Viviana Langhoff, owner of Adornment + Theory in Chicago is an entrepreneurial artist, interior designer and activist. A fine jeweler, Viviana’s custom designs feature intricate metalwork, unexpected hues, antique stones and historical nods. With acute business savvy, a resilient voice and a sense of humor, Viviana has channeled many different design sectors—supporting fellow BIPOC female artists, local businesses, and national and global communities. “These (…) material things, they are going to come and go. But what's going on in the world is far more important. And what someone can't take… (from) …me is my tenacity, my creativity. I can rebuild but we can't bring back lives,” she shares. Learn more about this vocal millennial, her artistry and the social platforms she creatively supports in this dynamic For the Love of Jewelers podcast episode.
Viviana Langhoff, owner of Adornment + Theory in Chicago is an entrepreneurial artist, interior designer and activist. A fine jeweler, Viviana’s custom designs feature intricate metalwork, unexpected hues, antique stones and historical nods. With acute business savvy, a resilient voice and a sense of humor, Viviana has channeled many different design sectors—supporting fellow BIPOC female artists, local businesses, and national and global communities. “These (…) material things, they are going to come and go. But what's going on in the world is far more important. And what someone can't take… (from) …me is my tenacity, my creativity. I can rebuild but we can't bring back lives,” she shares. Learn more about this vocal millennial, her artistry and the social platforms she creatively supports in this dynamic For the Love of Jewelers podcast episode.
Courtney Gray:
Welcome to For the Love of Jewelers, a podcast brought to you by Rio Grande Jewelry Supply, and hosted by yours truly, Courtney Gray. Now in our third season, we celebrate the unconditional strength driven by our passion to create, and the motivating factors that enable us to adapt. We recognize the relevance and resilience of the jewelry industry through inspirational stories that challenge and honor its makers. Our journey, although unchartered, is one we are on together. Let's pause, share, and discover the variety of silver linings gained from each personal story of innovation and determination.
Courtney Gray:
Viviana Langhoff’s work is centered on the idea of heirloom—jewelry history, ancestry and storytelling are all often focused around objects. She’s now been working in design under her own name for ten years, creating custom fine jewelry, interiors and decorative objects. Viviana is known for her intricate, vintage-inspired metalwork, modern bridal styles, and one-of-a-kind pieces featuring unexpected hues, antique stones and historical references. Viviana’s pieces can be found along 50 other artists’ work at her jewelry store, Adornment and Theory, in the Chicago neighborhood of Logan Square. Viviana’s mission is to curate a collection of exceptional, high-quality jewelry with a story—all created by black, brown, indigenous and women identifying designers.
Courtney Gray:
Hey guys, welcome back to For the Love of Jewelers. We're so excited to have Viviana Langhoff with us from Adornment and Theory. Viviana, welcome.
Viviana:
Hi, well, thank you for having me. I'm very excited.
Courtney Gray:
Absolutely. Thanks for fitting me into your really busy day. Almost sounds like an average day for you though.
Viviana:
It has been nonstop for the last several years. So, I joked with you earlier, I call them good problems. They are all good things I just have to pace myself out. So, but I'm so honored that you have me on and I'm looking forward to it.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, we're excited. I'm excited to get you in front of the community a little bit more and share about not only the last couple of years but your entire, your business for 10 years now. Is that right?
Viviana:
No. So, I have been in jewelry industry for over 13 years. But I opened my store four years ago so.
Courtney Gray:
Oh, so the store is newer? Okay.
Viviana:
Yeah, the store is newer but I've been doing fine jewelry and custom for 13 years. So, privately.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, it takes a lot, right? I mean, there's a lot of irons in the fire all the time and keeping current. So, I want to share a lot about that with you today. I think that everybody is going to gain a lot from the insights that you have to share. So let's talk first about what pulled you towards jewelry. I know you do a lot of different things, interior design, et cetera. Why jewelry?
Viviana:
Yeah. So, I went to the School of the Art Institute here in Chicago. So, my base start is buying art. And I went in wanting to do more Avant-Garde Fashion, quickly discovered I absolutely hate sewing. I do love design, I love aesthetics. But it was just not my medium and I needed to take some other classes. So I took some metalsmithing classes and I just, it was like a fish to water. I just took to it like the material I responded really well, and started doing a lot of metals work. But it was just one of my mediums and even now. So yeah, school did it. As soon as I graduated school I went and worked as a bench jeweler and behind the scenes for some more traditional jewelers. I manage several jewelry stores as well the contemporary art jewelry. So, I kind of had the full breadth of that.
But a lot of the things that kind of I mean, in terms of my creative path I've done, I do murals, I do sketches, I think I always have to produce in several different mediums in order for me to continue to be inspired in one. I know some people completely focus on one and that's really fantastic. But I like having my hand in a lot of different things.
Courtney Gray:
That makes a lot of sense. Yeah, keep yourself going and growing and moving in different directions as part of it I think.
Viviana:
Yeah, I mean, I think if you're a creative it comes out in all sorts of ways. And whether that's, I see it like when someone decorates a home for holidays or creativity in the way that you cook. It's a muscle that you have to continue to exercise and being open to all the forms of that right and sometimes it's writing.
Courtney Gray:
Oh, it's wonderful to hear. So, the brand Adornment and Theory, can you share with us a little bit about how that came to life and what lies at the core of those words for you and the brand.
Viviana:
Yeah, my baby. So Adornment and Theory, we are an independent jewelry store located in the heart of Chicago. So, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the city, we're located in Logan Square, which would be on par to say a Brooklyn, very artsy area. Most of our clientele are millennial, Gen Z. We specialize in unique jewelry that tells a story. But more so than that, we are representing all women identifying artists and our biggest heartbeat is to elevate BIPOC voices within the jewelry industry which we have very little representation. So again, for those of you who don't know what that means, BIPOC stands for Black capital B, Indigenous People of Color. So, my heart and passion is really to showcase that because as myself I am a woman of color. And I looked around the field as soon as I got into it even when I was at higher ed, and not many people look like me and still didn't. So very much one of my driving Northstars is to have a platform for that. And I'm very blessed that I'm able to do that.
Courtney Gray:
Good for you. Absolutely. Thanks for defining that list for us too. I think it's so important and it's up right now. You've been doing this I think since the beginning of your business, but it's become a lot more. There's a lot more awareness all of a sudden. What do you think about that whole thing? I think for me it was kind of weird how, it's like, oh, now we're paying attention? What is it? What does it take?
Viviana:
Right, exactly. I mean, that's the thing. So yes, I've been doing equity work and this is very much been a platform I've been speaking on for quite some time. Unfortunately, for the majority of the United States it took a public murder in order for people to really start to wake up and see the ramifications of that in the middle of the pandemic. And I've been ready for the revolution. I welcome the conversation. I don't think it needs to be as divisive as it is, I think that changing the landscape, changing our perspective, being more holistic and inclusive, I think is healthier for everyone. I love seeing people, I'll be specific, I love seeing white people take more initiative in terms of their own learning and unlearning. Reworking language such as anti-racism, appropriation, all of those things and starting to maybe analyze their own landscape a little bit better.
I think it's difficult work but I think in the long run it will produce and has produced, it will produce a healthier, more loving world. So, I mean, sometimes there's definitely an element of tokenism. But at this point with equity, just give it to me, give it to black women, give black woman all the love, give them all the rest, give them all the money. Everybody is different in the way that they identify and want to engage with it. So some people don't want certain tropes or tokenism and others do. And I think it's like all around we're in a moment. And I feel like if we only have a moment to talk about this and capture an audience for time we need to move it forward.
Courtney Gray:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yeah, keep it up. Keep it in the conversation for sure. Good for you. I'm excited to hopefully this continues. Like you said, it's not just this moment.
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
I'm hoping everybody doesn't forget. It's like, let's not go backwards. Why? Why do we keep going back and forth with this? It's ridiculous. Good on you. I love your store and I love what you're doing. I was reading an article on you and a statement stood out to me Viviana, this history, family, and storytelling are all often focused around objects. I know this is a different topic but it got me thinking about objects. Do you have like a favorite object or something that's most sentimental to you?
Viviana:
I mean, I have many, but actually it's funny that you asked because I'm in the middle of right now launching my second collection. It's going to be, I'm going to drop it on my birthday. But it is actually all inspired by one of my favorite objects, an astrolabe, are you familiar with this?
Courtney Gray:
Mm-mm (negative). No.
Viviana:
I even have one behind me because I love them so much. So, astrolabes are medieval astronomy instruments originally from the Middle East, and they are absolutely incredible. But it's like an ancient calculator computer. It can navigate the stars. People use it, mariners use it, people figured out latitude, longitude, where Mecca was for prayer. It did all of these things but I think what's really beautiful about the object, one is a stunning piece, I think. I don't know if you can see it behind me.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah.
Viviana:
It's actually gold, typically brass, and then it has 10 plates on the interior and you unscrew it and then you switch out the plates. But they are highly ornate, they would go, they would be worn usually on a belt buckle. But all that to say what I love about it when I look at this instrument, it was used a lot in 9th and 10th century Andalusia and Spain, when Muslims, Jews and Christians were exchanging ideas and there was an enlightened period of advancements in language, in math, and all of these things before obviously, the inquisition took everybody out. But yes, so, if you want to talk about an object that I love and I feel like it has, it's a bit romantic for me. But it's all of those things I love interfaith dialogue. My faith is a huge bedrock and portion of who I am. So like, Northern Africa, Southern Spain, all of that is a huge inspiration for me. So, that is an object that is embedded with a lot of history and storytelling and beauty that I love.
Courtney Gray:
That's quite an object.
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
Thank you so much. I can tell that you are a big history buff, like real into history.
Viviana:
Yeah. I'm such a geek, I'm such a geek.
Courtney Gray:
That's a good thing to geek out on.
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
Because history repeats and it's good and culture too. I can tell your influences. So, let's talk about you and where you're from. And you were born in Puerto Rico. Is that right?
Viviana:
Yes. So my family we are from Puerto Rico. I was born in San Juan, and we moved to mainland when I was little. So, I was raised in Florida but went back to Puerto Rico all the time. So my culture is not, it's not a strain for me. So we are first generation mainland. And then I moved up to Chicago for university.
Courtney Gray:
And then you stayed in Chicago?
Viviana:
I did. Got married, stayed. Yeah. I love this city. So it was always in between here and New York, and New York still calling me but...
Courtney Gray:
Is it?
Viviana:
Yeah. So I'm always like back and forth. But I love this city.
Courtney Gray:
You've done the New York City jewelry week?
Viviana:
Yeah, I'm going next week, I'm going to be premiering my collection there.
Courtney Gray:
It's exciting.
Viviana:
Yes.
Courtney Gray:
It's a new one, can you tell us a little bit about this event?
Viviana:
Yes. So it is going to... So, there are several events lined up, I will be showing my work at a jewelry store in Soho called, you are going to have to spell it Atelier d’Emotion. So it's in the most basic way French which we know in French and then D' it looks like emotion. It will be a fun event, we'll be I believe yes, I'm still on a panel as well. So it's going to be a very busy really fun filled week.
Courtney Gray:
You will be talking a lot, sharing publicly.
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
Is that a newer thing or have you been speaking publicly for?
Viviana:
I've been invited to speak publicly a lot more I'd say the last three years. I think one of the things that kicked it off I was on Perceived Value with Sarah Rachel Brown, and we had hosted a show here called Underexposed. And the gallery show was about the lack of representation in our industry. So this was well before BLM Movement and everything. So, I think after that a lot of people were seeking out more voices that wanted to amplify that message. And I'm also pretty fun you know.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah. So, you studied in Chicago, two different universities. I'm I right?
Viviana:
Yes. So actually, this might be a little bit critical of higher ed which I am very critical of higher ed. So, I'm just going to put that out there. But I went to SAIC, one of the best top fine art schools in the nation. I did receive a great education, but they are very much a fine art school with a focus and emphasis on theory, less on craft, or any sort of skill. Which is necessary when you're building. So, I had to go to Columbia College to learn metalsmithing and transfer those credits over. So, full time I was at SAIC, and then I would go to Columbia College to continue in metalsmithing and having to transfer that over. You got to make it work if you are passionate, if you love it.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, for sure. And I think that's a common. You come out with a lot of the understanding of theory and conceptual design. But the skills aren't quite where you might need them to design and do what you want. Well, good for you. So you combined the education just took the initiative to, well, can't learn all of this here so I'll take it over there. Good on you. Yeah, was there like a big aha moment for you when you were studying or during that journey?
Viviana:
Creatively or?
Courtney Gray:
Yeah or personally.
Viviana:
So, an aha moment during university. Aha, I shouldn't have gone into this much debt.
Courtney Gray:
What was I thinking? Hey, that's perfect.
Viviana:
Oh shit, I hope I didn't tell my mom and dad what I'm actually studying. So, I actually, on the topic of finance which is near and dear to my heart. Yeah, actually, when I graduated school, I don't come from a trust fund. Those things were not taken care of. I have an amazing supportive family, but like the rest of the US, I had to take on a large amount of student loan debt. And so for me, the motivation is just failure is not an option. That put a fire under my ass. I got married two weeks out of school. And when we got married, our combined debt was over $130,000. And combined we made, combined, our income was around $30,000. So, we had a good fortune and blessing that we went to a church that they would not marry you unless you did marriage counseling and financial counseling. So they laid out, so we had a plan out the gate for how we were going to attack our student loan debt.
And I have always been determined to use my practice to do that. I wasn't going to go into another career path. I very much have a lot of grit and perseverance. And I'm like, well, these are the cards that have been dealt to me. I made choices, whether they were conscious or unconscious. And now I'm going to kill this. So that was an aha moment.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, well, a big learning moment for sure. Learning lesson.
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, student debt we know, it's a whole other episode. Talk to so many students who weren't really happy with their education and came out with some enormous debt. And I tell my kids it's like you know what? You don't have to go that route. It's not absolutely necessary these days so.
Viviana:
Yeah, the paradigm has changed.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, which is good. So share with us a little bit about your family. And did other people in your family have businesses as well? I know that was, it's kind of a gene, an entrepreneur gene for you.
Viviana:
Yeah. My family is amazing I love them. It's a mix, yes. So my father is an entrepreneur. He does consulting. And my older brother Juan also owns a rather large construction company in Florida for site construction. So, I'm so proud of him they are both phenomenal. My mother she doesn't own a business but very business savvy. She has worked in corporate, she's worked in marketing. I would say that my family is just very, how do I say? They are just go getters. I think every one of my family is quite charismatic. And I don't know, my other brother Jorge works for Microsoft. So there is definitely ambition in my family. There's a lot of creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. So yeah, even some people are in business. Some people are not, but I feel like a lot of the principles and tenants kind of run with all of us.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah. Well, it's part of your influence I can tell. You're lucky. That's nice to grow up around. I think a lot of us don't have that and we kind of have to flop around like a fish out of water until we figure out how to dive in and make something happen for ourselves and build our own. Building your own thing is no small task. I mean, it's like you said, it's my baby, it's daily. Yeah.
Viviana:
Yes.
Courtney Gray:
So you're about 13 years into business, four with the store. Do you find yourself feeling successful at this stage?
Viviana:
I do. I think I always re-evaluate what that term means. I think it's a very loose term. And it's very personal when you're looking at meaning making and what do you deem successful? I think for myself the quality of my relationships, where I stand with God and how I'm utilizing my giftings in this world is very important to me. I think that the matrix of success shifts for me depending on the category, right? So, when I think of the business, I am an awe, every day that I am able to support myself with what I love to do. That is an incredibly fortunate space to be in. It was not an accident. It's completely designed, I worked my ass off and I have an incredible community and team here that helped me accomplish that. If anybody follows me for any length of time I'm really big. I hate the term self-made. I think that there's a lot of self-determination that needs to occur and discipline and there are a lot of things that you need to do personally, but none of this is alone.
None of this is self-made, it's community. Like I say I'm community made. I'm ancestor made, I'm family made, I'm God made. Like this is... So I do feel at peace and with a lot of joy. I think the tightrope that I walk is contentment versus ambition. I'm always wanting to grow, grow myself. What's next? But then how do you balance that with I'm good and this is enough and I'm content. I think a lot of Type A, ambitious people wrestle with that. Because if you draw it back it feels like, I don't know, people put different language or they feel lazy or behind or whatever that is. So, I feel like that is something I'm always in a balancing act with.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, welcome to the club. We need like accountability club for this, the entrepreneur brain. It doesn't, one of my friend called me she is in marketing. She says, "Courtney, you're a serial entrepreneur." I thought, hold on, let's talk about words, right? That's okay. So, and it's true my brain would not stop trying to create something new.
Viviana:
But it's also because you are a creative, you are creative. That's the thing. Well, sometimes when artists want to resist business it's like, but your brain also goes that way too, or some people look at business as a very maybe static or a dry field. And it's like it's actually quite dynamic. And you get to use so many aspects of creativity whether it's marketing or writing or creating new objects and jewelry. I don't know. I get it. You are probably are a serial entrepreneur.
Courtney Gray:
Well, I guess it's a blessing and a curse. Like you said, these are not bad problems to have, these are the easy, the good problems to have. So you're now representing like 30 plus artists? Is that right?
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
Talk to us about that. That's quite, and so you're also doing your custom work. You're doing interior design which I want to talk about a little bit. You have a spouse, you have relationships to upkeep, it's a lot to balance Viviana I totally hear you. Talk to us about this representing other artists and how that began for you.
Viviana:
Yeah, so I worked at an art jewelry gallery before. So the model of representing other artists has been exhibited to me and I've worked in that I've managed that. So, that was kind of a natural template if I was going to open my own store. I think in the beginning, I also felt like I have been doing jewelry for a long time, I've been creating but I have a small client base. Like I have people who, I don't know how the hell they trusted me to meet at Starbucks and show them diamonds but yet they did. Like, okay, great, let's meet at this Panera and go over your engagement ring. But thank goodness people trusted me. So, I think it took me a long time to feel confident in a secure client base. And I knew that A, I would need my own space for that. So I consciously chose, I love representing other people's work, I adore it. Because some people want a jewelry store that everything looks the same. And that's great, you do you boo, or they want a jewelry store of all work that they've made.
But for me, it's like, I love seeing people's brains manifest into physical objects. And it's like, we're all working in the same medium. And everybody's work turns out entirely different. Or I'll look at work like Tara Locklear I'm like, I would have never thought of that, or Alicia Goodwin and I'm just like, look at these components or how you did this finish. And I mean, I know for myself if it delights me, it will delight others. And then even in fine jewelry I represent several fine jewelers but all our work aesthetically looks so different. And I very much have a growth mentality. I don't have a scarcity mentality. I think that there's more than enough for everyone. I feel like other people's work and skill enhances my work and vice versa. And I was very cognizant of the way I designed the space as well. I really like reverse engineering problems, and I look at it and I'm just like, what do I hate about jewelry stores?
Because straight up, we're in an industry I'm like, oh, I like a lot of this shit. Like it's all right. The fact that I'm in fine jewelry and I didn't really like diamonds. I'm like, I got to reconcile that somehow or I don't like going into stuffy jewelry stores or I feel like certain things are outdated, or I feel unwelcomed. So what does it look like for me to reverse engineering that, how can I create a space that feels relaxing, feels like you want to come in there more than once a year, feels contemporary, like actually contemporary and reflective of the people I kick it with on a regular basis. I want them to come in and relax, I want the music, the smells, I want everything to reflect that, and I believe that we accomplished it.
Courtney Gray:
That's so cool. I loved seeing images of your store. And also reading that you can designed the whole thing. Laid it out CAD. And then customized each piece of furniture.
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
You're laughing.
Viviana:
I laugh because, the thing is I feel like I'm relaxed and then sometimes my friends are like, you kind of no chill. I hear these things I'm like, okay, I hear it now.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah.
Viviana:
I hear it.
Courtney Gray:
A little particular about what you wanted to go in the space. And that's good I think.
Viviana:
The particularities are also born out of resources, right? It's not born out of control. But it's like, okay, you've got $10,000, and you have making this up, 500 square foot of space. Everything has to be accounted for, there is no margin for error, right? And it's the way you approach say your home, you're like, "I have to decorate this whole living room and have $1,000." So now you start getting really strategic. And when risk is high, when you've just put everything on the line, there is no margin for error. Again, it's like, I have to make sure that I'm being a good steward of every single penny, and every square inch so that I don't turn around one day I'm like, why I wasted all of that? I really wish we could have done this. So, that's how I think of those basics.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, you've a brain for business girl, I can tell. Yeah, and I love the reverse engineering it's the same as creating a piece of jewelry, or you kind of want, you have this end result visual in your mind or the vision board that you create. And you really do have to just strategically take steps to get there. It doesn't just happen so.
Viviana:
I actually work well with parameters and problems. So, if somebody's like, "There is no budget, it's completely limitless." I'm like, "Okay, well, this is really not helpful."
Courtney Gray:
Give me something.
Viviana:
But if somebody is like, you're going to be showing at Sotheby's in November, the pieces need to be, you need to produce four pieces, they need to be this price point, right? Then, now you've given me some architecture, now I can start building a space in my mind, right? So, I don't see restrictions as problems. I actually feel like they buttress me in a really good way to be able to think more clearly.
Courtney Gray:
And to solve the problem or to find the solution. Yeah, actually, I like solving problems. It's kind of fun.
Viviana:
Yeah, well, there's a famous quote, I love how I don't remember who to attribute it to. But it's a problem well defined it's half solved. It's really true. We've done a lot of our staff meetings and it's like, let's define the problem as cleanly as possible instead of saying there's generically like, oh, no, we're having a problem with manufacturing. Okay, what does that mean? Break that down, break that down again, it's like, we're having a communication issue with this person. Because we're getting porosity in our pieces. Let's define it to the minutiae and then we can actually address it.
Courtney Gray:
Right. Yeah, much smoother. Good for you. Oh, I wanted to ask you for the community's sake. I feel like Adornment and Theory would be a place that people would really enjoy being represented. What would you say to somebody who wanted to approach you with their work professionally?
Viviana:
Yeah, I would say the best way is to email us emails, line sheets. And we do review everything. We do not respond to everyone. I also want to encourage people that if you don't get a response, it is not personal. I think there's a myriad, however you say it, I'm like tongue tied. But there are many reasons why sometimes we can take on artists and sometimes we can't, sometimes I've already done the buying for the year, or maybe the work looks a little too similar to someone we're already carrying and I don't want to cannibalize their space. Or I will prioritize again, Black or POC artists over others. I'm very clear about that. So it just depends, but I always invite people to email us and we'll take a look at line sheets. I think following up is always good. Not badgering us. You don't need to be yelp. I don't need my car's insurance warranty-
Courtney Gray:
Right.
Viviana:
We would only follow up. Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, don't badger. I think that's a lot like this is a whole other episode we could maybe meet on Viviana talking about line sheets. And how do we present to gallery owners and to stores like yours and brands who represent others. Anyway, it's big topic. Do you have any resources for folks who are just bewildered by that whole idea? What the heck is a line sheet?
Viviana:
Of line sheets and everything? Oh, do we have it resources? No, I should compile some. If you have show notes I will give you some.
Courtney Gray:
Oh, I love that, we can put them in the link.
Viviana:
There's a lot of really great examples out there. But if you ever wanted to do another round, I would be happy to address that whole process. And maybe what are some best practices?
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, we'll talk about that for sure. I would love that. Community is key, I totally agree. Totally agree because we're not self-made. We have to use our resources, find those resources, and then ask people and communicate. I don't think I would have had anything that I've accomplished in my life without that support.
Viviana:
That's right.
Courtney Gray:
So talk to us about that for you. I know community is important to you. How do you build community? How do you utilize your community the most maybe?
Viviana:
Community to me, the concept for me at base level is biblical. I believe that God created us to be in community with others. There is a really amazing phrase. I want to say it's the Benedictine monks type of phrase. And it's called the every monastery has a rule of life. So, the word rule in Greek is actually trellis. So think of a trellis that things grow up. So, this rule is to help for your growth. But one of the basis of it is we are alone together. Meaning that your spiritual practice, your walk, you have to do those things alone, but then we do it together. So, I love that phrase so deeply because in a world that people feel so lonely, that we really emphasize independence in this country. It's like we do need to do self-work, right? We need to do mental health work, we need to do those things. Nobody can do that for us. But then when we come together, you're even stronger as a community, when everybody is taken time in solitude, taken time to heal.
And then when you come together it's like you can really fully be alive and contribute and sharpen each other, right? So community to me looks a myriad of ways. I definitely have my spiritual community, I have my friends, we have the team here, I consider a part of my community. And then there's also the neighborhood and activist and other artists that I regularly engage with. I love people. I don't think everybody can say that. And I laugh when, I know people are maybe a little bit more introverted or they have a certain energy that they can or can't give out. But I delight in people. I am a strong believer that people don't remember what you say, but they remember how you made them feel. Maya Angelou. I hope that when I approach people that they feel that sense of me.
Courtney Gray:
That's a big one. Yeah, how you leave people feeling and not necessarily what you say. I feel like words can get so misunderstood. It's why I hate text messages too. I'm like, there's no tone here I don't know what to think of this.
Viviana:
I love throwing people off. Anytime a crucial conversation starts on a text message. I just start calling you. I'm like we're not doing this. We're not doing this tomfoolery. No ma'am, no sir—through the phone.
Courtney Gray:
It is not proactive.
Viviana:
Yes.
Courtney Gray:
It's the quick and easy yeah, but not for deeper communication purposes. I love people too and I'm curious about people. I'm just so curious. I think that's why I wanted to do this podcast too, is I love learning about everybody is so different but there's always common ground. There's always something that puts you on the same level. And I think that was part of the mission for this was let's get it on common ground with those who you see are successful. Or those mentors who feel untouchable. Or let's have these conversations so that you realize that everybody at every level, or every background can realize there's so much commonality between humans. At any stage, we're all just in different paths too. And I love seeing the collaborations that you guys are so creative. Which like you said, business should be fun and it's part of the creativity. It's not this rigid…
Viviana:
Life is too short. If we're bored, if I look around and everybody is bored with a project, just dump it, because we need the energy to drive something home. Like if we don't actually laugh at something, we're like, oh, this ain't funny. I'm just like, we're not going to do this.
Courtney Gray:
Keep laughing, keep your team laughing and community. Yeah. So tell us a little bit about these collaborations where you have a craft beer out there with Adorn, right? The brand.
Viviana:
Yes. So Hopewell Brewery. I collaborated with them and designed one of their IPAs this year, with proceeds going to a seed grant that we started here. So the seed grant, it was born out of the fact that I had been applying for grants. I have never received a grant, maybe I might not be good at writing. Like there's just, let's call a spade a spade. But really needing funding and I'm looking around, and I just don't believe in white saviors. I'm like, I can't wait for some benevolent white force to suddenly give us a huge sum of money. And I know that there are a lot of minorities that feel the same way. And I'm like, we got to build our own table and then we're just going to start small. So I started with several of my paychecks and I just set it up where we were getting $500 seed grants, and the term seed grants comes from the Mexican proverb. They tried to bury us but they didn't know we were seeds.
Courtney Gray:
I've never heard that.
Viviana:
Oh, yes. It's one of my favorite. I've got a lot of things. I have like a little Encyclopedia of all this stuff.
Courtney Gray:
Yes.
Viviana:
So proceeds from the beer are going to fund our next round of grants.
Courtney Gray:
Great idea. And so, do you approach this brewery I guess and you guys collaborated on this?
Viviana:
Yep. Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Courtney Gray:
That's awesome.
Viviana:
Yeah, I'm trying to think of again, using my creativity, what are creative ways that I can create passive income to fund this grant? I don't necessarily love the model of non-for-profits. I think that we can build a better model. And because non-for-profits, no offense, no hate, no shade. But you have really talented people who are bogged down for an entire year writing grants and asking for money, and doing less of the work that their organization is really trying to focus and hone in on. And it's like, okay, again, reverse engineer this, how can I create passive income streams, collaboration utilizing my designs, and then we'll just fund it. And then autopilot it.
Courtney Gray:
And then you're not organizing this entire board and doing, jumping through the hoops of a nonprofit as well. Like, it takes a lot of time. Yeah. Well, good on you ma'am. We need more Viviana's out there.
Viviana:
I don’t know about that. I don't know. I’m a lot. Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
Some days I bet you wish you could clone yourself though as a business owner it's like, if I could just be over there too and then do this and so many ideas to bring to life. So Viviana talk to us about the culture of your company, your company culture, and what kind of boss lady are you?
Viviana:
Okay but like, the girls are going to still make fun of me and I love it. Because yeah, we just give each other shit and in a really good healthy way. But, I think again before I opened my business, I'm very, very intentional and conscious of what are places that I've worked before? What was healthy, what was unhealthy? What are things that I want to repeat moving forward? What are the things in myself that I need to change? I'm a big believer that leadership sets the tone. So, I sometimes joke to the girls. I'm like, y'all lucky I know Jesus and I go to counseling or else this place would be a mess. Because it's just, if I'm going to set a tone of character and having integrity, that's something that I need to walk out. I can't expect of others what I am not producing in myself on a daily basis. So, I'm actually going to read to you our company culture. We have a six pillar of company culture.
We create culture but also at the same time this is the rubric in which I hire people as well. So I have a lot of people who want to work with us and they are fantastic. But if this isn't kind of where they are at, I know that it won't be a great fit. So, I'll start with the first one. That's creative excellence. As a team we are committed to innovating, experimenting and never settling for mediocrity. Number two is being warm and engaged, we greet every guest as if they are our close friend. We are positive and available to meet the needs of others. Third one is confident beauty. Here we celebrate unique, diverse, independent people who wear what they want and know what they love. Ownership mentality, as individuals we carry a sense of personal responsibility for the greater vision of the brand and the studio.
Number five is team mentality, we are a talented and dedicated team working together to draw on our strength and work on our weaknesses to meet our collective goals together. We cheer each other on and celebrate each other's wins, big and small. And the last one is actually humor. We are professional but we don't take ourselves too seriously. Keeping a proper perspective on what is most important in life, humanity and love. So those are our six pillars, I would say that the women that I have the privilege to work with shoulder to shoulder all have these characteristics. If you follow our Instagram like, we're like cool, sexy, trendy, all that stuff. But we make fun of ourselves all the time. Like there's definitely in our stories, we make fun of. It's equal opportunities, A$AP Rocky one day it's going to be Kim Kardashian another. We did drunk jewelry history so that was really popular. Yes.
Courtney Gray:
I heard about that. You're going to have to give us a little more info on that for sure.
Viviana:
Yeah, I mean, that was a really fun project. We did that during 2020. And for those of you who are unfamiliar, there's a famous series called Drunk History on Comedy Central. And people are completely wasted. Tell historical account, and then famous people re-enact it and it's hilarious. So, once a week we do a jewelry history post. I love jewelry history. I love history in general. And I'm like, why don't we just do Drunk History. So, everybody has gone up to bat, I have still not been the drunk storyteller. So I think I might even be next. It was a lot of fun. And the thing is the theory portion we're still talking about jewelry history but-
Courtney Gray:
You are right. It's still relevant.
Viviana:
It's still relevant. It's still tied in.
Courtney Gray:
That's fun. I mean, this is the creative part. I've been an old schooler and stayed away from Instagram. Until recently somebody explained hashtags to me just a little bit in a different tone, different wording. And I was like, oh, that's creative. It pinged for me the aha moment. And ever since I'm like, oh, hashtag. Okay, I get this though. I guess I'm aging myself here. But you guys are so creative I loved looking at your page and just seeing all of the dance parties and the things that you did during the pandemic for folks to keep us laughing. And the sourdough bread. Tell us about the sourdough bread. Like how, where, what?
Viviana:
So we like to do jewelry comparisons. Meaning like, I don't know, we just choose something random that makes us laugh. So like, during quarantine the second week everybody was making breads. So we did sourdough for your solitude. And then we just put pieces of jewelry that look like pieces of bread. We've done like, oh my gosh, we've done so many jewelry comparisons, but we've done jewelry comparison to like fake cheap jewelry. This past Halloween we just turned our store art. Halloween costume for the store was a Claire's. So we took everything out and we turn the store into Claire's. So there is definitely, just moments of respite and humor. What else? I mean, we've done a lot of really silly things. We do game shows on our Insta Stories such as, is this chicken or is this a gemstone?
For Halloween this past year we turn the store into Claire's, so we took out all the jewelry and put in plastic bottles and everything and had a piercing bar. So we have fun with it, we're stylish, we enjoy people, but I don't like pretension. I think it's always good to have a little bit of sense of humor.
Courtney Gray:
All right. So tell us a little bit about what you look for, what's your ideal client look like or customer? Do you have like... Have you done the whole process where you manifest this customer?
Viviana:
Yeah, I mean, actually, so I mean one term for it is your client avatar and I do think it's actually really a helpful exercise for you to really narrow down who is your ideal client? And I mean, I do have kind of a working prototype of who that person is. I feel like really confident, loves new design, curious, not judgmental, has things like if it's a woman, she's spending her own money, is independent in that capacity. So there's a lot of things.
Courtney Gray:
So Viviana, we didn't even get to talk about your interior design work. I find that fascinating that you're a jeweler, a historian, all the things, a history geek you called it. You know a lot about history I love this. And share, how did you get into interior design?
Viviana:
I love interior it's actually I would say one of my main influences when I was younger was my stepmother. She has just a natural eye, but she always did just beautiful things to the home and just kinda noting what was possible. I think for myself when I was in art school I really love installation pieces. I love installation fine art. I love the idea of full immersion. How someone experiences a space is really intriguing and important for me. So yeah, interior design is just one expression. I always joke if I wasn't in fine jewelry I would be doing interiors or some other off the wall thing. I have several secret careers in my back pocket, different things that I like but yeah so.
Courtney Gray:
The backup plan just in case, right?
Viviana:
Not even a backup plan. But just what are my second, my third acts? I think I play around a little bit right now with possibly being an attorney. And I'd also love to be a death doula later on in my life.
Courtney Gray:
Wow. you just blew my mind. First with attorney but I can see because you do have this wonderful memory and this wonderful ability to articulate ideas and stance et cetera. Attorney, who would you represent?
Viviana:
I'm actually interested in litigating blockchain traceability within our industry based on Fairtrade mining. It's extremely specific. I am very much deep into the rabbit hole of NFTs and blockchain and smart contracts and all that is going to entail for a Web 3.0 world. And I am very interested in what it looks like for us to litigate human rights violations and traceability factors coming out of mines.
Courtney Gray:
This is coming together you guys in the industry.
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
It's a difficult, I mean, it's a journey because there's a lot to that. Especially with gold and materials that go way back and have been recycled so many times or they are permitted to be recycled. How do you trace the origin of that? And so, this is conversation has come up quite a bit.
Viviana:
Yeah. And it's an important conversation, because the thing is that there are a lot of, I mean, my personal belief is that there is enough mined that we do not need to be mining, but obviously there's an ecosystem and that really affects the livelihood of a lot of communities because there are artisanal miners. But then, what we're really focusing on are corporate mining, what are those practices? How do we hold that accountable? What does that look like in terms of nation states holding them accountable? Especially when GDP is dependent on it for nations such as Botswana. I think that there's a lot going to develop over the years. I think if you're a jeweler, I think it's important to have your ear to the ground. It doesn't have to take up your life but I think that knowing all of the avenues in which our consumer choices are touching I think it's important.
Courtney Gray:
Absolutely, and this is already in place for a lot of different industries. And I think the jewelry industry is finally getting there, hopefully more and more every year. So are you in touch with like Susan Wheeler and any of that?
Viviana:
Yeah, I represent Susan.
Courtney Gray:
You do?
Viviana:
Yeah. And the Responsible Jewelry Conference is going on this week. So for those of you-
Courtney Gray:
Of course, you are in Chicago.
Viviana:
Yeah. So for those of you who have not heard of it, it's a great conference, takes place every year. Susan Wheeler is a fine jeweler. But this is her heart and passion. And she does phenomenal work in this field. But it is two days. And this year it is free. It's donation based to encourage you to donate. But the conference talks about a lot of these complex issues. We have issues coming up right now with deep sea mining, you hear a lot from miners themselves. There are women co-op groups from Sri Lanka and all of these other places. So, I think if you are looking to get your feet wet on what those issues are and who are the key players right now in our industry, definitely look at the Responsible Jewelry Conference. I'm sure everything will be recorded. But yeah, so that's going on right now.
Courtney Gray:
I'm hoping that they can do that online moving forward too, I feel like-
Viviana:
Yeah, it is online. It is completely online this year.
Courtney Gray:
Okay. Yeah.
Viviana:
We usually, she's done it in person but it's been virtual the last two years.
Courtney Gray:
Two years, excellent. Because it could just reach so many more people. And silver linings to this whole pandemic have been let's go virtual. Of course, we are going to have Wi-Fi issues it's no fun. But having that information to go back and I was to found myself wanting to watch your presentation for SNAG again. And I was like, oh, yeah, I can do that.
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
We have it and it's archived there. So, I'll definitely look into the conference there in Chicago that's annually and the work that Susan is doing, she is one of my interviewees from a few months ago, and really good work that she's doing, very important work that you guys are doing on this. I didn't realize you were involved, that's wonderful. So I love that you said, second act, third act. When does that start? When's the second act? We don't really know yet.
Viviana:
I don't know. It's when the calling kind of shifts or changes, I think that I stopped thinking in terms of goals quite some time ago. I mean, I have goals, I have bench markers. But sometimes goals can be like deflating. Your dopamine is what rushes, it's what brings you to goals, and then you have a dopamine drop off when something is accomplished, right? And maybe it's not what you thought or this or that, as opposed to having more of a growth mindset. It's like, okay, when I hit a benchmark it's more of like, well, now, what? Well now where that is going to go? And how can this be compounded? And like, well, this is now I met this person and how can we build off of that? So, I have a more exploratory perspective on my goals as opposed to them being very definitive.
And we'll see, I mean, maybe I continue to grow businesses all again with keeping my principles intact and trying to get more equity into our industry. And maybe that will be serving people in terms of legal, but maybe when the time comes and the metal-verse is fully robust, maybe that's not what will be needed.
Courtney Gray:
Sitting with my next chapter a little bit so I was intrigued too that you brought that up. And we do have chapters and I think we're needed in certain places and staying open minded like you're saying, instead of so rigid with our goals or so strict with ourselves to accomplish something, it's good to stay fluid.
Viviana:
Yeah. And I think it's redefined like, I think that the idea of retirement, I think that's kind of an old paradigm. It's just like, are you able to design or work into your life periods of sabbatical? When you need to stop working monetarily, what are ways that you want to volunteer or contribute or give back and your work, your contribution to humanity will look different in different phases. So, I don't even like the word retirement. Oh my God, I'm not going to retire…
Courtney Gray:
I don't know what that means. I think for creatives it's kind of, this has come up for me in my heart and mind and path is my husband is actually 25 years older than me. So he is kind of retired but he's so busy. Like we have a band and we're always doing, he's always doing-
Viviana:
Oh, that's awesome.
Courtney Gray:
And we get to play music together and create and-
Viviana:
Oh, that's just too cute.
Courtney Gray:
But I'm like, this is like retirement for him. Maybe I am supposed to go ahead and do that or what does that look like? Making the choices to simplify what I do just because I can do something doesn't mean that I have to anymore, discernment and learning to say no to things that just don't feel good. Like you said, if we're not having fun with this, let's move on, let's do something different.
Viviana:
Yeah. Tim Ferriss has a really good prompt and it's what would this look like if it was easier? And it's a prompt of just learning how to edit, question your systems and dial something back. It's like, okay, what would this actually look like if it was easier? And sometimes you have to do that with life, I still have a passion and vitality for maybe X, Y, and Z. I still want to contribute this way. It's like, but maybe it's location. I don't want to live in Austin anymore. I don't want to live, so yeah. I'm excited to see your next chapter interesting enough.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, I think I'm kind of inside of it. It's good. Yeah, getting to focus more on my creativity, my facilitated classes for 15 years. And that was so educational for me and for the community here and really worldwide, we have people coming from all over to learn. And it's fun now I get to go in the pub, into the community here in Austin and see these businesses that were built from those first students who came in and they took classes and that's where they got their start. So, I felt very good about being able to serve in that way for so long. And we did a really good job at taking care of people, making them feel comfortable and getting them started. And now it's time for something different for me. So it's kind of fun getting to sit with folks like you and learn and stay curious and connected to the community. And I feels like there's more potential to help and in a bigger, outside the bubble of the school.
Viviana:
And you said the key word potential, and even now when you're talking about that, I feel like the fire in your belly. I feel the excitement because it's just like, when you're on a product you're like, I haven't broached the edges of the potential of this. Even in my body, that's when I know I'm into something good.
Courtney Gray:
The sensory.
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
I'm trying to learn. It's like, what does Joy feel like? How does that feel in your body? And paying attention to the reaction that your body has is so important for intuition too like, I was reading this is a little off subject, but the fight flight or freeze statement that you said, it's like I don't freeze. I'm usually like, let's go.
Viviana:
Oh, yeah, I'm the bitch you want to take in the battle because I don't freeze.
Courtney Gray:
Please join my tribe.
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, we want to surround ourselves with people who just continue to move forward and stay positive and find the silver linings in even the most intense situations. What had to be pretty scary, we don't have to go too deep into what happened in Chicago, right? You're right there in the heart of it though.
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
Boarding up windows. I think that was during SNAG too when you were talking about it a little bit.
Viviana:
Yeah. So what we're referencing for those of you it's what was it to have a storefront in the middle of 2020 in June, right after George Floyd was murdered and protests started. I just want to say that my team and I, we were very much a part of all the protests, very much at the streets with everything because it was extremely important that was, you didn't even have to think twice. But having to board, the store up. So where we're located, we are less than a couple blocks away from our mayor's home. So, the National Guard, everything was right in front of our store, on our streets, lots of looting, broken windows, all of those things. But just to be very clear, I mean, I boarded the window and I emptied the store and there was definitely stress running in my body, just adrenaline and sadness over everything. And when we cleared the store and the store was empty, I just prayed over it.
I prayed over the store because I trust it and I just gave it to God. And I'm just like, everything can be replaced. But there's something more important going on and more. I trust that this is more important and if this gets broken into, and if you take it from me, I'm going to trust that you have my broken heart on top of that. These are material things, they are going to come and go but what's going on in the world is so far more important. And what someone can't take for me is my tenacity, my creativity. I can rebuild but we can't bring back lives. We need to rebuild structures and systems. But again, I think that's an important thing about, whether it's your creative practice or your business, really having a core of who you are and being at peace in your perspective of how you handle all of these things in the world.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, because life isn't going to stop.
Viviana:
No.
Courtney Gray:
The events continue. And that's a hard one it's like, well, when is it going to stop? It's like, sorry, it's not going to. This is life and you're going to have challenges to face and deciding how you are going to react to those challenges is huge.
Viviana:
Yeah. What is more important, like keeping it more important. I love what I do but humanity is more important. We were in a lot of those protests. Looters they were so few like compared to the masses that came out. I think a lot of people agree that media likes to sensational, whatever sensational, right, left, center doesn't matter. It's like that's where the cameras are going to go because it's more clickbait. I think Chicago, it wasn't like any other city at that time but I was proud of everybody who showed up and took a stand and...
Courtney Gray:
You're right, I mean, human life it comes down to, these are just objects. We were talking about objects earlier and favorite objects. And I've had to walk away from my entire house full of objects and just say, and I mean, no shoes, no, nothing. I mean, just, okay, we're gone. We're leaving this house it's on fire. And everything was touched by that. But my children weren't touched and the firefighters weren't hurt. And at the end of the day, it was like, it's a couch, it's an object. These are just things and they just don't have any, the importance of my kids or a human life in general so.
Viviana:
Absolutely. And for people listening if you've gone through something that's very traumatic or things have been stripped from you. That's not to know if I am sure you can speak to this as well Courtney, but the feeling of violation or loss and grief and all of those things have to occur. But that's holding your emotions in your heart in a specific place separating that from a circumstance, right? And I feel like for ourselves with all the protest that went on throughout the summer 2020, it was just stressful going back and forth and being like, okay, we got to board up again. Okay, we got to take it back down. Okay, let's board up again. But again, the entire time having to keep my thought life and my heart in proper perspective.
Courtney Gray:
In the face of serious fear.
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
It had to be very scary but the store was okay and you're back in action?
Viviana:
Yep. And we expanded this year, smells a big thing.
Courtney Gray:
Oh, I didn't even know about that. Cool.
Viviana:
Yeah. We did well praise God. And yeah, so we were able to expand this year, so we doubled the size of the store. And she's very sparkly, she's very pretty.
Courtney Gray:
I'm totally there. Next time I'm in Chicago, I want to come up for the conference one year and I'll come visit. That's exciting. What would you say to someone who is considering brick-and-mortar or perhaps staying online this day and age, you can do your business online.
Viviana:
You can absolutely run a business online. I would say one, play to your strengths. For some people, it's the same question of should I do wholesale or should I do direct to consumer? Direct to consumer if you are in a store you are very front facing. So are you really gregarious? Do you enjoy people? Do those interactions fuel you? Then that might be a natural bent? Wholesale actually does really well for people who are a little bit more introverted and are really great at spreadsheets and systems and following up. That or less introvert more analytical. If someone is highly analytical, following up, doing systems line sheets, things like that, like that's very energizing. But I would say, a book I recommend to everyone before they even start on that chapter is E-Myth by Michael Gerber.
It's an excellent, excellent book. But I think I know some people are allergic to like, a business book it's going to be boring. It's a very pop, clean, easy read. But I think it really puts into perspective, are you self-employed? Are you a technician? Are you trying to turn this into a business? What lifestyle do you want? I think that's another fair question. A lot of people want business advice from me and sometimes I get more lifestyle or philosophical for the sense that it's like, are you going to build yourself a golden cage? Right? And I think that is a question that you have to ask all the time. It's what is your ideal lifestyle? What's your ideal income? And then can you use your creativity to match that, right? Now if you want a Tesla, you do you boo, that's awesome. Okay, so then we got to have a different trajectory.
If it's, I'd like to have a house with puppies in the back, well, okay, like you don't need to bust a cankle for that. Like you can do that with less. I think sometimes people are like, "Oh, just tell me how to do the spreadsheet." But I think it's more important to ask deeper questions of yourself so that you can set yourself up for your definition of success, not what the world has defined as success. And I do recommend everyone read E-Myth.
Courtney Gray:
Really good advice to be honest and well put. Yeah. Because really, I mean, you're not going to find that whatever you define a success in six months. I think, I used to have students come in and say things, “okay but six months, can I make a business in six months?” It's a hard one to answer. It's like, well I don't know, can you? It takes a devotion, a certain level of devotion I think and I mean, how long was it for you Viviana to see and feel like, oh, I'm making a profit. Oh, this is working how I kind of envisioned it.
Viviana:
I'm going to say this with humility, but we've been profitable since the first month. So, that is unusual. So I don't want to-
Courtney Gray:
For the store you mean?
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
But you were in business before?
Viviana:
Yeah, doing custom. And I counted my margins accordingly so that I was profitable. And I still do. I did a lot of pre-work to make sure that my margins are good so that I can continue to build off of those things. And gosh, how long did it take for me to feel confident? I mean, I would say, year two of the store.
Courtney Gray:
But you're like, okay, it's kind of walking on its own a little I mean, yeah.
Viviana:
Yeah. I think when you are an independent jeweler and you don't have a showroom or things like that. I don't really have a mentor in the industry fine jewelry, jewelry has a lot of components. There's art jewelry, there's craft, there's all of these things. So I'm speaking specifically to a traditional fine jewelry background. These are family legacy businesses, these things are handed down, and they are a majority. It's white, Indian or Jewish. But to find a lot of independent store owners or people who are looking to mentor and bring people up, it's quite difficult. Now, it's a little bit more readily available. I'm very big on mentorship myself, I always try to pour into others. So I didn't feel, it was like imposter syndrome. I'm like, I think I know what I'm talking about. I believe I know what I'm doing even though I work in the industry, I'm selling for other people.
I'm seeing my skills used for other people's businesses to bring them profit, kind of like that scene in Batman where you have to jump without the rope, you just have to do it. It's like a trust fall. It's like, why am I going to assume somebody is going to bet on me and trust on me? Trust me, it's like, but do I trust myself? I think that's a really fair question to ask. You're like, people want people to invest in them all the time. Or will you invest in my business or my company. It's like, well, have you invested in yourself? Do you trust yourself? What sacrifices have you made? It's a fair analysis.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, really, really, fair. And you put a lot of preparation I think into the store from what I'm gathering anyway. You don't just dive in and swim hard and hope it works. You set yourself up for your idea of success.
Viviana:
Yeah, I do. I think my personality is I have a high risk tolerance. I don't think a lot of people do. So I'm always like, do it. Let's try it. I do a lot of fear setting exercises. So fear setting meaning like well, what's the worst that's going to happen? Okay, store closes. All right, then it closes then what happens? Files for bankruptcy. All right, so bankruptcy that process you got to do that, going to take four years. All right, clean that up. So then how do I rebuild from there? So I think it's always good to back out. What is your worst case scenario, right? And then meet the illogical with the logical. So yeah, I mean, I do prepare, but also there's a part of me like yeah, whatever, try it.
Courtney Gray:
Let's go. Let's just do it. Yeah.
Viviana:
Yeah.
Courtney Gray:
We'll figure it out. We're smart.
Viviana:
Yes.
Courtney Gray:
We got this. And I know I'm guilty of the same as far as learning as I go a little bit. I don't really know what I'm doing yet but I will because I'm going to do it and try it so.
Viviana:
Yeah, those are different personality types. But I'm definitely same. I'm like, let's try it. If it doesn't work, it's not like you're trying to move an entire corporation. There's like four of us. So it's like, okay, that wasn't good, take it down. Let's try it again. Next time that we do it how are we going to do better? And just being light with it.
Courtney Gray:
Learn instead of fall apart, or feel defeated for too long anyway. I mean, we're allowed to feel sad for a bit, but then get up and move on, move forward. Well, gosh, man, it's so many great pieces that you've shared with us Viviana, thank you for taking the time and...
Viviana:
Thank you for having me.
Courtney Gray:
Yeah, this was wonderful. As you can tell, we were only in the tip of the knowledge base that you have to share with the community and so, let's keep in touch.
Viviana:
For sure. I hope that this was good.
Courtney Gray:
I think it was great and let me be a resource for you and I love hearing about your building of the business and brand and you guys, where can we find and keep in touch with what's going on with Adornment and Theory.
Viviana:
Our main avenue would be our Instagram and it's just @adornmentandtheory full words spelled out. Also our website is adornmentandtheory. I'm glad I chose a name that I have on every platform and I don't have to alter. You can also find us on Facebook, we ignore Facebook because we're millennials. I tried to maintain it but it's a little bit of a graveyard. We also are on TikTok as well.
Courtney Gray:
Cool. I can't wait to see what you guys are up to next and any last pieces you'd like to share with the community while we have this?
Viviana:
Encourage you guys to continue creating, being loving to your neighbor and I'm excited to see how the jewelry industry continues to progress.
Courtney Gray:
Onward and upward to that Viviana. Thank you again for joining us today.
Courtney Gray:
Thanks for tuning in you guys. I hope you have enjoyed this episode of For the Love of Jewelers. Stay tuned for the next episode by subscribing through Spotify, iTunes or by searching podcast at riogrande.com. I encourage you to rate us, write a review, and share with friends and colleagues. I hope you're all finding ways to stay inspired. I'm your host, Courtney Gray. Until we get to connect again, onward and upward.