Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Padilla.
Hi Amber, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hello, my name is Amber Padilla and making crystal jewelry started as a coping mechanism that helped me get through the toughest part of my life-leaving an abusive relationship. I have always been artistic, I went to BTWHSPVA for visual arts and later moved to Portland, Oregon to pursue my love of jewelry. As a young adult, when I moved back to Dallas, I loved my life, and I still loved to make artwork. However, my life changed forever once I started dating someone that was not good for me- not good for anyone.
After this year-long relationship, I wasn’t myself anymore. I walked away from my friends, my family, my artwork, and I felt so lost. As I started putting my life back together, I researched crystal therapy as a coping mechanism. Believe what you will, but it worked for me. I got an art studio at the Continental Gin Studios in Deep Ellum (RIP); I started painting and started to surround myself with crystals. After I found my artistic muse, I started making jewelry out of any crystal I could. As surrounded myself with crystals and made jewelry I finally felt like myself again. Then in 2018, I created my business, Tiny Art Goddess, which allowed me to set up as a vendor throughout DFW and sell my crystal jewelry, handmade teas, and bath products. Covid-19 and having a baby in January of this year has slowed down things for me, but I still make jewelry and speak out against abuse in Dallas.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road at all, creating a business from the ground up with no prior knowledge is much like a science experiment with lots of trial and error. Sometimes I would be in the negative of what I had to spend to be a vendor and the amount I made at the event, or sometimes I would invest in a large amount of materials for markets that would fall through. However, if you love something you stick with it. I kept showing up to markets, kept making jewelry and created an online presence for myself. If I were to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change anything.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Making crystal jewelry isn’t just a business for me, but it’s a form of therapy and a part of who I am. I’ve never felt right marking up my jewelry x5 or x10 to make a huge profit, but I sell very affordable jewelry because I love spreading good vibes and love helping people. I’m known mostly for making necklaces and earrings out of clear quartz, rose quartz, smoky quartz, and many other crystals; occasionally I will bust out a bracelet or ring.
I believe that the way I use crystals sets me apart from others. I don’t just buy and sell crystals, I cleanse them, charge them, and educate my buyers on how the crystals can help someone. You can use them for depression, anxiety, or protection. You can wear them, carry them around in your purse, or even out them under your pillow.
Can you talk about how you think about risk?
My entire business was routed in risk taking. After leaving my abusive relationship I didn’t know how to live my day to day anymore, I didn’t know how to make artwork anymore, but I just had to fall back into it. It became easier and easier, day after day once I started. Once I started making jewelry and decided to start selling it, there was the dreading investment of everything I needed to become a vendor. Tables, jewelry displays, price tags, and materials to make jewelry. I was making a little more than minimum wage, with an initial investment as much as one paycheck. I wasn’t sure if I could make my money back, but at that moment I didn’t care much.
If my jewelry didn’t sell, I would keep it for myself. This is a form of self care I practice to this day- which explains why I own a ridiculous amount of jewelry!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Tiny_Art_Goddess
