MOMpreneur: n. defined as a female business owner who is actively balancing the role of mom and the role of entrepreneur.
Welcome to our latest installment of MOMpreneur Monday, highlighting businesses and brands that were founded by female entrepreneurs and fellow mommas!
Today’s featured Modern Boca MOMpreneur is Katrin Lerman. She’s the owner & designer of Frosted Willow Jewelry.
Hi Katrin! Why don’t you fill us in a little bit on your personal and professional background…
I’m originally from Germany and grew up crafting and re-decorating all day long. When I came to the US, I pursued a Degree in Interior Design in Boston. I loved working at an Architectural Design Company there and later for an independent Interior Designer.
“When I had my first child 11 years ago, I knew that I wanted to be able to work from home. I wanted to be there for her when she needed me and work around her schedule.”
Creating jewelry always had been my dream, but having kids gave me the push to actually pursue it. Most of the time, I work well into the night and spend my days playing with my kids. Now that my girls are 7 and 11 years old, I can do most of my work in the mornings and still bring them to all their activities in the afternoons. Then I am back in my studio after I put them to bed to design new pieces and update my online stores.
Tell us about how you started Frosted Willow…
After some research, I came upon Etsy, which was still in its infancy at that time. But with a little baby, this was exactly what I was looking for. Being able to sell online instead of going to craft fairs and markets freed up my time to be with my kids.
Of course, becoming proficient in photographing jewelry (quite tricky) and writing descriptions with all the right keywords provided a steep learning curve. Luckily, my personalized bracelets took off quickly and I concentrated on making bracelets with meanings.
What is unique about your Frosted Willow jewelry?
I do offer many different bracelets that can be customized to your individual needs. Be it for a wedding set with a couples initials and wedding date on an infinity bracelet, individual initial bracelets for each bridesmaid, a name bracelet for a first mom or an angel wing bracelet with the kids’ initials for grandma. It is nice to give a gift with meaning that can be cherished for years.
My most popular pieces are my customized Family Tree and Mama Bear pieces. They make beautiful, sentimental and meaningful gifts for moms and grandmothers for birthdays, holidays and especially Mother’s Day.
With the Family Tree bracelet, you can choose the initials of all your family members’ stamped on a heart and they will dangle from a leaf on the branch of the bracelet.
I feel grateful that so many women decided to wear my family tree bracelet as a way to cherish their loved ones and pass them down as heirlooms.
Why should our readers become your customers?
I know how hard it can be to be away from your children. Even if they are just in school! So being able to have a piece of jewelry on your arm with their names or initials makes you feel more connected to them. Giving such a personal gift to your family and friends shows how much you care!
What exciting things are coming up for Frosted Willow Jewelry?
Mother’s Day is one of my busiest times of the year and it is coming up very soon! I am working on adding more personalized bracelets to choose from. I’m thinking Mama Llama, Mama Bird, Family Forever and so forth. And with the beach and sunshine around the corner, I also want to expand my Beach Collection with new turtle and starfish bracelets.
What do you love about living and working in South Florida?
We moved from Boston to South Florida mainly for the weather! Both my parents and my husband’s parents joined us. It was not easy moving three households down here, but well worth it!
We all love going to the beach and spending time outdoors year round. And I love the view of the palm trees and flowers outside my large studio windows.
Connect with Frosted Willow Jewelry online:
ETSY SHOP: Frosted Willow
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/
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