Holly's Highlights
Holly’s Highlights Podcast is an inspiring and practical podcast designed to equip and encourage listeners in their personal and professional growth. Hosted by speaker, author, and mentor Holly Curby, each episode features insightful conversations on leadership, faith, business, relationships, and personal development. Whether you're seeking motivation, strategies for success, or faith-based encouragement, Holly’s Highlights offers valuable takeaways to help you thrive. Tune in for engaging interviews, expert advice, and real-life stories that empower you to make a positive impact in your life and community. Available on all major podcast platforms!
Holly's Highlights
Transforming Memories into Timeless Jewelry this Christmas
Ever wondered how a simple grain of sand can encapsulate a lifetime of memories? Join us as we talk with Holly Daniels Christensen, the creative genius behind Dune Jewelry, who shares her inspiring journey from crafting unique keepsakes at her kitchen table to building a thriving business. Holly lets us in on the magic of transforming personal experiences into wearable treasures, using everything from beach sand to pet fur. With a strong emphasis on accessibility and inclusivity, Dune Jewelry offers something for everyone, ensuring each piece tells a deeply personal story.
But it's not just about jewelry; it's also about entrepreneurship. We explore the challenges and growth opportunities that come with starting a business, and I share insights from my own entrepreneurial path. Unpacking the importance of self-confidence, education, and a supportive community, we discuss how passion and purpose can lead to a sustainable and rewarding business venture. Holly's journey is a testament to the power of dreams and making a positive impact, offering valuable lessons and motivation for anyone looking to turn their creative spark into a successful enterprise.
Visit www.dunejewelry.com and use promo code CURBY15 at checkout to save!
Visit www.hollycurby.com for more information and to sign up for the monthly Holly's Happenings e-newsletter. Holly's Highlights podcast and the opinions and ideas shared within it are for entertainment purposes only. The advice should be confirmed with a qualified professional.
Hi, friend, welcome to Holly's Highlights, a podcast designed to encourage, inspire and equip you to intentionally live your life full of purpose. I'm your host, holly Kirby, motivational speaker, leadership cultivator, marketing strategist and personal cheerleader. Let's check out today's highlights. Do you need more Christmas gift ideas? After all, don't forget the kids', teachers, the neighbor gifts, the gifts for your girlfriends and book club. Maybe your favorite checker at the grocery store or the mailman who has delivered their fair share of packages to you this season, or your siblings, your parents, your grandparents basically anyone in your life? Well, make it easy. Order copies of Facelift. Embracing Hope Through your Heartaches. Whether using as a quick read, a personal application for self-development, or even discussing as a group, everyone will be able to identify and take away something from Facelift, challenging our use of social media, reminding us we aren't alone on our journey and encouraging us with inspiration while equipping us along the way. Readers are sure to have a lifting of their face. Facelift is available through your local bookstores as well as online retailers, so a simple click to order on Target, walmart, barnes, noble and, everyone's favorite, amazon. Order your copies of Facelift today and remember a portion of all Facelift purchases are donated to Huntsman Cancer Foundation. Happy shopping, welcome friends.
Speaker 1:Last year we took our family vacation on an Alaskan cruise and as we were in the ports, there was one store that kept catching my eye. It was called Dune Jewelry. Now, my favorite piece was a whale tail bracelet. I loved it, but my daughter and I opted to both get the little whale tail matching necklace instead. And they're beautiful. We wear them all of the time.
Speaker 1:But not only is Dune jewelry beautiful, but once I learned the history of Dune and their social responsibility impact, I got to tell you I was hooked so fast forward to our last port on that cruise there in Alaska and once again, of course, I had to stop in the Dune jewelry store as soon as I saw it. But to my surprise, I had the privilege of meeting the founder and owner of Dune, holly Daniels Christensen. I am so excited to have her join us today to share not only about her company but inspire all of us as we seek to make that positive impact in the communities where we live, right where we're at. So welcome, holly. Thank you so much for taking time to be with us today.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Holly. Thank you for having me on. I'm excited to talk to you.
Speaker 1:So, holly, help our listeners understand. How did Dune come into fruition Dune?
Speaker 2:was started at my kitchen table. It was a side project, a creative outlet for me when I was working in real estate and I didn't have that creative outlet anymore and I started making sand jewelry for friends and family from beaches on Cape Cod, where I grew up, and people would kind of see it and once they understood what it was they would say, oh my gosh, could I have something like that from my beach? And I thought it was really interesting that people took ownership of these locations because they were so special to them. And then they started bringing me sand from all over the world Bermuda and Iceland and Italy and having these designs made and finally it dawned on me that maybe we needed to explore this as a business opportunity instead of a hobby.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sounded like you got onto something with the help of others, just admiring what you had.
Speaker 2:That's it, yeah, and my inspiration really does come from the people I meet, the places I go and the customer feedback. Now that we're an established business, awesome.
Speaker 1:Now you're so much more than just another jewelry store. As everyone goes on their summer vacations, or even visiting their memorable spots, hiking or at their local beach, as you mentioned, you offer services to basically capture that moment. Tell us more about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we started as the original beach sand jewelry company that was kind of our tagline and then people would call and say I've got a really weird question. I hope you don't think I'm weird and I'd be like I don't think you're weird, what? And they'd say can I send in ashes? Or I have these clippings of my dog's fur who passed. Who is my best friend? Can I send this fur? Or we had someone send in clippings from a baby onesie chihuahua teeth. You know all of these things that you wouldn't expect to be adorning yourself with. But those tangible items have a memory and an experience attached to them that we can then beautify so you can wear it forever.
Speaker 1:That is awesome. Now you have pieces for practically every budget too, right, so you do rings, bracelets, necklaces. What other items might I be missing? I want.
Speaker 2:Dune to be accessible because essentially, it's experiential jewelry. We're capturing experiences in every single design, so we have items that start at $50 all the way up to in the thousands of dollars fine jewelry, you know, with diamonds and gemstones, so, and everything in the middle and so and every piece is handmade. Our artists here in Massachusetts are handcrafting these designs every single day, and so there is a cost associated with that. But we want to make it as accessible as possible, and so we also have key chains and ornaments that you can put on your tree or in your window, things like that as well.
Speaker 1:You really have thought about all of it and I love how you take that personal treasure, so to speak, and you can put it into so many different applicable items that you know, whether giving to a bridal party gift or occasions where listeners wanted something engraved. You guys do engraving as well, is that right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:You make it as personal as possible. Oh, I love that. I love that Because there's so much sentiment that goes in, at least for me. There's so much sentiment that goes into jewelry, and so you've just taken it to that next level. I know for my jewelry it's passed down from you know, my mother's wedding ring or my grandmother's wedding ring, which is so sentimental, and this I love that. It's not just another piece of jewelry, it's a unique piece of jewelry that's going to forever tie in a memory and as you share that experience and that's beautiful, that's beautiful to be able to share as well as to wear too. So I love that.
Speaker 1:Now, one thing that really struck me while speaking to your sweet gals in Ketchikan you hire some of the best people. I think they just really represent your brand well, but then also just draw in the guests. They're very dedicated into what you're doing, what your mission is and that's something I started loving was that dedication to giving back. So you've donated over what 250,000 to charitable organizations across the globe, and I was impressed how there were places such as protecting the waters and areas of Cape Cod or to providing beach accessible wheelchairs and even partnering with organizations such as Autism and Alzheimer's and American Heart Association. So you're not only taking an experience for someone, but now you're even applying the applicable, giving back to something that might touch people's heart and what they have gone through in life or a loved one has gone through in life. So share with us more about these causes, and how does purchasing a piece from the Dune Collection impact these organizations?
Speaker 2:Yeah, giving back is so important to us because our jewelry is so much about human sentiment and the human experience really, and there are so many challenges and issues that we go through in our lifetime. So when my husband came and said, all right, you know, we want to keep it really focused on coastal preservation, I'm like, yeah, that's wonderful. I love that we are partnered with 4Ocean and we donate back to Mission Blue, which is one of my absolute favorite causes, and the Association of Preserve Cape Cod, where I grew up. But also, you know, trying to tie in human experience with our giving. Autism is so important to just continue funding the research and so that we can understand more about it. And opioid addiction and research. You know I had very close family members that suffered from addiction to opioids, so that's something very close to my heart. My father died of type one diabetes when I was very young, so that's close to my heart. My father died of type 1 diabetes when I was very young, so that's close to my heart.
Speaker 2:Many times you want to have this specific reason for giving to one charitable organization and that just doesn't. That's not us. We're just. We're all about our customers, we're all about life's experiences. So every time you purchase something dune, a portion is going back to charity and it is variable depending on which designs you're choosing. Touch the World is our string bracelet collection and those give 10% back on revenue, not profit, because sometimes that can be a little tricky. What actually gets to the charity, and so that's a good one to start with. It's a really great price point. It's super cute, anyone can wear it, it works into any bracelet stack and you know exactly where your donation is going to.
Speaker 1:I love the generous spirit that I hear from you as an entrepreneur, that it's not just about connecting with your client in the jewelry that you are selling but then also giving back to their communities to things that have touched you, but having a lot of intentionality behind that, and I think that's so important for businesses today, as well as for clients on the receiving end to know that with their purchases they're making an added impact in the society too. That's beautiful. Thank you for doing that. Thank you for doing that. Thank you Our listeners, who are on the edge of their seat kind of wondering okay, now this dune jewelry is new to me. Can I only get it in Alaska? Share with us where they might be able to visit your stores or even experience seeing what you have and the concept we actually ship to over 450 stores all around the world.
Speaker 2:We have our website, which is a great place to see everything, and it's dunejewelrycom. It's just like a sand dune. We're on Instagram, we are on Facebook, tiktok, we do all the things.
Speaker 1:Wow, but we can find you. We can find you, you will find us yes, yes, I do have to say for listeners out there go into a store, like if you're near a store, it is definitely, it's definitely worth just going in and seeing this in your hand or on your wrist or on your neck yeah, you can't walk away without buying a piece for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's so true, and we have a lot of different designs, for men, for women. Again, the accessories, wine stoppers. Truly, we are a jewelry company, a jewelry brand, but more so we're a concept that can be applied to multiple things to capture your memories and also to manifest new memories. You know, I constantly wear a bracelet with sand from the Greek islands because that is on my bucket list. I've never been and that's just kind of every day. When I see it I'm like I know I'm going to go there, I'll be there someday, you know, and this is my reminder to think about it and speak it into existence.
Speaker 1:Okay, so now you've just inspired me and now I need to go on, because that too is one of my bucket list items is the Greek Isles, so I'm going to have to go in and see and perhaps do the same thing about inspiration and motivation. That, yeah, dreaming that one of these days we will get there. We will get there. Now I'm loving my first piece of dune jewelry. It's the beach wave charm which I mentioned, and it can be put on a necklace or a bracelet, so I love how universal is or how you can do different things with it. But for those who hop on your website or visit store location, you actually have a special way that they can save on their first piece of dune jewelry, right?
Speaker 2:Yes, well, you have a special way they can save.
Speaker 1:Woo-hoo, yes, and that is, we will put it in our show notes but Kirby 15. So if you go on, then you're going to save a percentage off of your first piece of jewelry so highly recommend. Thank you so much for extending that. What a kind offer to incentivize all of us to go start looking at that June jewelry and see what we might add to our own beginning of the collection, because you just can't stop at one.
Speaker 2:You just can't.
Speaker 1:That is true and I love that about what we do, and because we end up making so many friends um through our customers, which is so great, because social media keeps you so connected yeah, well, I, I loved when I was in Alaska and came in and you were so gracious to, of course, a busy, busy woman of an entrepreneur that you are, and going from store to store location, all that's on your plate and you dropped everything just to sit there and visit with me and I hadn't even been a June Jewelry customer longer than a week. So I love the just reception of both you and your team and you truly, you are. You join the Dune family. When you buy a piece of jewelry, it's not just buying another piece of jewelry, so that's, that's a beautiful part of your organization for sure. Thank you, yeah, absolutely Now, holly.
Speaker 1:I'm just curious from an entrepreneur standpoint and perhaps to help those listening who may be in a similar shoe as you, as as they started out having an idea or not even having an idea, I mean you were just doing something for yourself and out having an idea or not even having an idea, I mean you were just doing something for yourself and then it sparked into a passion. But kind of a twofold question there what would you say was your biggest challenge, starting Dune and then the second part of that, what encouragement might you offer to those wanting to launch their own this or that.
Speaker 2:That's a great question. I left home at 15 years old, so I had been working since I was literally 11. I know people are like, no, you weren't. Yes, I was. I had paying jobs from 11 years old until today, and so the biggest challenge starting Dune was a lack of confidence in my formal education, so left home at 15, dropped out of high school. I did end up getting my GED and taking college courses that have nothing to do with what I'm doing now, but you know I always had had a great work ethic and I think that really, really helped me along the way.
Speaker 2:But I will say just that that lack of confidence and always believing that everyone I met was, was smarter than me and knew better, when in my gut and in my, my intuition and just what I had picked up through emotional intelligence and my upbringing, I knew better. And I do wish that I followed my gut a little earlier on, rather than thinking everyone else knew it, you know, knew it all, and I was. I was the. You know, I was the not the smartest person in the room, not saying that I was, but just always lacking that self-confidence. So that was a huge challenge starting a business. I'm 14 years in now. So I have learned a lot over the past 14 years through the internet, through reading books, through working with different personalities and different people and learning from them. So I feel very different than I did when I first started the business.
Speaker 2:And if you're looking to start a business, I think that's a great question too, and I love the way you phrased it like what type of tips and tricks? First off, unless you have a wildly passionate work ethic, don't start your own business. That's my advice. You have to be so passionate about it. You have to be ready to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week for at least the first few years. And I know there's so many things out there like get rich quick and figure out the algorithm and make all this money on Instagram, and while I do think that that does happen for some people, I think it's an outlier and I think the majority of people starting a business are married to it for at least the first five years. And you have to be ready for that because it's an emotional roller coaster, a mental and emotional roller coaster. One day you're on top of the world. You just closed a deal. It's so exciting. The next day you're like oh, how am I going to make payroll?
Speaker 1:That's what entrepreneurship is, and you have to be ready for that so vital, that passion behind it and anything that we do. My kids are freshmen in high school and a senior in high school and we're having those conversations all of the time about you know, what are you going to do, what interests do you have? And I always tell them it is not about that big ticket, it is not about I'm going to make the most money so I can have this, because then you might be miserable in what you do, but it's all about that passion of what can you do if you didn't make a single penny in the day that you absolutely love and helps fulfill you. And just so important it is to find something that you enjoy. But, especially as an entrepreneur, good to know that, yeah, 24-7,.
Speaker 1:Passion has to be there, has to be genuine, because we're going to be our biggest cheerleaders, right, we're going to be the one as you touched on that confidence where you're going to have to challenge yourself and motivate yourself. So, great advice, great advice there. Yeah, that's awesome, thank you, yeah, and then, what encouragement might you offer to those wanting to launch this or that? As far as you touched on learning, and I think that's so important as a growth mindset being willing to learn and realize that we're not going to be the smartest person at the table, and that's okay, but being willing to learn, that's great yeah yeah, that's great.
Speaker 2:You don't want to be the smartest person at the table, because then what? Then? Who are you going to learn Like? Where's the growth? Who are you going to learn from?
Speaker 1:So how would you challenge those listening to step into that? Like, where are some different opportunities you found to learn and grow, and how did you adjust your mindset to do so?
Speaker 2:I did go to SCORE. I believe SCORE is everywhere. It's funded by the Small Business Administration and they have a free mentorship program. So in 2012, I did get a mentor through SCORE just how it sounds S-C-O-R-E. So if you Google SCORE, small Business Administration, I'm sure something will come up in anywhere in your area.
Speaker 2:And it was interesting because this mentor had nothing to do with jewelry no interest in jewelry, I mean but he was a wildly successful businessman who made millions making credit cards, like, physically like had factories that made the plastic credit cards. And I always say to him, even now I think he's well into his 80s and I'm, like you know to have the foresight to know that that plastic like he got out right at the perfect time where we're trying to reduce plastic and we're trying to figure out ways not to use so much plastic. And he sold his company for an incredible amount of money right before that type of conversation came into play. So I personally think he's a genius. But what he taught me was more about numbers and how to read a profit and loss, and that profit is so much more important than revenue, because these days you hear all these wild startup stories and it's like spend, spend, spend. Get the name out there, spend the money and that's okay, but that's not going to work every time. You need profitable business to create something long-term, so find a mentor if you can.
Speaker 2:I think that's huge. I also think there are great women's groups. There's one called Women in Retail. It obviously depends on what kind of business you're starting, but Women in Retail is a wonderful organization and there's usually local women's business groups in your area and I think a great female network is so powerful. Women are so good at networking and lifting each other up and multitasking and taking ideas and actually executing them. I do find that there's a lot of talk, talk, talk, talk, meetings, meetings, meetings, emails, and things don't get done, whereas for some reason, there is a sense of urgency built into women that some people don't have, and I love that, because the more you can execute, the more you're going to succeed because the more you can execute, the more you're going to succeed.
Speaker 1:Now, holly, here on Holly's Highlights podcast, we have a signature question that if you could go back and encourage, inspire or even equip yourself as a child, what would you tell your young self?
Speaker 2:I think I would tell my young self that you're already better than you think. Like if you're ruminating on these questions about how to be better, how to do better, how to succeed, how to be happy, how to balance, you're already better than you think because there's plenty of people who walk through life just not caring, not thinking about that, not just trying to get through day to day and and not looking inward and looking at themselves. So, yeah, I would just tell myself you're already better than you think, because I always had that ambition to keep going and learning and growing. That is so important.
Speaker 1:That is so important for a great message for all of us to hear, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and give yourself grace, right, most of the people I meet are so hard on themselves. Whether they express it or not, you can feel it and you have to give yourself grace and use momentum when it's there and give yourself a rest when it's not there and just kind of go with the tides.
Speaker 1:Well, Holly, thank you so much for joining us today. How can our listeners connect further with you or with Dune Jewelry and the company overall?
Speaker 2:We are dunejewelrycom, and we are dunejewelry on Instagram, facebook, tiktok, linkedin, and you can find me on Instagram as Holly Daniels Christensen. Perfect.
Speaker 1:Fabulous. Well, holly, I can't thoroughly express how much I appreciate you taking time to join us today. For listeners, go ahead, check out their website. Use that Kirby 15 to get yourself a little bit of a discount there, off your first piece of jewelry. Again, you will be addicted, but especially coming up for Christmas, it's a great opportunity to whether you're going to gift someone else or even gift something to yourself.
Speaker 1:Definitely try that out and I hope you enjoy your piece. I for one will be cheering you on, holly, as I enjoy just following you and your social media. But I'm also looking forward to my next piece of dune jewelry and the memories I'm confident it'll bring. I'm going to check out that grease piece. I'm going to check that one out. So thank you again, holly. I appreciate you, thank you. Thank you for joining me on this journey of life. I hope that today's highlight has been encouraging, inspiring and equipping so you can go out and live your life full of purpose. I'd be honored if you'd take a moment to leave a review or, better yet, subscribe. We can also stay in touch by joining my email list at hollykirbycom, that's H-O-L-L-Y-C-U-R-B-Y dot com. Until next time, make it a great day for a great day.