Let’s make some jewelry! North Harford Alumna Opens up shop at local restaurant Eats and Sweets

Pictured+is+Sophia+Sturgill+posing+next+to+her+newly+opened+handmade+jewelry+shop+at+local+restaurant+eats+and+sweets.+

Pictured is Sophia Sturgill posing next to her newly opened handmade jewelry shop at local restaurant eats and sweets.

Evan Kuzemchak, Social Media Coordinator

  “It started with working at Jo-Ann fabrics” says  Sophia Sturgill, North Harford Aluma about the start of her jewelry making journey. As Sturgill “worked there more [she]  got so inspired by what people were making” that she went on to “try something of [her] own, which was jewelry” making. Not only has Sturgill put herself in the craft-making area before at Jo-Ann’s but she previously has done “a lot of other crafty art as well.” 

     Sturgill says that jewelry making is different, “jewelry speaks out to [her] more” due to the fact that “people can express themselves through the jewelry they wear” and or create. According to Sturgill “jewelry will make any person standout,” and she likes not only doing business but  “giving that opportunity to express your emotions and standout my costumers.”

     This year Sturgill is leaning towards taking her “business slow” and enjoying the small business how it is. Recently Sturgill has brought up the idea of storing a display in local restaurant Eats and Sweets. “The display will be at the front counter” and “it will be up until April 10th,” necklaces, earrings, and rings will be for sale according to Sturgill. Sturgill is confident in the aspect that her “business will grow a lot” due to her recent decision, her plans are to “just put up a display and sell as much as possible.”

     Sturgill says that once she is ready she would “love for jewelry making to be a full-time job” and she is “fully open to that.” On a personal side, Sturgill finds that “it really calms [her] down,” when she makes jewelry and she “loves when she makes sales”. Sturgill tries “to keep the prices for each about 1-5 dollars below the price [she] thinks its worth,” Sturgill thinks that it is important to do so because she wants “the jewelry to be cheap” for her customers.

     “There are 30,748,033 small businesses in the United States,” according to the Small Business Administration. Out of those 30 million, 24,813,048 small businesses just like Sturgill have no employees, the official name of these businesses are nonemployer-businesses according to the U.S. Government. From 2000 to 2018 the small businesses of America racked up 9.6 million net new jobs while large businesses followed not so far behind creating 5.2 million. 64.9% of net new jobs in the United States fall into account for small businesses. 

     Sturgill can be reached from her business email, [email protected] or purchases can be made on her Instagram @crystal.moon.ss