Today in the Side Hustle Pro guest chair we welcome Lorraine West, the Founder of Lorraine West Jewelry.
Lorraine developed an affinity for creating and donning unique jewelry at a young age and says she’s been an artist since she was in the 1st grade. Her mother’s love for ornate pieces was the inspiration for her to delve into jewelry design while studying Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
After teaching herself how to manipulate various metals into beautiful original jewelry pieces, and with the increasing demand from family and friends to create custom designs, Lorraine West Jewelry was conceived. Understanding that she needed a steady income to support herself as she grew her business, she worked for 4 years as a full-time employee then another 6 years freelancing as an illustrator, as an assistant fashion and prop stylist on video shoots and through other part time gigs besides selling her own work on the side. She became a full-time entrepreneur in 2010.
Lorraine met Erykah Badu, early in her career, who attended the same poetry event as her. Lorraine’s work spoke for itself and she was commissioned to make pieces for Erykah Badu, Andre 3000, Common, among many other artists.
As a full-time entrepreneur, Lorraine started bringing in consistent income by selling her jewelry at the Brooklyn Flea from 2010-2014, launched her brand e-commerce website in 2015, launched the custom fine jewelry division in 2011 which grew the business exponentially since.
In episode 195 of Side Hustle Pro, Lorraine shares:
- What led her to start selling her jewelry
- How she came to design custom pieces for artists like Erykah Badu, Common, and more
- How she side hustled before she could work on her jewelry business full-time
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Soundcloud, and Stitcher.
Links mentioned in this episode
- Lorraine West Jewelry
- Multiply Your Profits – Flourish & Thrive Academy
- Everything is Figureoutable: How One Simple Belief Can Help Us Overcome Any Obstacle and Create Unstoppable Success
Click here to subscribe via RSS feed (non-iTunes feed): http://sidehustlepro.libsyn.com/rss
Announcements
Join our Facebook Community
If you’re looking for a community of supportive side hustlers who are all working to take our businesses to the next level, join us here: https://sidehustlepro.co/facebook
Send questions to “Ask Nicaila”
You can now send questions for the new “Ask Nicaila” segment that’s coming to Side Hustle Pro. Once I get a critical mass of questions, I can start rolling out this segment. Just email hi@sidehustlepro.co and put hashtag #AskNicaila in the subject.
Social Media Info
Lorraine West Jewelry (Instagram) – @lorrainewestjewelry
Side Hustle Pro – @sidehustlepro
