Because believe it or not, I never had any plans to become a jeweler.
I was just broke. 😂
Years ago, I was working as a hairdresser in a tiny resort town called Eagles Mere, Pennsylvania.
Now, if you know anything about little resort towns, you know what happens when summer ends.
Everybody leaves!
One September, I sat down to do my bookkeeping, and things weren't looking good. My business had been dwindling for years, and there wasn't going to be enough money for Christmas gifts. Truthfully, there was barely going to be enough money for groceries.
I cried about it for a while.
Then I decided I had to figure something out.
I was already working multiple jobs, and the last thing I wanted was another one. I worked hard enough as it was, and I wanted some time to enjoy my horses. After all, they were part of the reason I worked so hard!
So I started thinking about what I could make for Christmas instead of buying gifts.
I stumbled across some handmade jewelry online and thought, I wonder if I could learn to do that?
There was just one problem.
I didn't have the money for silver, fancy tools, or any of the things real jewelers were using.
So I improvised.
I used copper pipe, scraps of roof flashing, and whatever else I could find.
Heck, I even used the hitch on my truck as an anvil to bend bracelets because I couldn't afford the proper tools! 😂
Every evening after finishing up at the salon, I'd go home and make jewelry.
And you know what?
I absolutely loved it.
Christmas came, my family had their handmade gifts, and I kept right on making things.
One day, I made a few little wire-wrapped stone keychains and put them in a basket on my salon desk.
A customer bought a couple.
Then she came back a day or so later and wanted the entire basket!
I remember thinking, Well, maybe there's something to this.
So I put some jewelry on a board, hung it on the salon wall, and started selling a few pieces.
Every dollar I made went right back into buying materials and tools.
And little by little, something I started out of desperation became something I genuinely loved doing.
Today, my shop is full of equipment I never could have imagined owning back then.
Although I still find myself using some pretty unusual things to make jewelry. A turkey baster has even made its way into my jewelry-making process! 😂
And some days, despite all those fancy tools, things still don't go quite as planned.
But here's what I've learned through all of it.
You don't have to have everything figured out to start something.
You don't need the best equipment, a fancy workspace, or even a grand plan.
Sometimes you just need to try.
You never know what you might fall in love with along the way.
And that's how Pintody began.
Not because I dreamed of becoming a jeweler, but because I needed to find a way to make Christmas happen for my family.
Funny how life works, isn't it?
Thanks for being part of this journey with me. ❤️
Stay wild,
Lynda
P.S. Remind me sometime to tell you about the two women who nearly got into a fight over a cowboy boot necklace I made. That was quite a night! 🤠
