being a blessing in disguise to mine. The height of the working from home and obsessive online shopping era worked in my benefit. Products of wellness that I was providing, such as sage bundles, became something of a comfort item for everyone who felt uncertain and needed more positivity in their life.
Through Covid, I was working sometimes 14 hours days. I hired my first part-time employee and we never stopped shipping orders. 2020 really shaped me as a person and shaped how I wanted to manage my business moving forward. It unleashed a passion for Black + Jane that I never knew I had and it’s still driving me every single day.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Black + Jane?
Black + Jane specializes in all things wellness — things that are meant to make you feel good! Initially, we focused on building a brand based on handmade, ethically and locally sourced floral sage bundles, but we have since expanded into more lifestyle/wellness items such as beauty products, home goods, and jewelry. Since the beginning, I’ve been obsessed with crystals and all things metaphysical, so I always make sure that our products continue to have aspects of it. Whether it be crystal infused or crystal beading in our jewelry, I keep it grounded to the things I truly love.
I am proud to be an AAPI small business owner and LA native. Black + Jane isn’t just a brand to me. We are a community of like-minded women that have a passion for all things wellness. We try to uplift other women by sourcing from women-owned small businesses. We take pride in everything we do and till this day, we still make 90% of our products by hand. I think it shows in the quality of our work and retailers across the world have been able to appreciate our craftsmanship. We have also been lucky enough to create a sister brand called Opal & Jane and we work closely with the buyers of Homegoods, T.J.Maxx, and Marshalls to creatively create meaningful and affordable products that are simple introductions to those who may not be familiar with wellness on this level.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://blackandjane.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackandjane
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackandjane
Image Credits
@haleysstudio
