Ft Myers Beach - Good Neighbor

Island Entrepreneur Shines with Tarnish-Free Jewelry at Fort Myers Beach-I Shine Forever Chains

• "Cabo" Jim Schaller • Season 5 • Episode 8

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The salty breeze, the welcoming community, and the magic of permanent jewelry come together in this heartwarming conversation with Emmy, owner of I Shine Forever Permanent Jewelry on Fort Myers Beach.

Emmy shares her fascinating journey from making beaded jewelry as a seven-year-old in Venezuela to becoming a fixture of Fort Myers Beach's vibrant business community. After relocating from Nashville with her family in 2019, Emmy launched her permanent jewelry business in 2023, creating pieces that are welded directly onto customers without clasps. Her unique, nickel-free, tarnish-resistant creations can withstand swimming, showering, and everything the beach lifestyle throws at them.

What truly shines through our conversation is Emmy's passion for Fort Myers Beach itself. "As soon as I get out of the car, I'm just like, okay, I'm home, I love it," she says, describing that unmistakable ocean smell that greets visitors. Operating her boutique-style tent near Snug Harbor and Wahoo Willie's every weekend, Emmy has become part of the fabric of the community, sponsoring the Sunday concert series at Bayside Park and building relationships with neighboring businesses who rush to help during Florida's unpredictable weather events.

Emmy's business represents more than just jewelry—it symbolizes Fort Myers Beach's remarkable resilience. Having weathered Hurricane Ian and subsequent storms, she's witnessed firsthand how the community has rebuilt, with beaches renourished and waters cleaner than ever. Between creating custom hand chains and bracelets, she enjoys the island with her family, sampling local restaurants and soaking in the sunset views that make this slice of paradise so special.

Whether you're a local or planning your next beach getaway, stop by Emmy's tent Friday through Sunday, or find I Shine Forever Permanent Jewelry on Instagram and Facebook to discover pieces that, like the memories made on Fort Myers Beach, are designed to last forever.

I Shine Forever Chains 

Emmy Akin

(615) 569-2411
info@ishineforever.com

https://www.facebook.com/IShineYouShineForeverChains/

https://www.instagram.com/ishineforeverpermanentjewelry?fbclid=IwY2xjawL46xJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFkQXEwd0pINDVlYTFVQ3NhAR7_mWyquW4c7--y4IoCQvlzenb9maJkvUZ8LYelUtYATwo-oMppvpgxVs7crQ_aem_M1lmDc3D3MHeSiXNtQMruw

Ft Myers Beach-Good Neighbor

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Fort Myers Beach Good Neighbor podcast, where the sun's always shining and the stories are even brighter. Each episode we bring you closer to the neighbors, local legends and beachside businesses that make Fort Myers Beach the slice of paradise we all love. Pull up a beach chair, grab a drink and let's meet the people who make this island feel like home. We want to send out some island love to Eric Tibbs from Edward Jones State Insurance, usa and Home Well Care Services Fort Myers. Love to Eric Tibbs from Edward Jones State Insurance, usa and Home Well Care Services Fort Myers. They are the businesses that allow us to share the soul of our community with every listener, from local stories to the positive vibe of island life. Here's to celebrating all that makes Fort Myers Beach the slice of paradise we all love. Here's your host, cabo, jim Schaller.

Speaker 2:

Good day everybody. Today we have Fort Myers Beach Good Neighbor Emmy from I Shine Forever Permanent Jewelry and she's going to share her story about how she's a nonprofit area and helping the community here in Southwest Florida. So pleasure to have you on the show today and share your story. So let's jump right in. And why don't you share a little bit about what you do?

Speaker 3:

right in and why don't you share a little bit about what you do? Thank you, jim. So again, my name is Emmy and I own I shine forever permanent jewelry. I am one of the businesses that has the privilege and the honor to be on the Island, um, every every once in a while. I'm there, um, pretty much every week, friday, saturday, sunday. Um, I try to be there, like I said, Friday, saturday, sunday. I try to be there, like I said, every once in a while on Wednesdays. But I love being on the island so much. The atmosphere, all the people visiting. It's really gotten so much busier than most people think. It's back, we're back. So it's really really nice to be on the island sharing my business with all the tourists and all the locals. What I do is jewelry for ladies, the men, the children, anybody that wants jewelry. I will, I will put it on them permanently with a little welt, and it's just a great new addition to your, to your, style.

Speaker 2:

I love it. So let's back up your story a little bit. And how did you get involved in all this to start with?

Speaker 3:

So, basically, I came here from Nashville, tennessee, my husband and my two children my two boys moved here in 2019. And we decided to just choose Florida because of the weather and I'll be closer to my mom. My mom lives in the East Coast, so we decided to come here and in 2023, I decided to open my business. I'm just very personable, I love people and I love to work with the public. So I decided I had always made jewelry.

Speaker 3:

As a child, I used to make little beaded jewelry, little things back in the 90s, and I would sell them to my neighbors and my friends. I was like seven years old, working with my best friend. We literally just started a little business on the side and then now here I am much older I won't give you my age, but just much older and now I have actual gold that I work with and stainless steel and sterling silver. But yeah, basically just my husband and I we talked about it and we decided that this would be a great business to get into and I love meeting new people and, honestly, I have so many of my friends are now, or used to be, clients, so now our friends I mean I've celebrated birthdays with my clients Just, it's just a really great community that I've built, working really really hard out in the heat and in the sun on the beach, but I love it. I wouldn't have it any other way. That's why I'm so dark.

Speaker 2:

There you go. I love it so. Fort Myers Beach. Why Fort Myers Beach, of all places?

Speaker 3:

So I was invited for an event in Fort Myers Beach a while back I think that was in 2022. And I just loved it so much. I just thought it was, you know, just you know, fun place, beautiful, even though you know we were still trying to get it back. You know you can see the beauty through the devastation and I just really I love you. Know, I'm a Caribbean woman. I'm from Venezuela originally. I love being on the beach, I love the ocean smell, I just I love it so much and I just like I said, I like meeting people from all over the world. Um, I meet a lot of Venezuelans that come and visit. Germans, austrians, um, people, swiss people, I mean just from everywhere. Uh, french, um, I don't know why, a lot of Germans, which is great.

Speaker 2:

It's a worldwide destination, right.

Speaker 3:

Right, yeah, I love the atmosphere. I just you know, I love, I love the like. The smell is the main thing for me. As soon as I get out of the car I'm just like, okay, I'm home, I love it.

Speaker 2:

Right, and that humidity hits you in the face. We love that.

Speaker 3:

It's fine. Like I said, I'm a Caribbean woman. I got it, I'm good.

Speaker 2:

It's in your blood. There we go. So running a business by the beach, I mean it sounds like a dream job, right, but we've all dealt with storms throughout our personal journeys or professional journeys. Has there been something that's helped to find you and where you are now?

Speaker 3:

So for me, my um the business has yeah, it is difficult, especially because I don't have a brick and mortar place. I set up a beautiful tent, you know, just kind of like a, a boutique style situation, and I'm right there by snug Harbor, nervous Nellie's and Wahoo Willie's, so I'm in a very central spot. Um, I, um I, the sundays concert series down at bayside um park. So, um you know, remind me again the question, just your biggest challenge?

Speaker 2:

oh yeah, the biggest challenge has been the weather for sure.

Speaker 3:

So you know just the. You know you just have to prepare and then you know if it rains, typically it'll rain for like five minutes and then it's back to being beautiful. That's just Florida for you. Or you can look away and like a mile away it's like super dark and then where we're at it's beautiful. Or vice versa, with me a rain jacket and you know just kind of being ready for for anything, having you know weights on my tent. You know things like that. My neighbors have helped me so much. The guys you know the guys and the girls from the bars. They see me and they run and help me. You know the business owners around the restaurants owners. You know just very, very kind and honestly, just making those connections I think has been huge for me because I'm alone out there and they really come in, you know, and help me when I need them.

Speaker 2:

And that's really the sense of community everybody kind of coming together to help each other out, and that's what makes this place so special as well, absolutely. So, talking about the community, are there certain things that you're doing to be involved or maybe give back to the area?

Speaker 3:

So, yes, so, like I said, I sponsor the concert series down at Bayside Park and that goes to the Chamber of Commerce. So you know, I pay a sponsorship rate and I support the island in that way. So that is a weekly thing that I do. So that is, you know, something that I love to do. I love the concert series. It's every Sunday at Bateside Park from four to seven. If you get there a little early, it's amazing because you can have food, you can have drinks at Stunk Harbor, at Wahoo Willies. You know they have the most amazing food and atmosphere. Um, and you know, honestly, it's just, it's just amazing being there yeah, and it's.

Speaker 2:

It's about sunday fun day, right, it's about getting out on fridays, come on thursdays. It's always fun down there always always something going on that's right talking about. Talking about your jewelry is there. Are there certain things that are maybe trending right now?

Speaker 3:

oh yes, so trendy. For example, what I'm wearing right here and, if you can see, I have a hand chain, so it's attached to my middle finger here and then it's attached to and I have it's very custom made. So there's three different chains that I put in and they're all mine, um, my creations, and I basically just, you know, try to style everything different colors, different, um widths, so just adding everything permanently to you, which means as well, but together, without a class. When you wake up, you have all your jewelry on. So all I had to do this morning was get dressed and do my makeup and my jewelry was already on.

Speaker 3:

So you know, those, uh, those things are top right now. They're very important for the ladies to be just ready in the mornings. We, you know, we're in a very fast, you know, environment. We're always up and going. So if you have your jewelry on, that's one thing, one less thing you have to worry about. I also do rings. The rings you can take off, you know just anything. It's just so fun to just have all your stuff on.

Speaker 2:

Very nice, very nice. So I know it can't be all work and no play, but when you get a moment of free time, what do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Speaker 3:

Well, I mean, I take my kids down to Fort Myers Beach. We love to go to Bella Mozzarella, right there on the corner in Times Square. We go eat ice cream next door, you know, just sitting there, and they, you know, they can run to the beach and, just, you know, watch the sunset. We love to do that. Every once in a while we love to go to Snug Harbor. It's one of my favorite places. I love their food. Their bay bread is amazing.

Speaker 3:

The boys love that and it's just, you know, it's nice. Everybody there is so kind, I know everybody. So we love to go and do that, love to go and have ice cream. The boys just love to get in the beach. It's a very, you know, it's very clean right now. It's, you know, it's it. They've really cleaned it up since the storm, since Ian, since Milton, since all of those, um, you know things that have hit us so hard, and it's just, it's back. So I let my kids get in the beach. It's just in the water, it's amazing. We love, we just love to be outdoors. You know all businesses. We go and shop, you know, just, you know things like that.

Speaker 2:

Getting out and supporting the community. And yeah, I was at the beach last weekend too, and you know they've done a great job with the renourishment and the water you know is the cleanest. I've seen it in a long time.

Speaker 3:

It nourishment and the water you know is the cleanest.

Speaker 2:

I've seen it in a long time. It's nice to see it that way, right? Yes, yes, yes yes, you can see everything in the water. Sometimes you don't want to see everything in the water. You can always download that app where they show you where the sharks are.

Speaker 3:

supposedly it's so funny.

Speaker 2:

Exactly, is there one thing you wish our listeners knew about what you do that maybe they wouldn't be too familiar with um, about me.

Speaker 3:

So, like I said, I'm a venezuelan woman. I am, I was born and raised in venezuela until I was 12 and then my mother moved us here to florida and I just I love being a floridian. I've been here since 1996. So, unfortunately, I moved to nashville. Fortunately, unfortunately, I moved to nashville, met my husband, we got married, had our kids there and said, okay, we got to go back home and raise these children outside. You know, nashville is beautiful but the weather can really, really, you know, put a damper on things. So we love to live here. Also, my jewelry is nickel free and it's tarnish free, so you can wear it in the beach, in the ocean, in the pool, anywhere. You don't. I never even clean them, I don't look at them, I just shower and dry off and get ready and go. So, um, yeah, nickel free, it'll never turn on you, it'll never tarnish, it'll never, like, turn your skin colors or anything like that, and that is one of the most important things for people to know. I do have some men's options as well.

Speaker 2:

So we got to get you something.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, maybe a really nice black, you know bracelet or something.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. I love it Definitely definitely need to come check it out. Speaking of which, how would our listeners go about contacting you or finding you if they were interested in learning more or buying some jewelry?

Speaker 3:

So if you Google I Shine Forever Permanent Jewelry, I have a ton of reviews. You guys can see pictures and all of my reviews that my lovely clients have given me. Also go on Instagram I Shine Forever Permanent Jewelry on Instagram and on Facebook and you can also send me an email info at I shine forevercom. I am building the website is. I don't really need a website, so it's kind of taken me a few, you know, a few couple of years, but I'm you know it's, it's getting there. But you guys can also make an appointment um on Instagram, on Facebook, um send me a text message, um. All my information is online.

Speaker 2:

Very good, Very good. I mean it's been a pleasure getting to know you. Thank you for being such a good neighbor and what you do to help Mike Fort Myers.

Speaker 3:

Thank you so much, the Paradise.

Speaker 2:

Whale love yes, absolutely.

Speaker 3:

Thank you so much.

Speaker 2:

We'll see you at the beach soon, right?

Speaker 3:

I'm sorry.

Speaker 2:

We'll see you at the beach soon.

Speaker 3:

Yes, please come by on Sunday. Come by and see me, bring your friends, you know I will do that. We'll come and you know we'll be there watching the band and dancing away.

Speaker 2:

Perfect, perfect.

Speaker 3:

There's also three bars around, so that helps Well there you go, you got to get your juju on the dance right. There you go. I always say we survived our margaritas.

Speaker 2:

Tequila we love our tequila.

Speaker 3:

All right, Jeff. Thank you so much. Have a good one. Thanks for tuning in to the Fort.

Speaker 1:

Myers Beach Good Neighbor Podcast, where community meets paradise. If you love what you heard, share it with a friend and keep the good vibes going Until next time. Stay sunny, stay salty and keep being a good neighbor. Also, to nominate your favorite neighbors, local legends, heroes or island businesses to be on the show, go to CaboWaboJimmcom. That's CaboWaboJimcom, or call 239-427-4100. We want to send out some island love to eric tips from edward jones, state insurance usa and home welfare services fort myers. They are the businesses that allow us to share the soul of our community with every listener, from local stories to the positive vibe of island life. Here's to celebrating all that makes fort myers beach the slice of paradise we all love.