Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Hale.
Hi Danielle, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I don’t actually remember a moment in time when I wasn’t creating something. As a little kid, instead of a lemonade stand, I would make paper plate mail holders and sell them to the neighbors and the business located next to my house. Fast forward to my late teen years/early ’20s and I worked in retail; it was the ’90s and I got a job at a small mom-and-pop jewelry shop. One of my duties was repair and repurposing broken pieces of jewelry. And I LOVED it. Then college happened, and I was convinced I wanted to be a vet. Sadly, my dad passed suddenly, and my world turned upside down a bit. I left school and took on retail full-time. I went from jewelry to wireless phones. While I’m wireless, I started making cell phone charms and gifting them to clients. As my career grew, I was able to launch a little “side hustle” called don’t eat beads. My cell phone charms grew to earrings, and then one day, after my mom lost a ring she loved, I started also designing rings. In 2008, my husband and I moved from Massachusetts to Texas. For several years, don’t Eat Beads would remain a growing business. I took a career path that went from full-time to part-time, so I would be able to take care of our senior pets. In 2020, Covid hit, and with it, I saw the loss of my “real” job but the growth of my passion. After months and months of trying to find something during Covid, my wonderful husband came up with the brilliant idea that I should take the plunge into being a full-time entrepreneur. This has been the most glorious, stressful, wonderful, and amazing experience. Over the last few years, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some of the most amazing people and partner with so many incredible artists to help both grow my business but also team up to help others grow theirs. It’s not a competition; we all need to grow together.
Today, I stay pretty booked; I have several markets that I do on the weekends. During the weekdays I create and market the product. Although I’m still working at getting better at the marketing part. I also sell beads in my bead group, and I’m getting my website up and running.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t think anyone can ever say their road has been smoothe but it has been worth every minute. Since a majority of my sales of my handmade are done through markets, one of the hardest things is that we rely so heavily in Mother Nature cooperation. This past year has been its hardest. With the rising prices, alongside the insane heat we had in Texas. It’s so easy to get discouraged by a bad market. You have to have faith. You have to be strong enough to power through it and believe in yourself. I have a passion for creating; I love meeting people hearing their stories and being inspired by those stories. Sometimes you have to come home and have a good cry, but know that things will be better tomorrow.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I make handcrafted earrings and rings mostly, with a dash of bracelets, anklets, and the occasional necklace. I adore being able to create with all the varieties of beads, that actually also led me to having my own online bead shop. Most people will know me for my earrings or my rings. My rings home a special significance to me, since they were created after my mom lost one, she loved. The design process was exhausting, but during it I also had the pleasure of learning that they not only are aesthetically pleasing but also have a texture that was pleasing to a vision-impaired girl that I had the pleasure of getting to know in my early days of creating.
My business was designed so that I would be able to focus on my dog’s failing health. At the time it was for Addie, who has sadly passed, but she lives on as a stunning tattoo on my arm. Another point of my business is teamwork, at events you will see me partnered with another artist or promoting another’s work. This past weekend, I was blessed to have designs by Jamie’s work (stickers and a coloring book), and this upcoming weekend I’ll be partnered with my friend Ren with her clay figurines and hand-dyed tie-dye items.
If someone asks what sets me apart, it could be my passion, my creativity, my love for dogs, my stories behind the pieces I create, or maybe it’s teamwork. I love being a part of something larger. My father was a very giving person, my mother is a social butterfly, and I think I have the best of both of them in my work.
When I can, at events, I like to go around to other artists and see their work; I love sharing it on social media – I may not be in the position to purchase, but sharing doesn’t cost anything – but it could lead to something greater.
What do you think about happiness?
Being part of someone’s story.
I want to be the person that makes a difference in someone’s life.
Earlier this year, I was traveling back from visiting my mom in Boston, and I got to meet this lovely couple on the plane. We chatted the whole ride (I get that from my mom, always making friends). On the way, I learned that the gentleman next to me was also an artist and used to own a farm. I also learned that when they take a trip, he writes a story about it. I joked about being part of his story. During this plane ride, I was also making rings. A bit after we all returned home, I received an email with the story of his vacation, and sure enough, I was in it. I thought it was awesome. A few weeks later, a store I sell in messaged me to tell me my friends from the plane had come by and said hi!! I’m assuming it was the same people.
It’s the small things in life that bring me joy. It’s being out shopping and seeing my work being worn by someone.
Pricing:
- My typical designs run less than $25
Contact Info:
- Website: Donteatbeads.com
- Instagram: Donteatbeads
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/donteatbeads2
Image Credits
Sean Skellington
Kylie skellington
Christopher Winston
Julie Ernzen
Kit Myers
Alissa Um Burger
