What started out as a teenager’s side-hobby is now the thriving jewellery business of young entrepreneur Sara Abotira, 22. Aside from her evident attention to detail, her talent in stone jewellery design speaks for itself. While currently a university student majoring in psychology, Sara is adamant on growing her brand and staying inspired. We talked to her to find out more about her backstory and how she challenges herself to go beyond her limits.
When and how did you launch your jewellery brand?
My brand actually unofficially launched when I was thirteen. I used to participate in multiple bazaars to sell my products and that was how it worked for four years. At the age of seventeen, it became official. I worked on designing my own logo and personalized packaging. That was when I decided to turn my hobby into an official business.
What motivated you to start?
I can never pinpoint a specific date for how it all started. It was honestly just a hobby. My mother was focused on taking me to various art courses since I was very young, like drawing, crochet, pottery making, and so on. What stuck with me most was jewelry making. She guided me on what to do while still allowing me the space to pause whenever I wanted to. When I began to make jewelry, I started small by selling to close family members. During highschool, I couldn’t stop thinking about new ideas for designs and seeing them come to life. Eventually, I decided to launch the social media pages. What motivated me was the positive feedback that I received from my family, friends and customers. I think if it wasn’t for that feedback, I wouldn’t have launched until after I finished my university degree.
Any challenges along the way?
The main challenges I came across were time management and figuring out the ins and outs of social media. At first, it was a little difficult trying to sell online, especially while starting with a small number of followers. Needless to say, it takes some effort to convince the clients to trust you enough to buy from you. The situation slowly started to improve due to the bold and risk-taking customers. Soon enough, I started seeing the benefits of word of mouth. It actually goes a long way. Regarding my instagram account, I went through a bit of a trial and error process until I got the hang of it. There are so many details like figuring out the style of my pictures, what works best, number of posts and customer service. The last challenge was balancing my time between school, practice and jewelry-making. By my last year of highschool, I was doing my homework on the bus or during breaks in order to have more free time at home for work. With good planning and flexibility, everything worked out at the end. I learned that no matter the challenges you go through, things work out as long as you’re not being too hard on yourself and you’re doing your best.
Where do you make the pieces?
I have a small office area in my bedroom specifically for that. It has all of the equipment and stones, and it is separate from the desk where I normally study in order to physically and mentally separate between ‘work time’ and ‘academic time’.
What normally helps you come up with new designs?
I always challenge myself by putting a limit on my stone options and then figuring out how I can match these stones together and what type of design I should go for. Since I don’t have any plain silver or gold necklaces, I stand out because of the stones I pick. Also, I make a note not fall into a trap of repetition and similarity. If I create a short design once, the next one has to be the polar opposite. I am also obsessed with nature and its colors, so my jewelry is almost always inspired by it.
We can tell that your gold necklaces are your favorite. What makes them stand out?
My gold collection is my favorite because it is where I challenge myself to create something new and simple. I like getting out of my comfort zone and going for a style that is more eye-catching and requires my full creative attention. These pieces stand out from other designs due to the limited number of people that make handmade gold jewelry with natural stones around the world. It is a new concept for everyone which makes it extra special.
What practical tips do you have on how to grow your social media following and market your business?
I count on providing the customer with flawless customer service and naturally when they’re happy with the products, they share it with other people. I then share their feedback along with a photo of the order they received. This increases your chances to sell by pushing people to try your products, especially if it was the same item that they were thinking of buying but were hesitant about.The second key would be Instagram ads. The trick here is in choosing the photos that got the highest engagement without the ads, so that when you do promote them, they get the best results.
Tell us about your experience being interviewed on Nile Family.
It was definitely exciting and unpredictable. I got interviewed once before my gold collection and a second time to preview my gold collection. The experience itself was thrilling – to be on live tv and knowing the amount of people that are watching you, especially friends and family members. Specifically the second time, I felt accomplished because I was bringing something new to the table. It made me reflect on how much I’ve expanded and upgraded my work since the first time.
Where do you see your brand taking off?
My goal is to launch my brand internationally. I am proud of how far I’ve come and I am working on growing more. There is a lot more to come and I will use that motivation to keep on creating new, innovative designs.
