One of the interesting things about opening a business is to figure out what it is to be, what its values are, and what solutions it offers to your clients. Some of this was easy for me as it's based on my own values. Others were more difficult.
My Dancing Dragonfly creates handmade jewelry with a Bohemian flair. Okay, good. But what does it do? The jewelry is made up of three collections and many pieces that make a statement when worn. Why is that important? Because everyone deserves to be seen, heard and respected. That is very important to me as a survivor of emotional abuse. Jewelry can tell your story. It can make you feel powerful or confident, even beautiful and fabulous. Am I solving major problems here? Not at all, no Nobel prize here, but I can empower people to feel good while wearing my jewelry, that is a good thing.
One of the other things that has been super important to me since I was in middle school was the idea of giving back. I've always given of my time, as there was usually not a lot of extra money lying around. But we shared that as well. In fact, my children every year chose to give up a night of Chanukah so that we could use that money to support a local family so that they could have a Merry Christmas. My Dancing Dragonfly has three active collections that will last for three months each. At the end of the three months, three worthy charities or organizations will receive 10% of the sales for that time period. For my opening, I picked the charities. Going forward, I hope to receive nominations from customers of other deserving groups.
I am overjoyed to be designing and creating merchandise that is being worn and appreciated by you wonderful people. Please visit the website often and tell your friends!
Next week: Observations after two months in business.