As the economy was on the decline, Janet Kinkade, a stay at home mother of five in Alpine, found the key to success and within six months was earning $25,000 a day out of her home. She later took the business she started in 2008, now a jewelry business called Jewel Kade, out of her basement and turned it into a multi-million dollar company. The jewelry has already made appearances on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," "The Today Show" and "American Idol."
Kinkade said the key was finding something she was passionate about and refining it until it was absolutely perfect.
"I had just had my little boy Jack and I had these four older girls, just for fun I was trying to find a way to capture something about them in some jewelry," Kinkade said. "I shopped around and looked in different boutiques ... and nothing was what I wanted. I began experimenting with my own jewelry and one thing led to another. I kind of refined a creative way to encase a photo into the glass and solder around it."
Once she was able to refine the technique, which she explained as a long process with many books and a combination of classes, she started wearing the jewelry. Friends and neighbors instantly became interested.
"Once I began to wear it, I just had a lot of people comment on it and really want to know if they could have me make one for them," Kinkade said. "It really just led into a bigger demand and so I began thinking about how I could turn this into a business."
The business model for Jewel Kade is having stylists or consultants located all over the country who host their own home parties to sell the product. The company currently has almost 1,500 stylists in 44 states.
"I really love the idea of letting other people and other women have that same success in their home," Kinkade said. "The reason why this has done so well is, because of the economy, these women have been able to pick up this little business and the jewelry is unique enough it is easy to sell. And it is kind of collectible and so it has returned, people just want more. It has been a great way for women all over the country to earn an extra income."
The company also donates money to charity. Jewel Kade sells a special "Listen to Your Heart" charm, and $1 of each sale goes to the American Heart Association, according to the company's website. Kinkade chose the charity because of the number of women who suffer heart attacks and strokes.
The ability to help other women was a major motive for Kinkade when starting the company. Kinkade said that being a mother of five and president of her own company is all about getting the kids involved and staying close to home.
"I think it is neat for my kids to be able to see me work because for so long I would stay at home and I loved that, too," Kinkade said. "I'm very flexible because I do get to have the production studio right here in Alpine where we live. ... I have four daughters who love this company. I just love that they are a part of it and they've seen it start from the beginning and the hard work that's gone into it and seeing the success of it."
Kinkade said the key was finding something she was passionate about and refining it until it was absolutely perfect.
"I had just had my little boy Jack and I had these four older girls, just for fun I was trying to find a way to capture something about them in some jewelry," Kinkade said. "I shopped around and looked in different boutiques ... and nothing was what I wanted. I began experimenting with my own jewelry and one thing led to another. I kind of refined a creative way to encase a photo into the glass and solder around it."
Once she was able to refine the technique, which she explained as a long process with many books and a combination of classes, she started wearing the jewelry. Friends and neighbors instantly became interested.
"Once I began to wear it, I just had a lot of people comment on it and really want to know if they could have me make one for them," Kinkade said. "It really just led into a bigger demand and so I began thinking about how I could turn this into a business."
The business model for Jewel Kade is having stylists or consultants located all over the country who host their own home parties to sell the product. The company currently has almost 1,500 stylists in 44 states.
"I really love the idea of letting other people and other women have that same success in their home," Kinkade said. "The reason why this has done so well is, because of the economy, these women have been able to pick up this little business and the jewelry is unique enough it is easy to sell. And it is kind of collectible and so it has returned, people just want more. It has been a great way for women all over the country to earn an extra income."
The company also donates money to charity. Jewel Kade sells a special "Listen to Your Heart" charm, and $1 of each sale goes to the American Heart Association, according to the company's website. Kinkade chose the charity because of the number of women who suffer heart attacks and strokes.
The ability to help other women was a major motive for Kinkade when starting the company. Kinkade said that being a mother of five and president of her own company is all about getting the kids involved and staying close to home.
"I think it is neat for my kids to be able to see me work because for so long I would stay at home and I loved that, too," Kinkade said. "I'm very flexible because I do get to have the production studio right here in Alpine where we live. ... I have four daughters who love this company. I just love that they are a part of it and they've seen it start from the beginning and the hard work that's gone into it and seeing the success of it."
