Today we’d like to introduce you to Robin Tielens.
Robin, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have always been a very creative person – I’ve been very lucky that way. Throughout my life, I have ventured into many different creative outlets – sewing/clothing design, hair and makeup, photography, and cake design/baking to name a few. I am always happiest creating and looking for an outlet for that energy. And, as a girl with a lifelong affection for anything that sparkles, jewelry was a natural progression for me. I had dabbled in jewelry making before, but never did anything serious. I mostly had made things to match some elaborate outfit that I had crafted, or modified existing pieces into a whole new piece using parts from others. I’m super handy when it comes to glue guns or needle and thread!!!
As I entered my 30’s, I took some time off from my traditional crafting to become a mother and poured a lot of time and most of my creative energy into raising my two beautiful young children.
When the time came to enroll my oldest at school, I chose a Waldorf inspired school. Every winter, they host a beautiful craft fair. The crafty parents donate items that are sold at the fair and the money goes directly to fund programs at school. Lots of beautiful handmade items. It’s a fantastic concept and I was very eager to contribute. Little did I know this was the beginning of a luxury line of jewelry!!!
For my first donations, I went to the craft store, got some basic cord and some inexpensive beads and made some very simple necklaces – really good intentions, but very juvenile in design. About a month after, the first fair was over, I found myself thinking a lot about my donations for the next year, and how I could improve on them. I began to think about the audience, and how I could maximize the amount of money going to the school if I could design for that audience. The vibe at this school is very artsy and bohemian, and so my line, loveyluxe evolved from that inspiration. The designs were a smashing success!!! By the third year, I was manufacturing artisan pewter pendants on a hand-beaded chain and by the fourth, I was manufacturing my own beaded chain!! Due to the popularity and success of the pieces, I opened an Etsy shop.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
For me, the biggest struggle has been time management. I am a highly involved parent of two extremely active children. I am living the soccer mom cliché. Being extremely busy all of the time, a home-based business, with an online shop has been a blessing. The flip side is that if you are not diligent and self-motivated, things will not get done (much like the dishes, lol). I have always been a self-starter and so that helps a lot in this type of create your own hours business.
Also, the best advice that I’ve been told, and I have found to be extremely useful is – find something you love, and then it will not feel like work! Sometimes, when I go sit in my jewelry studio, I think “I’m going to play!” As long as you keep that attitude and you enjoy what you do, you will stay motivated to get the more mundane things done, like re-orders and postage labels. It’s a balance, but if you love what you do, it will be easier to maintain that balance.
I have also been fortunate in the way that even though at first glance my style caters to a certain audience, a lot of my pieces are timeless and can be slightly modified to fit a wide range of tastes. Having an Etsy shop has allowed me to sell completed pieces of jewelry and also my pewter pendants to people all over the United States and even in other countries.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about loveyluxe artisan jewelry – what should we know?
My work comes from the heart. I enjoy spreading positivity. I like to sprinkle a little bit of kindness wherever I go. These are things I live according to on a daily basis, and so they are central themes in my jewelry supplies and finished pieces. I love “love” and “gratitude” and “grace”, and these are words you will find recurring in my lines, past, present, and future. Even the name of my business was crafted with that in mind. Love and luxury merged together.
I am proud to be bringing these themes to the forefront in today’s world. It seems we need it now more than ever, and the success of “loveyluxe” shows me that other people connect with these themes as well.
Which women have inspired you in your life?
As a child, growing up, I was always creating. I made clothing for my barbie dolls out of old stockings and bits of fabric, cut my dolls hair into what I was convinced was the latest trends, and spent a lot of time outdoors, “making pretend.” It’s important that kids have that downtime, that time to imagine and that time to create. It is a big part of how I developed my artistic ability.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.loveyluxe.etsy.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @love.loveyluxe
Image Credit:
Robin Tielens
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