Charities and important causes that invited me to sell and help raise money for their causes. Girlfriends who worked events and hosted trunk shows. Retailers, hotel and resort groups who said yes to my line. Where do I start! I work with so many amazing people. Who else deserves some credit and recognition? Their new outdoor seating is pretty special. I love sitting at their bar for dinner but since I’m hosting my sister and brother in law we’ll plan for the patio. Next we’d need to go rest to get ready for dinner at my all time favorite restaurant Tarbell’s. I’m crazy about their their Turkey Avocado Sandwich with Kennebec House Chips. The concept of staying in their one of a kind trailer and eating at Dot Diner sounds so fun.Īfter our decision we’d head to FAME Cafe for a fresh lunch. The other road trip on my list is heading down to Bisbee and staying at the Shady Dell. This fall is the perfect time so I’m hoping this visit happens soon. Having a tasting and staying over would be a fun and relaxing adventure. A friend of mine is one of the owners and she used to let me pick up bottles of wine from her house. I’ve always wanted to go spend the night at DA Ranch in Cornville. We’d spend our time plotting several dinners and choosing one road trip. But, since it has the word healthy in the title I’m good with it. For me I can never leave without taking some of their “healthy muffins” with me.

I loved them when they had a tiny spot next to their funky current location on Central. We’d start with a planning trip to Lux Coffee. They come from Portland and love all things new that involve laughing and eating great food. My favorite visitors are my sister Meg and her husband Ed. I could write a book on this question…… so I’ll do my best. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc. Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. I love nothing more than running into a client who is wearing a piece from 15 years ago. I start with suppliers and parts that I trust which allows me to warrant our workmanship. I take the client experience personally (sometimes to a fault) and I strive to find away to make challenges work out.Īnd it’s difficult to offer top notch support when you’re not working with high quality metals, gemstones and beads. From my years in technology sales I had the best training in taking care of customers and learning to listen to what they need. The one “thing” that sets Jewel Ya apart from other jewelry lines is the client service.

Thankfully the investment of building an online presence was done years before and staying current in the digital world remains a top priority. All of our wholesale and event business came to a halt. For instance during this past year and a half of Covid if we didn’t already have a strong online store there would have been no way to keep revenue coming in. The mix allows for the business to sustain itself when one or two areas are slower.

My business is a mix of working directly with customers, offering a wholesale line, having a online web boutique and participating in events. I’m excited to create pieces and get to know my clients. But I can say I found the flexibility and a job that I love and challenges me.Ĭan you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work. Building Jewel Ya allowed me to create exactly what it would look like and how I would operate. Walking away from the comfort and frankly strong future options was scary. I’d been in technology sales and management for over 15 years. I wasn’t leaving a roll, company or opportunities that I didn’t like. Having a safe person to discuss options and think about different perspectives helped me find the courage. I was struggling to find the guts to change. For my search to find it I engaged a life coach. I was searching for flexibility both professionally and personally. When I consider the “why” behind Jewel Ya it was all about flexibility. Hi Julia, what was your thought process behind starting your own business? We had the good fortune of connecting with Julia Winter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Julia winter