Team Size
4
Revenue
Not Disclosed
Location
Columbus, OH
STart Date
Feb 2008
Today my interview is with Meredith Piccin, who started her career in Corporate America and made a move to become a bohemian jewelry designer.
Meredith is the founder of successful jewelry business Honey Rose & K Jewelry that creates eco-chic jewelry for the modern bohemian. This talented female entrepreneur has a great story to share. Read on and take your time!
INTRODUCTION
PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF AND WHAT BUSINESS DID YOU START.
Hi, my name is Meredith Piccin. I live in a suburb outside of Columbus, Ohio with my husband, 2 children, and dog Caesar. I began my career in Corporate America after college graduation in 1999 after which I started working in visual merchandising and later as a wardrobe stylist for Wardrobe Therapy.
After I discovered my love for making jewelry while playing with my Grandmother’s vintage pieces, I began to see that breathing new life into old pieces was a better way for the environment and the fashion industry. When friends and family started asking for pieces of their own, I knew that I could bring Honey Rose & K to life. In 2008, the eco-friendly line Honey Rose & K was born.
Each piece of Honey Rose & K is created with vintage treasures combined with modern elements and design. Our jewelry is for the modern bohemian with an edgy twist.
So far we have been featured in the pages of Oprah Magazine, Elle, InStyle, People and on The Voice Wardrobe, The Bachelor and Gabrielle Union to name a few.
WHAT DOES YOUR TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE AND HOW DO YOU STAY PRODUCTIVE?
I work from my home studio in Columbus, Ohio daily. I ship all my online orders from the studio, create all the pieces and work with my sales team to meet goals. It’s easy for me to stay productive with such a wonderful team. I love what I do so it never feels like I’m working.
THE JOURNEY SO FAR
PLEASE DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF LAUNCHING THE BOHEMIAN JEWELRY BUSINESS.
In 2008, years after I met my husband and started a family, I discovered a love for creating jewelry while playing with my Grandmother’s Honey Rosenkranz’s vintage pieces. I had no knowledge of jewelry design but I bought tools, watched videos and began learning the trade.
I started with $500, no website and social selling on Facebook. I had no partners involved and the first professional hire was photographer, Pam Pyles in 2015.
I began to see that breathing new life into old pieces was a better way for the environment and the fashion industry. When friends and family began requesting pieces of their own, I knew that I could bring Honey Rose & K to life. In 2009, the eco-friendly line Honey Rose & K was born.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT AND YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE SINCE YOU STARTED YOUR BUSINESS?
I’m most proud of my sales team and the drive that they continue to have! I feel so lucky to have such hard-working women behind the line.
Owning a small business comes with many challenges. Driving sales to the website is always a challenge but the biggest challenge is happening right now. COVID-19.
WHAT STRATEGY DID YOU USE TO GROW YOUR BOHEMIAN JEWELRY BUSINESS? AND HOW?
My line has grown slowly over the years with my children. I’ve been able to work from home and raise my family at the same time. I have a daily schedule that I follow and it works for me and my team. We use social media to grow our reach and we do as many pop-ups as we can so that people can shop in person.
My sales team focuses on the best customer service and connecting with each customer, the old school way. We want to know our customers and what they want. Our business thrives because of our customers.
WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS?
We continue to grow our sales team and reach in Ohio and other states.
RECOMMENDATIONS & FINAL THOUGHTS
PLEASE RECOMMEND ANY RESOURCES AND TOOLS THAT YOU USE TO RUN YOUR BUSINESS.
We use Shopify for our platform and we find it very easy and helpful! Our POS is attached to Shopify and everything is streamlined. Facebook and Instagram continue to be awesome social tools for Honey Rose & K and we use Map Forward Digital to help grow our social media! Pam Pyles from Pieces of You Photography shoots all of our products for the website. Good photography is important.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE BOOKS, BLOGS OR PODCASTS?
I enjoy listening to Girl Boss radio and Flourish and Thrive podcasts/blogs.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER WOMEN WHO WANT TO START THEIR OWN BUSINESS?
Just start! You have to dive in and have no fear. Like they say, I got my start by giving myself a start!
Violeta Semenova
Founder
theBizLadies
Welcome to the Biz Ladies interview series!
If you’re new to these series, I interview women entrepreneurs on how they started their business, what was the idea behind it, how they got where they are, the struggles, the reality and more.
By sharing their stories, we want to inspire other women to get started.
If you are interested to share your own story on the Biz Ladies LET ME KNOW!
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