Rising Stars: Meet Rebeca Mojica of West Hollywood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebeca Mojica.

Hi Rebeca, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My chainmaille journey started back in 2001 when I saw someone wearing a chainmaille belt at a Renaissance Faire. I couldn’t find one like it to buy, so I ordered a bag of metal rings on eBay and grabbed a pair of (totally inappropriate, as it turned out!) wrenches from my toolbox. I was instantly hooked by the soothing, rhythmic process of linking rings together.

I began selling my designs in Chicago and teaching classes at a local bead shop. Demand grew quickly, leading me to found Blue Buddha Boutique to supply jump rings, kits, and instructions to my students and chainmaillers worldwide. By 2012, Blue Buddha had grown into a 7-figure business, and my instructional book, CHAINED, sold over 40,000 copies. I eventually separated my finished jewelry line to sell under my own name, Rebeca Mojica Jewelry.

Market shifts, manufacturing challenges and personal burnout led me to downsize Blue Buddha to a sole proprietorship in 2016. Around the same time, I partnered with a toy company to design Linkt Craft Kits, an award-winning chainmaille line for kids, and relocated to West Hollywood. After the toy company went out of business a few short years later, I went through a rough three-year mental health struggle. I wasn’t in a place to be creative or really devote any energy toward my business; it took everything I had to just keep breathing and do the bare minimum to keep my business afloat.

In 2023, I finally emerged from that dark period with renewed creative energy. I poured myself into my finished jewelry line, expanding my LGBTQ+ Pridemaille collection to cover 54+ identity flags, creating RPG dice jewelry, and doubling down on my wholesale efforts. Today, my work is stocked in nearly 50 shops across the US. While my primary focus currently is my finished jewelry line, I teach online and at conferences, offer business consulting to fellow creatives, and am looking to once again grow Blue Buddha Boutique for DIY kits.

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?
It has been anything but smooth! But honestly, I don’t mind most of the bumps I have to navigate as part of being an entrepreneur. Closing down the original iteration of Blue Buddha in 2016 was heartbreaking, though I’ll forever be touched by how hard the team worked right up to the very last moments. Then came the folding of the toy company in 2019, followed by a part-time job that proved to be a serious cultural mismatch. Add to that, I was entering menopause and while I expected some hot flashes, I was unprepared for the full impact of this life transition. I had no idea the severe mental health challenges that can arise from hormonal shifts, and I’m thankful we’re now living in an era where people are open to talking about this, instead of embarrassingly sweeping these discussions under the rug. Oh, and let’s be real: having the pandemic as a backdrop to all of this certainly didn’t help! All of this is to say, I entered a severe, years-long depression where creative work felt nearly impossible.

Learning to trust my intuition over corporate expectations was another major hurdle. Early on, I was in a prestigious small business accelerator where my advisors kept pushing a “growth at all costs” mindset to increase top-line revenue. Every fiber of my being said, “That’s not right for me”—what I actually needed was a “profit first” focus to stop the hemorrhaging, not endless expansion. When I don’t listen to my gut, I always regret it. My intuition might not be right every single time, but I’ve learned that I’d much rather make a mistake following my own instincts than someone else’s playbook.

My biggest personal struggle has been balancing all the hats I wear: designer, web developer, photographer, marketer, educator and more. For years, my personal jewelry line took a backseat to running a large supply operation or developing external brand projects. Reclaiming my creative energy and seeing my finished jewelry line grow has been incredibly empowering, but I am still very much in the middle of figuring it out. Striking the right balance between creating finished art, teaching others, and generating a sustainable income is an ongoing journey.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in modern, colorful, and tactile chainmaille jewelry. Every piece is hand-linked using primarily lightweight anodized aluminum, allowing me to create bold statement pieces, vibrant color ombrés, match dozens of pride flags, and link intricate weaves that remain comfortable enough to wear all day.

My work spans several distinct lines that reflect my own diverse passions, including my identity-affirming LGBTQ+ Pridemaille collection, dice jewelry for gamers, goth/dark aesthetics and sensory-friendly fidget jewelry. My pieces are designed to be visual allies, helping people express their authentic selves unapologetically. I also maintain my sister brand, Blue Buddha Boutique, where I sell DIY kits, supply jump rings, and share tutorials for folks who want to learn the craft themselves.

What sets my work apart is the blend of technical precision, personal meaning, and of course, vibrant color! I am a huge science and cosmology nerd, so concepts like fractals and mathematical structures directly influence my pattern developments and weave designs. I’m constantly told I’m “good at color” and I have no idea what to do with that skill in the world, other than what I’m doing now: creating eye-catching pieces of wearable art.

I’ve recently started dabbling in digital art: taking photos of my work and manipulating them by hand (no AI), painstakingly positioning and layering dozens of kaleidoscope slices to create intricate mandalas. For now, I’m not monetizing the mandalas; these are purely a labor of love.

After 23 years, I am most proud that I am still here, creating on my own terms. I have hand-linked more than two million metal rings, written a best-selling book, taught thousands of students worldwide, built my own websites, and built a wholesale presence in nearly 50 shops, while still creating every single piece myself.

Knowing that my art helps people feel seen, validated, and empowered to shine as their true selves is the most rewarding part of this work. I am deeply humbled that people trust my jewelry to showcase their identity to the world. In a culture that often pushes for conformity—and worse, attacks people for simply existing—wearing a piece of hand-linked maille is a subtle, powerful rebellion. I don’t take it lightly that my work serves as a small piece of armor, helping individuals claim their space, stand out authentically, and feel safe, joyful, and proud in their own skin.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
After more than two decades in business, my perspective on risk has grounded considerably. I have navigated enough ups and downs to know I should always plan for worst-case scenarios rather than assuming good momentum will automatically continue. I do not need 100 percent certainty to act; if I hit 70 percent certainty, I am comfortable taking the gamble, and at 80 percent, I am all in.

Risk also means having the courage to trust my intuition and value my work. Last year, a costume designer for a film reached out asking for free jewelry in exchange for exposure. Artists are frequently expected to work for free, and it is tempting to say yes out of fear of missing out. I had recently decided that, if I was ever going to achieve the financial success I wanted, I would not say “yes” to opportunities that devalued my time or expertise. So, I politely declined the designer’s request, and made peace with that decision. As it turns out, they ended up buying the piece outright, and I got to see my choker on the big screen and featured in ELLE magazine. Standing up for your worth is a calculated risk, but saying no often opens the door to a much more respectful and rewarding yes.

The most major risk I’ve taken in the past few years was pivoting to focus on finished jewelry. It is much easier to sell $1,000 worth of chainmaille supplies than chainmaille jewelry, but I was determined to build my finished jewelry line. It’s probably part ego and part stubbornness, but mostly it was a deep desire to reconnect with my own voice as an artist. Plus, in terms of mentoring other creatives, I wanted fresh, real-life experience. Having my jewelry sold in shops across the country has provided invaluable insights that directly guide how I teach and consult today.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.rebecamojica.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebecamojicajewelry
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebecamojicajewelry/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BlueBuddhaBoutique
• Other: https://linktr.ee/rebecamojica

Image Credits
All images Rebeca Mojica, except RMJ-Poseidons-Embrace by Larry Sanders