What If It Turns Out Better?

Joie Designs is celebrating its five-year anniversary. When I look back at where this started, it feels like a completely different lifetime.

Five years ago, I walked away from a toxic job with barely any savings—money that vanished almost immediately into getting this business off the ground. For the longest time, my head was full of reasons why it wouldn’t work. Every roadblock, every doubt, and every financial fear was loud. But at some point, I decided to flip the script and ask myself a simple question: What if it does? What if it turns out better?

That single shift changed everything.

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Learning to Pivot and Redefining the Rules

What followed has been five years of immense growth, both professionally and personally. It has tested my resiliency in ways I never expected and taught me how to pivot when the ground shifts.

If you’ve been following along for a while, you know the journey hasn't been a straight line. With the volatility of precious metal prices, tariffs, and all the walls and roadblocks that pop up along the way, I realized I needed to adapt. A year and a half ago, I took on a part-time job to complement the business.

And that realization—that there is no "right" or "wrong" way to build a creative life—is the biggest lesson of all. Whether a project is a full-time endeavor, a part-time income stream, or purely a passion, I get to design this business to suit my life. My needs have changed, and that is entirely okay. Right now, I'm working part-time and running this part-time, keeping things balanced on my own terms.

Designing What Inspires Us

That freedom is why I stopped taking on custom work—it simply became too stressful and didn't leave room for my own designs. I wear almost all the hats as a one-woman show, though I’ve learned to lean on a little virtual assistance and some golden advice from a mentor: hire out what you hate. (Grinding off sprues was at the top of that list, so outsourcing my casting was the best business decision I ever made.)

Today, I get to focus on what I love: designing timeless, minimalist sterling silver jewelry inspired by the things that make me happiest. Whether it’s the rugged West Coast coastline, towering forests, mountain biking trails, or fresh powder on the ski slopes, these pieces are wearable reminders of the wild places that ground us.

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Finding my Spark Again

Turning your passion into a business comes with a side nobody warns you about: what once filled your cup can sometimes turn into a checklist of tasks that just need to be done. I admit I lost a little bit of my lust for it for a bit, and I've been a bit slower to release new things.

Even so, I try to hold onto the mindset that I get to do this. To help spark that joy again, I just bought myself some brand-new supplies, and I'm going to be leaning a bit more into my resin work. I am genuinely excited to just play in the studio again, create, and try new things.

 

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Five-Year Anniversary Sale

To celebrate five years of resilience, growth, and hand-carved natural beauty, we are launching our five-year anniversary sale starting one week from today! This milestone event is all about clearing out core essentials and making room for what's next. Because I currently have extra inventory of select rose gold pieces, you will also see extra-steep discounts on all our rose gold jewelry during the sale.

 

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Making Way for New Bike Jewelry

The best part of clearing out old stock for this sale is that it makes way for an exciting wave of new stock—including our brand-new line of bike jewelry inspired by dirt, fresh air, and trail riding, freeing up the resources and physical space needed to bring these new designs to life.

Thank you for being here, for supporting this journey, and for celebrating five years of wild beauty and creative evolution. Stay tuned, bookmark your favorites, and get ready for the sale to drop next week!