Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Dale.
Emily, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I started my business in 2014 at the age of 19. I went to college for a year and then decided to take a year off because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. School just wasn’t for me; I felt so out of place and like I didn’t belong there. I wanted to pursue my art- which was painting at the time- and I felt as if I didn’t need school to do that.
During the year that I took off, I worked at my parents’ business which is when my little business started. At the time, I really wasn’t even trying to start a business; making jewelry was just a hobby I had picked up. I didn’t necessarily have the money to buy the jewelry that I wanted, so I figured I would just try to make it myself. I researched jewelry suppliers in Atlanta, took what little money I had, bought some supplies, bought books on how to make jewelry. I made a few necklaces and then my friends and family started asking me to make jewelry for them. Once I realized people actually liked my work, I created an Instagram account and started selling my creations from there.
In 2015, I landed my first retailer- a small boutique in my hometown. From there on out my business slowly started to expand. With the power of social media, more and more people started to discover me. I eventually created a website and now I sell jewelry to over 50 stores across the United States. Although I am beyond happy and satisfied with how far I have come, my business is still a work in progress. I have bigger plans for my brand and hope to expand into other fields within the fashion industry.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s never a smooth road when owning a business. When you’re in business for yourself there might be weeks when you don’t do as well as you did in previous weeks. There are ups and downs and you don’t necessarily have a set salary like most people do. There might be days when you work from sunup to well past sundown and you still don’t get everything done you needed to do. The hardest thing about owning your own business is knowing that it’s all up to you to make it work and be successful. There’s really nothing to fall back on if your business fails and you can’t depend on anyone or anything but yourself. There are definitely hard times you have to go through, but when you love what you do it makes all of the stress and struggles worth it.
Emily Dale Jewelry – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I would say the style of jewelry I make is bohemian chic/glam. There are a lot of handmade jewelry businesses out there, so I try to create pieces that no other company makes. Everyone likes to have things that no one else has so I try my best to give my customers that and to make them stand out. I am most proud of the uniqueness of my products, my photoshoots, my brand, etc. I like to be different and express myself with creativeness in my clothes and jewelry and I think my company fully embodies that.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment of my career so far was probably when I started selling to Fab’rik, which is a boutique franchise of 40+ stores. That was a huge step in my career considering the fact that I was working out of my parents’ garage at the time they first placed an order with me, and since then I have moved out and have my own workspace! I would also have to say another proud moment and by far the coolest moment of my career was when Miley Cyrus posted a picture on Instagram with her friend that she mentions in one of her songs, and her friend was wearing one of my necklaces! It’s moments like those and even all of the little moments that make me feel so proud of how far I’ve come and made me look forward to the future and all of its possibilities.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.emilydale.net
- Email: emily@emilydale.net
- Instagram: @emilydale_jewelry
- Facebook: @emilydalejewelry
Image Credit:
Maggie Turner Photography, Kathryn Ann Waller Photography
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