Meet the Vendor EP:2 Opal & Twine Designs
Meet Anna from Opal & Twine Designs
Meet Anna from Opal & Twine Designs! Join us as we chat and demo our way through our second video in our “Meet the Vendor” series. Anna has been a vendor at Minted Vintage Market since 2022. She makes beaded items that are not only fun but also functional. In this video she demonstrates how she makes her most popular wristlets. She also brought samples of her other products and chats about how her business has helped her through depression after the birth of her child. For more from Anna, find her on FB at https://www.facebook.com/opalandtwinedesigns
What inspired you to start your business? I was a new mom, trying to find myself again after having my second child. I was struggling with some depression and my husband actually mentioned to me to possibly start a hobby. Once I started sharing my designs on social media and with family, I just decided to give it a go and start a business and it will actually be
our two-year anniversary next month!
How did you come up with your business name? I really like gemstones; opal is one of my favorites so I just kind of like I guess fiddled around with some words that I thought flowed well with opal so that's kind of how I came up with my name for my business.
What do you love about being a small business owner? Being able to share designs and meeting so many friends in the small business community. When I became a mom I kind of was lonely and I kind of didn't really have a hobby that I like to do but then when I started my business, I've met a lot of great people.
Name one challenge of running a small business. I would say staying accountable and staying motivated. I have a lot of times where I'm feeling a little defeated when certain things don't go how I plan, so I'd say definitely staying accountable and staying motivated to continue.
Name one achievement you are proud of in your small business journey. For me I think it's for getting myself out there and being confident. I've always been a really shy person, and I feel like my business has really helped me become more confident in myself and not be afraid to speak with people in public.
If you have an unlimited budget, what would be your dream for your business? I probably buy a Glo Forge I've always wanted one of those, but they are pretty pricey. I've always wanted to make like circular like keychain discs to put on like my wristlets with like sayings, pictures, or little words. Yea that's on my bucket list for my small business is to eventually buy one of those.
Name a favorite (you or your customers favorite) product you make/offer. I actually
brought a product that I've been selling a lot lately (shown on video) it's a car mirror charm for your rear-view mirror with alien beads.
Name your favorite thing about Minted Vintage markets. I love the community, meeting a lot of other Minted Vintage vendors. I love the overall like aesthetic and theme of Minted Vintage, that's what first draw drew me in it's something that I like similar to what I like.
What do you do to prepare for events like ours? I try to like look overall what the trends and the styles are. I'm pretty into social media so I try to keep tabs on like what people like, what colors what themes people are attracted to, and I also try to do some of the things that I like. I also try to base some of my designs off of like the theme of the event okay so since it'll be in the fall I usually make a lot of fall theme designs. I try to at least prepare or have my supplies like two to 3 months in advance because I like to procrastinate sometimes, and I like to have everything done at least a week or two in advance.
When you get the chance to shop, what do you like to buy at markets? I look for handmade jewelry. I like to wear a lot of crystal jewelry (Mantis Effect, I love their jewelry) and I like to buy candles homemade candles signs for my house. I just like to buy decor and stuff that's made by someone instead of buying it in a store. I told my mom the other day that my style for my house is kind of like Grandma thrift store boho chic I like to buy stuff from thrift store.
Where else can we find you? (other events, store fronts, website, etc) I'm most active on Facebook. I have a private Facebook group for like my customers and anyone who wants to see my designs, but as far as like in stores um I am in a store in Glendale West Virginia. It's called Little One Crystal; they're a crystal shop but they also have some handmade vendors as well. I'm also in a shop called WSL designs, they're in Belair Ohio.
*because of the length of the commentary some of the answers above have been paraphrased.