Ohio State students foster entrepreneurship and creativity through small-scale jewelry businesses

Abigail Hartzell
Fri, 23 Feb 2024 02:15:52 +0000
Arts & Life, Fashion, Features, Instagram Page, News, art, arts, arts and life, Arts and Life at OSU, arts and life desk, Arts and Life in Ohio, bead, Beadznwirez, business, Columbus, create, crystal, earrings, entrepreneur, Etsy, fashion, inclusive, jewelry, lantern, Millie The Label, necklaces, Ohio, ohio state, ohio state university, osu, product, sale [and 4 more]

Millie The Label, a jewelry business owned by Ohio State student Natalie Milligan, recently put out its Valentine’s Day campaign, titled “To The One I Love,” in which the above necklace was featured. Credit: Ellie Erich

For most, jewelry is all glitz and glamor. For students who run their own jewelry businesses, it’s also blood, sweat and tears.

Though the life of a college student is demanding in and of itself, some Ohio State students are branching out to pursue a particular kind of entrepreneurial endeavor: jewelry shops. Specifically, student business owners Natalie Milligan, Jordan Popovsky and Swesha Arora — owners of Millie The Label, Beadznwirez and SweshaA, respectively — shared their journeys of starting jewelry brands while still being full-time students.

Milligan, a fourth-year in marketing, launched Millie The Label in August 2020 during her senior year of high school. She said she wanted to create an inclusive brand with “timeless and elegant” handmade pieces that still align with contemporary fashion.

The brand blossomed when COVID-19 was running rampant and Milligan needed to find a means of creative expression, she said.

“I just felt like I didn’t have a creative outlet, and I had to find a new way to express myself through art and [I] always loved to accessorize, so I decided, ‘Why not start my own jewelry brand?’” Milligan said.

Model Hawaii Asoba wears rings featured in Millie The Label’s “To The One I Love” Valentine’s Day collection. Credit: Ellie Erich

After watching a social media tutorial, Milligan said she started her jewelry-making journey through the creation of clay earrings. Once she moved into her Ohio State dorm and lost access to an oven, she began experimenting with crystals, charms and stones.

Milligan said she quickly discovered she didn’t have enough storage to keep all her creations in her new living space, which led her to start selling her pieces via Snapchat for $10. At that time, the extensive support Millie The Label received from both loved ones and buyers of her products made Milligan realize her affection for jewelry and business alike.

“I was passionate about creating,” Milligan said. “I was learning from my business classes and the whole world of marketing and social media branding and was able to incorporate that. The brand has grown from there as I’ve grown as well.”

Popovsky, a third-year in animal science and music, created Beadznwirez in 2020 as a sustainability-focused brand that brings both natural and recycled materials back to life. Between keychains, hanging beads, necklaces and more, Beadznwirez sells a broad range of products in an effort to appeal to consumers’ differing personal styles, Popovsky said.

Jordan Popovsky, owner of Beadznwirez, with some of her pieces during an on-campus pop up in September 2023. Credit: Gabriel Sanchez

“I try to cater to everybody,” Popovsky said. “I make big dangly earrings, wire-wrapped necklaces with crystals, dreamcatchers, and I like to have a wide variety of items when I do markets.”

Before she officially started the business, Popovsky said she was skeptical of her ability to be successful with her art. Once she started seeing progress and others’ appreciation for her craft, it drove her to pursue her business.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do my whole life, and I noticed the way the people react to my art is very special and I wouldn’t keep doing it if I didn’t feel like it was important to people,” Popovsky said. “I’ve made so many custom pieces that have made people very overwhelmed and that reaction is something very special to me.”

Arora, a third-year in industrial and systems engineering, said she began SweshaA three years ago while still in high school. The brand was formerly known as Anoesis, but was rebranded as SweshaA during the summer of 2023 when Arora felt her personal style — and consequently, her art — had evolved.

“When I started, I just used to sell the stuff I liked to make and not necessarily the stuff I would wear,” Arora said. “I’ve always been crafty, so I was doing it for fun and decided to start selling the pieces I made, but then I’m trying to build this into a brand, but I’m no longer aligning with this anymore.”

From there, SweshaA was born.

Some of SweshaA’s jewelry products, which can be viewed on the business’ Etsy page. Credit: Swesha Arora

“I changed the brand name to my name, and I was like, ‘This is gonna force me to promote what I feel,’” Arora said. “This means I stay true to the brand’s overall meaning and promote the idea of being true to yourself.”

In accordance with the inspiration behind its name, SweshaA — which incorporates crystals, metals, beads and more into handcrafted jewelry — is all about confidence and self-love, Arora said.

“Something I stand for and want to try to push for my brand is to stay true to yourself,” Arora said. “I had my insecurities just like everyone does but I was never insecure about my personality. I just always wanted to push the idea of staying true to yourself and being proud of who you are on the inside.”

Though the business owners have all undergone distinct journeys, they also have encountered similar struggles along the way. Namely, balancing student and business-owner responsibilities has been a particular challenge, they said.

“It was hard working on schoolwork when I could be making money on jewelry I was working hard on,” Milligan said. “It was really hard for me to prioritize school as much as jewelry, which I was getting immediate results in. I was so much more passionate about jewelry.”

Arora agreed, and said she’s had to sacrifice time she would normally devote to SweshaA in order to prioritize getting her degree.

“It’s been a tough six months, and I feel like I have changed as a person and the things I want to do with the brand have changed, but I’ve just been so busy,” Arora said. “Going into my sophomore year my workload in school wasn’t as bad as it is now and I still had the time to run my socials and do campaigns. This year it’s been different, I have not been able to reach the numbers I once had and that was something I had to come to terms with.”

Popovsky said she also knows what it feels like to make business-related concessions.

“I have very minimal free time and I unfortunately had to make the sacrifice of closing my Etsy shop just because I don’t have enough time to keep my social media presence up,” Popovsky said.

In light of her reduced social media presence, Popovsky said she enjoys selling her products in person. Beadznwirez has participated in many markets — including the Students for Sustainable Fashion club’s Valentine’s Market on Feb. 11 — and is looking forward to her continued involvement in Atomic On High, a monthly outdoor vintage market in Clintonville.

“I like the ability to connect with my customers and create a customer base in Columbus,” Popovsky said. “It’s cool to see a customer base that comes back even after purchasing one item.”

Ultimately, Popovsky said if the business is built around something its founder loves, its upkeep won’t feel so demanding.

“In finding time to make things, I love crafting jewelry and it doesn’t feel like work to me and it allows me to take things off my mind,” Popovsky said. “I consider my business as free time and it lets my mind relax while relaxing. It comes most naturally to me and puts me in a flow state.”

Though it may be intimidating, Arora said she encourages anyone interested in starting their own business to jump into the deep end.

“Just start with anything,” Arora said. “I was always really crafty and then I just started posting stuff on Instagram. It started with me sitting in my room, just putting stuff together and posting on Instagram.”

Milligan agreed.

“I think so many people worry about having the perfect logo, the perfect products, and the perfect market before they even start,” Milligan said. “I just encourage them to start as soon as they can and don’t keep putting it off.”

More information about Millie The Label — including new campaigns and releases — is available via the business’ website or Instagram page. Beadznwirez products can be found on its Instagram page, while SweshaA products can be found on the business’ Instagram page or Etsy shop.