Silver Pendants and Silicon Valley might not appear to have much in common but as I sat listening to Sheryl Sandberg at the annual Professional Business Women’s Conference it was easy to relate to her story. Sandberg is Chief Operating Officer at Facebook, formerly of Google and a one time protege of Larry Summers at the World Bank. Sandberg is a powerful speaker with strong opinions. I particularly resonated with belief that it is important to bring your authentic self to work. Tony Hsieh of Zappos voices the same opinion in his book, Delivering Happiness. The desire to be authentic at work was one of the main reasons I built my own company so hearing Sandberg advocate this position from within a large corporation caught my attention.
Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook
Sandberg feels that women need to “lean in” to career opportunities. She notes that women often underestimate themselves or even feel like frauds. She thinks it is wiser for women to grab opportunities to advance as high as they can before they have children, rather than holding back and settling for less demanding positions. Whether or not you agree with her, she makes a powerful argument. While she does acknowledge that there is often a tradeoff between likeability and success for women her overall message is clear: Have Confidence!
You can read more about Sheryl Sandberg in The New Yorker
or watch her talk on TED.
As a jewelry designer and a mom, I shouldn’t have been surprised when at around 2 1/2 years old, my son Phoenix started saying “mommy, I like your necklace” and “mommy, I like your red earrings”. At 3 years old, he was successfully opening and closing the box clasps on my bracelets. Now 4 1/2, he recently asked to make his own necklace, so this past weekend I set him up with a needle and thread, and we dove right in!
I pulled out two of my “mix boxes” (leftovers from previous projects) and let him select the beads of his choice. As he chose ancient African glass chevrons and beautiful deep red padre beads, I quickly realized I’d need to build him his own box of kid-appropriate beads. His final necklace is beautiful and contains a few surprises (a safety pin!). I loved seeing the pride he felt in creating his first piece of handmade jewelry. He wore his necklace all weekend and explained to whomever would listen that he made it all by himself! Do you bead with your kids? Do you have any favorite experiences or successes you’d like to share?
Working side by side at my desk.
Proudly wearing his first creation!
This Halloween, Nina Designs had its best themed costume ever: a pair of Silver Earrings! It’s become a yearly tradition to wear our Halloween costumes to the office where we share a group lunch and admire each others handiwork and creativity. This year, when Juanita walked through the door dressed as an earring, we all cackled with delight! The T1102 hook earring was made with thick wire (actually the stem of a fake sunflower) with a A729 peace charm disk hanging from it. Of course, she changed into another costume for the evening festivities because otherwise, who but a bunch of crazy jewelry-obsessed Nina Designs’ employees would know what she was?
Juanita dressed as an earring!
Bottom Row: Leah, Phoenix, Stephanie. Top Row: Nina, Juanita, Anna, Erin, Clara, Carly, Yolanda
One of the things I love most about my work is the opportunity to help women jewelry designers thrive. I say women because of the over 3,000 active customers at Nina Designs, at least 90% are women. I am also willing to bet that a majority of our clients are Moms. Designing jewelry is a wonderful way for women to work while maintaining the flexibility necessary to raise a family. When my oldest daughter was small, I had an office in my living room. As she grew up, I built an addition to the house and eventually moved into a commercial space. As my own boss, I had the flexibility to pace my business expansion to the needs of my family. And because beads are small, I could work at home for a long time before I needed a bigger space. All over the country, women are having similar experiences. So Moms, what do you love most about your jewelry business?
Nina's Home Office 1996
Nina Takes a Break 1996
