When it comes to interesting hobbies, I feel as if everyone around me has a hobby that they don’t share often around others. It’s like that one kid who knows how to juggle for the school talent show, or that one person that discovers their interest in crocheting. My hobby has to do with my interest in jewelry making.

I started experimenting with beads during the COVID quarantine in 2020 after finding a bunch of old beads from my childhood. It was around this time that my mom had started using Amazon Prime, which helped to supply me with string.

I first started making bracelets; a good baseline to start off of. The original bracelets I made weren’t terrible, but they felt really cheap due to the old beads I was using. I started to want to experiment further just as lockdown started to ease off a bit and the craft store in my county was open again. I used this opportunity to buy better quality beads, an assortment of clasps, and my first beading tool; a pair of pliers.

I had about a whole box of beads during this time and was making bracelets that seemed better quality than my last ones. Around this time, I had set up the first version of my Etsy shop and started posting my bracelets to sell. This was probably the first time I had realized that I had no idea how to run a small business. My small business went south pretty quickly, as my junior year of high school came right around the corner. I didn’t have much time to make jewelry anymore; mainly because of the fact that I was taking my first AP classes.

My beads collected a lot of dust under my bed for about a year and a half until I found them again the winter of my senior year. I started developing signs of moderate anxiety and started creating jewelry again as an outlet. I decided to put my Etsy shop on hold and focus on bettering my jewelry before I posted anything to sell.

That brings us up to today. I have made about 25 necklaces, 56 bracelets, and 120 pairs of earrings. I was able to sell a fraction of my creations to students around campus and friends in my hometown. I also have about nine full boxes of beads to this day, and I’m still aiming to buy more.

The hardest part about my hobby is the creation of my small business. There are so many things that go into a small business that not many people realize. In order to sell your products, you have to take product photos, write a description about what you’re selling, have full access to a printer and are also aware of how to print shipping labels. I’ve fallen in love with the process and I am so glad my hobby grew into something more meaningful as I got older. 

Something to take away from my experience is that you should never give up when doing something you enjoy. I know the hardest part of doing something new is the process itself. As long as you are patient with yourself and are doing something that you love, the process becomes easier and easier.

My Etsy shop is currently unavailable at the moment, as I am working on my inventory and rebranding. If you want to browse my future creations, feel free to follow my shop on Etsy at SmileMoreAccessories. For custom orders, email me at [email protected].