What does an abandoned tool box at a construction site have to do with my business?

I was born in Dominican Republic and as a child, living in a small neighborhood where everyone knew each other and looked out for each other's kids, there was a lot of free time! Time to play and time to create. My sister and I would spend hours playing with our friends, pretending to be fishermen, florists, engineers... anything under the sun. I always loved creating, and would watch my mom make our dresses in her sewing machine, then collect any left over fabric for my own ideas and designs.

My mother also ran a beauty salon out our home and this is where I learned that a great hairstyle 💇🏽‍♀️, a beautiful dress 👗 and a great piece of jewelry 📿 could transform a woman, making her feel giddy with excitement at the sight of herself!

Around that time, my father (a civil engineer who has a creative knack and likes to work with his hands), who lived in New York City, started sending my mother packages filled with earrings that he made, and she would sell at her beauty salon.

I always wondered how this came to be. Later I found out that, while working at a demolition site he found a toolbox, filled with beads and pliers. An idea struck him and he started making earrings (Clip-on earrings with fancy geometric designs and camels and long drops in all different colors!), which he would send to my mother and she sold at her beauty salon.

This temporary venture is what lead to my creative outlet: jewelry design, which later turned into my own business.

Can you say #serendipity?