We are very excited to welcome beaded jewelry designer Jen Cohen to the Happening Hands Blog! Jen owns The Beaded Art Boutique based in California and she’ll tell us a bit about her process and business story. You can find Jen’s jewelry on her website, and you can follow her on Instagram.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? What’s the story behind you and your business?
When the pandemic started, I found that I needed a creative outlet to help me deal with the state of the world. I discovered beading, took a lot of Zoom classes where I met fellow beaders, and I was hooked! My creative outlet became a passion which then naturally developed into my business, The Beaded Art Boutique.
Lady Marion Painted Lady Necklace
Where do you draw inspiration and motivation from? How do you stay creative?
I draw inspiration from other creatives around me – I love looking at different types of work and seeing the amazing things people make. I also love drawing inspiration from the colors in the world around me. Being creative is my favorite part of beading – I love trying out different combinations of colors and beads to make a finished piece that I love – if it was up to me, I would bead all the time!
Ethiopian Opal Beaded Stud Earrings
What does your creative process look like from start to finish?
I start by finding focal pieces to be the center of my jewelry. Once I have found the center piece I want to work with (often using work made by some fabulous artisans I have met along the journey), I then decide on colors, shapes, and sizes of beads that I want to use to create the piece of jewelry. Using bead embroidery techniques, I surround the focal piece with these beads until I find the combination and style I like best. There is often a lot of revising if I am not satisfied with the way a piece is developing – in beading, removing stitched beads is called “frogging.”
What’s your current favorite podcast, music, or tv show that you’re hooked on and why?
I absolutely love listening to music from the 80s!
Name one thing not many people know about you.
Besides being a beader and small business owner, I am also a retired pediatrician and a part-time physician advisor.
What are your top three values in life?
Devotion to family, friendship, and empathy.
Do you have any business challenges and/or goals you’re hoping to crush over the next 6 months?
Hoping to continue to grow my business and become profitable so that I can keep doing what I love.
Do you have any advice for all the small handmade business owners out there who are just getting started?
To the small business owners who are just starting out, I would say take a deep breath and know that this is a marathon rather than a sprint. When I first started, I was disappointed that it didn’t all come together at once. As I got more experienced, I saw that I needed time to build my business and that I needed to keep moving forward knowing that there would be good times and not-so-good times, but that overall, it is worth every minute of effort I put into it.
I would also tell a new business owner to find a community of like-minded small business owners to share this journey with so that you have support and can share both your wins and your frustrations. I have met some of the most amazing people that I now call friends through this journey and I couldn’t do it without their encouragement and support – it truly takes a village!
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