Kawehinani Jewelry, by Katelyn Wakuzawa, started in May 2014. “I chose to do jewelry because I found myself purchasing a lot of shell jewelry within the last year and wanted to see if I could make it myself.”
She notes jewelry making as her stress reliever. “Some people would say that jewelry making may cause more stress but with a busy life like mine, making jewelry is my stress relief,” she says. “I also enjoy making jewelry because I wanted to make it affordable for my customers. I loved purchasing shell jewelry previously to making my own and realized that I was spending so much money on it. So that is when I decided to make it myself and try to make my jewelry as cheap as I could so I could gain more customers.”
She credits the beach and her backyard as her inspirations for her jewelry. “I know it sounds weird but my backyard is a mountain filled with trees and different flowers and plants – so I go outside to get inspired sometimes,” she says. “The beach is definitely an inspiration to my designs because the shells I use to incorporate into jewelry is found when I go snorkeling.” When creating pieces Katelyn typically uses a shell theme and tries to create jewelry for casual and dress wear.
Having made earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings, Katelyn’s pieces are made out of sterling silver or 14k gold-filled materials. She uses shells, beach glass, beads Tahitian pearls, freshwater pearls and gemstones. She uses custom bar blank and wire-wrapped word for bracelets and wire-wrapped and adjustable helix tahitian pearls for rings. She says each items takes different amounts of time to make. When she first started, it took her over an hour to make one pair of earrings. Now it takes her about 20 minutes.
A few weeks ago, she had the opportunity to sell her jewelry at the Noelani Craft Fair at the Noelani Elementary School. Selling at her first official craft fair turned out to be a success. “The turn out of the fair was huge! I had so many customers that stopped by and bought items,” she said. At the end of the day, she sold about 75% of her earrings and rings. “Towards the end of the craft fair, I ran out of earrings to put out onto display.” There were also people who stopped by to take a look and even provided her with compliments to her intricate jewelry making.
Katelyn is currently a Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Science major and plans to go to graduate school in the mainland to become an Occupational Therapist. Thereafter she plans to return to Hawaii to work. “I know my degree is far from my jewelry hobby, but making jewelry is what I love to do in my spare time and I hope to continue it after graduate school as well.”
As far as advice for fellow college students with businesses, Katelyn encourages students to never give up because it is possible to pursue your dream as long as you are able to balance out your priorities. “If I am able to have my own small business and attend school full-time, then you are capable of doing it too.” She also encourages students to have passion. “Having a passion for what you do makes your product more unique and special for your customers.”
Katelyn currently doesn’t have future sell dates scheduled but will still be able to sell her merchandise. Anyone interested in purchasing from Kawehinani Jewelry can do so from her Etsy account: http://www.etsy.com/shop/KawehinanibyKW Katelyn also is anticipating a winner of her new social media giveaway. “Keep a look out for discounts and new designs on my Instagram (@kawehinanibykw) and Etsy account. If I can get 500 followers by the end of the year, I will do a giveaway!”