Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Sorenson
Hi Kelsey, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I also like to joke that I started my business accidentally…. It was April of 2020, I was in the last few weeks of my Bachelors Degree of Dance at UVU, and COVID was ruining my life. I went from having a very busy schedule with classes, work and dancing 8+ hours a day, to sitting at home realizing I don’t think I have any hobbies besides dance. It took up ALL my time. So I went on a little google search to try to find a hobby for myself, and there I found clay earrings. Having always been an artsy person I decided that this would be the perfect little craft for me to pick up and learn, and well, I had a lot of time on my hands to do so. But the one problem was that the supplies to get started were kinda pricey- especially for a college student. I rationalized to myself that if I was able to perhaps sell a couple pairs of earrings to friends or family then I could pay for the cost of my supplies. So that’s exactly what I did. I bought the supplies, made some pretty shabby earrings, and sold a couple pairs to some friends. But what blew my mind is that people seemed to like them! A had a few people say I should make a separate instagram account for my earrings I was selling, and well I had a lot of time on my hands, I said “why not?” After selling them on instagram for a short while, I had some people tell me it would be much easier for them to purchase through a website rather than through DMing me on Instagram. I had never made a whole website before- and that seemed kinda overwhelming- but I had a lot of time on my hands so…..”Why not?” I guess. From there I kinda started to really dive into this little side hustle. Spending the majority of my free time (which was A LOT) making jewelry, learning about website building, learning about social media marketing, and product photography. Honestly the whole thing gave me a sense of purpose at a time I didn’t really feel like I had a lot of it. After probably a year and a half of this, I started to see that this little business could maybe be more than that. That it had the potential to grow and be bigger if I was willing to dive in a little more. So I did, and I hired my first part time employee. It ended up being a really good move for me at the time as it really helped me keep the business going as I ended up deciding to have a baby around the same time in 2022, and my life was suddenly a lot busier… I was really loving my business and how things were going. We were starting to move away from clay jewelry and instead other types of gold and silver handmade jewelry, as that what was selling much better for us. I was doing Rose & Clay part time, teaching dance part time, and being a new mom full time- and overall I felt very fulfilled. So now we fast forward another year. I don’t know something kinda clicked in my mind. I for the first time started to actually believe that Rose and Clay could be bigger than it was. I started to actually dream bigger for the first time, started to trust and believe that this could be something that actually made me and my family income, and actually could be “up there” with all of the other companies that I looked up to so much. From that point to present, I have been focusing on growing and scaling the business. Diving into manufacturing our designs, so that we would have the capability to have larger quantities of our products, increasing our wholesale branch of our business, creating stronger branding, and starting to dip our feet into paid advertising as well. This company still has a long way to go until we reach some of the goals I have set for it, but I feel really confident in the direction we are heading and really proud of not only how far the company has come, but how far I have come! I think I have built something pretty cool for someone that didn’t know a single thing about business.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Absolutely not. There have been so many challenges and obstacles for me. A good way to put it- I have had a big learning curve to entrepreneurship. I had never taken any kind of business class, and honestly started out my company without the plans or intentions that it would ever amount to anything, so when I decided I wanted to grow it and expand it, I had absolutely no clue where to start. I think I have spent A LOT of time and a good deal of money trying to figure out how to do things. And what has happened is, I have learned a lot about things that don’t work. A bit frustrating, because it sure would be nice to have everything work out beautifully and lovely the first time we try it, But I can say that “failing” or doing something wrong often teaches you a lot more.
Throughout owning my business I have also felt feelings of depression, some serious cases of imposter syndrome, and in general, constant comparison of my small business to others- especially those that are in a similar field, or that started at a similar time to when I did…. In some ways it gets better the further along I get, in other ways it just doesn’t- because as soon as I my business grows a little more I feel like I am in a *slightly* higher league and that comes with a whole new slew of those comparison and imposter syndrome feelings. Growing pains, I guess?
As you know, we’re big fans of Rose and Clay Jewelry. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Rose and Clay specializes in feminine and dainty style jewelry that is ALWAYS hypoallergenic and high quality. We wanted our company to be a place that women can shop and have full confidence that they are buying jewelry that will last, and will still look brand new, year after year. We are BEYOND PROUD to say that all of our pieces are tarnish resistant, waterproof, lightweight, hypoallergenic and nickel free. We design them in house with the direct purpose of helping you to not just look beautiful, but to really FEEL BEAUTIFUL, because we know how something so simple as a pair of earrings can really help boost your self confidence.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
People can support us by following us on our socials @roseandclayjewelry (we are on all platforms, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest…) and by purchasing some pretty new jewelry at roseandclayjewelry.com
We love to collaborate with other businesses and with content creators! Email us at collabs@roseandclayjewelry.com and we can set something up!
Pricing:
- Our jewelry prices range from $8-$94 with post pieces being in the $20 range
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.roseandclayjewelry.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roseandclayjewelry/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roseandclayjewelry/
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/roseandclayjewelry/
