- 6 weeks ago
Have you ever been preparing for an outing with friends, a fancy party or virtual HH, but just couldn’t seem to find the perfect accessories to complete your look? After years of frustrated accessories shopping, we committed to making our dream of handcrafting bold + classy statement pieces into a reality, and VOILA, Live Laugh Bejeweled was born!
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello, hello, and welcome back to another episode of Shop Essence Live. I am your host Noni, and this is where we, in partnership with New Voices Family, bring you new Black-owned brands to shop every single week, whether you're watching on essence.com slash shopping or you're watching on Pinterest TV, make sure that you are supporting these Black-owned brands.
00:23We know the holidays are coming up and you're looking for incredible gifts to give. When I tell you, we got some bejewels for you today. And if you're wondering, I know you're already like, oh, look at her earrings, and you're wondering what that's about. Well, today we're talking to Erica of Live, Laugh, Bejewel to tell us all about her incredible jewelry brand. Erica, welcome!
00:47Thank you for having me. This is so exciting.
00:49Well, we're so excited to have you before we get into these incredible designs that you have for us today. Please tell us your story. How did you get started?
01:01Well, it's a mix of a story, right? So the Live, Laugh, Bejewel was conceptualized because I was tired of going to the store and looking for jewelry to wear to some sort of event, and I couldn't find something that really spoke to me, that I really wanted to wear.
01:16And it was really expensive. But then there was just a thought of it. I know I can make some jewelry. I can learn how to do this. But then there was a point in time where I got really sick.
01:27And, you know, when you're sick, you have one wish. When you're well, you have a thousand. So when I was sick, I was like, well, what do I want to do? I want to figure out ways to better support myself and give myself some self-care.
01:40And then at the same time, one of my nieces was going off to college and I wanted to be able to help her.
01:46So my son, who was probably my first manager of publicists, whatever he was at the time, I think he was 10 or no, he was about 15.
01:53He was like, mommy, you just need to sell your jewelry. And I was like, well, no, I don't want to sell it.
01:59It's just for me and making my mom and my sisters wear it because that's in a sister contract.
02:03But then my nieces started to ask me for pieces and, you know, younger, you know, your nieces aren't that nice that they're just going to be like asking you to make things for them just because.
02:14So I knew I was on to something. So I thought to myself, well, if I'm never going to get myself out there, if I'm ever going to do this, now is the time.
02:22This young girl needs some assistance with pursuing her educational goals. So let's do this.
02:27And I'm proud to report right now, she is a recent graduate from North Carolina, Central University, and she is now a kindergarten teacher.
02:34Come on, niece. Yes, niece.
02:38So that's how they were born.
02:40Just so, so inspiring. So I would love to get into these designs before we do that.
02:47Let me not forget, you actually have a promo code. Can you let the people know what it is?
02:53Yes. Yes. My promo code is Essence Ship and that will get my Bejeweled Bays, my new and old Bejeweled Bays free shipping until Sunday, November the 19th.
03:05Free domestic shipping until November 19th.
03:09All right. So, you know, clock is ticking. November the 19th, you get free domestic shipping, which is so, so cool.
03:17So let's get into the designs. What's the first thing that you'd like to highlight for us?
03:22Well, the first thing that I would like to highlight for you today is the earring that you are wearing.
03:27And this particular earring is called Xena, too, like Xena Warrior Princess.
03:33So this particular earring is made from out of polymer clay.
03:38So it's very lightweight, but very much a statement piece of earring.
03:42And the one thing that I want to say about Live Black Bejeweled earrings is that at Live Black Bejeweled, we really specialize in creating custom statement pieces for our Bejeweled Bays.
03:55We want to make every woman feel as beautiful, as authentic, as much of herself in every possible way, in every day, in every space that she's in.
04:06I find that being a Black woman, you know, Black and brown women are often asked to be a little bit quieter, a little bit less of themselves.
04:13Don't talk as much.
04:15You know, don't wear your natural hair.
04:16Tame your hair.
04:17Tame your voice.
04:18Tame everything about you.
04:20No more code switching.
04:22We're done with that.
04:23Be you.
04:24Be who you're meant to be.
04:26Wear those earrings.
04:27Say what you need to say.
04:28Be a boss in the street.
04:29You know what I'm saying?
04:30So with these earrings here, you're going to have people on Zooms wondering, what is she wearing today?
04:36Who made that?
04:37How do I get that?
04:39And that's one of the things that I really enjoy about these polymer clay earrings.
04:44So much statement.
04:46So bold and so absolutely lightweight.
04:49These are black and white.
04:50And if you kind of take a look at these, they've got a little sparkle in them.
04:54A little bit of sparkle.
04:57Yeah, they've got a little bit of sparkle because I feel like my Bejewel Bays, that's what I call my customers, we've got a lot of sparkle in us.
05:03So there's nothing wrong with a little sparkle in your ear, right?
05:06Oh, my God.
05:06So I love that you're modeling these.
05:08They look so excellent on you.
05:10And I have a couple of pairs here.
05:12I've got like a little pink here.
05:13Oh, you have other colors.
05:14Yes, I have other colors.
05:16And this one has like a metallic-y color onto the pink as well.
05:20If you see here, I kind of have like a theme with the pink.
05:23No, we love that.
05:27We love what you said about just being free to express yourselves.
05:33We're so naturally fly and naturally creative.
05:37And a lot of Black women find ourselves in environments where we feel like we have to make ourselves smaller in order to, you know, not make the next person uncomfortable.
05:49And what I love about fashion is you don't have to say anything, right?
05:55You walk into a room and it's just like, ooh, I know what she's about.
05:58You know, you walk into a room with these and it's already kind of letting people know for you, like, what she is about and, you know, her spirit and all of that just through these earrings.
06:10And when I tell you, you guys, this looks like it would be a lot heavier than it is.
06:15It is just so light.
06:16It says light is just like some plain hoop earrings, but they really make a statement.
06:21You want to just walk into a room and just like plain black but still make a splash.
06:25And that's what I love about a statement earring, right, is that you can wear a very basic outfit.
06:33Like right now, I just have on a white tank top that I think that I got from Old Navy.
06:37But I've got these orange ostrich feather earrings on that I'm going to wear to a fundraiser right after this recording.
06:45But you can dress up, you can dress down.
06:47And I just love the fact that these earrings are so completely versatile.
06:51There is a pair of live, laugh, bejewel earrings that can match every boot of every bejewel bay that's out there.
06:58Whatever the color, whatever the style, whatever the shape, whether you like long and luscious or whether you like short and spunky, you know, there's a bejewel bay pair of earrings out there for you.
07:09Love, love, love.
07:10I love it.
07:10I love it.
07:11You got to love this up to get through.
07:13Yeah, you know what?
07:15I said that those are called Xena.
07:16Those are called My Lady Love.
07:18So I'm sorry about that one.
07:21I mean, these copper and red leather earrings are called Xena.
07:27Yeah.
07:27So let's do it.
07:28Let's do a link check.
07:29So I said long and luscious or short and spunky, right?
07:31So we got a link check here.
07:33So this is about six, six inches, six inches of earring fun here and super duper lightweight.
07:43I think that you also have a pair of those there with you as well.
07:46So what I'm going to do is that I'm going to try these earrings on so that you get some reference to what they look like.
07:53Are these the same ones or different ones?
07:55Nope.
07:55Those are my feathers.
07:58Those are metallic pink feathers.
08:00So these are black and copper.
08:04These are the copper and red.
08:07These are made from recycled leather.
08:11I just want to show you that.
08:12Look at that.
08:13Beautiful.
08:13Look at how the light catches there.
08:15And I love the sustainability of recycled leather.
08:18This is really, really good.
08:20Essence, we have a really great story coming out about sustainable fashion.
08:23So in the importance of it, it's really great.
08:26Look at that.
08:27Well, I love that I use all recycled leathers.
08:31I also like to use a lot of materials from when I travel to different countries because I feel like, you know, when your earrings or when your jewelry has a story, you can wear it a lot more proudly than if you just picked it up from some sort of chain place.
08:45And my earrings all have a story to them.
08:48There's always some sort of inspiration to them.
08:50So we have these Xena copper and red earrings.
08:54But if you don't want them as long, maybe five inches is a little bit more earring than what you want.
09:00We've got these.
09:01I love the ruler.
09:03Four.
09:04Link check.
09:04Link check.
09:05This is four inches right here.
09:07So this one is dual shades of pink.
09:09So there is a metallic like bubblegum pink and then more of a little blush pink there.
09:15So if you don't want the five inch earrings and you want to go a little bit shorter, these might be for you.
09:22But it still gives you a lot of boldness as well.
09:26So you're not sacrificing the style just because you want it a little bit shorter.
09:30As a matter of fact, that's how my mother orders earrings.
09:33She'll see something that I've posted up and she'll text me and say, I like those.
09:37Make them shorter.
09:40Love, love, love.
09:43What's the next thing you want to highlight?
09:44I'm going to pull up the promo code once again.
09:47As you guys shop.
09:48Remember, if you're just tuning in, this is Shop Essence Live where we shop live with you guys.
09:53All Black-owned brands in partnership with New Voices Family.
09:56Oh, those are beautiful.
09:57So now speaking of a story, these earrings here are made from recycled leather and Ankara wax fabric that I brought back from a recent trip to Ghana.
10:09So this is a great way for any woman to bring in a little bit of culture into her outfit and wear it to work.
10:19And the name of this earring is called Ankara Passion.
10:23And recently, I made some that were called Pink Passion.
10:28They were actually named in a naming contest.
10:31So I made the earrings and I thought, how fun would it be for my bejewelbeys out there to have an opportunity to name the earrings?
10:39And so I put it out there.
10:40And one of my friends, 10-year-old daughter, named the earrings Pink Passion.
10:45So now this particular style is called Passion.
10:49And because this one has Ankara wax fabric, it's Ankara Passion.
10:54Wow.
10:56So super lightweight.
10:59I just love these earrings and how it shakes and how it moves and catches the light.
11:05And so very light.
11:06Like, I want Live Laughy Jewel earrings to be your favorite pair.
11:11No matter which pair it is, I want it to be your favorite pair.
11:14It cannot be your favorite pair if they're heavy, if they're pinched, if they're uncomfortable.
11:20It's like when your ponytail is too tight or you have on a pair of shoes that you were dying to get.
11:25It's going to go in the back of the closet.
11:31Yeah, we don't need fashion that hurts.
11:33We don't need fashion that hurts.
11:36We need sustainable jewelry.
11:38We've got our recycled leather.
11:41I'm still supporting young girls who are transitioning from between high school into college and out of college with profits from Live Laughy Jeweled.
11:50So I always tell my women and my men who purchase from Live Laughy Jeweled that you're also supporting educational goals of young Black and Brown women at the same time.
12:01Wow, that is incredible.
12:03All right.
12:04So what's the next?
12:05We got, she has so many designs.
12:08It's easy for you to find something that is your favorite.
12:11What do you want to highlight?
12:11Your absolute favorite.
12:13So I won't wear these, but I'm going to show you some hoops, right?
12:17Like you said, hoops and staples.
12:19These are actually my pair of hoops right here.
12:22I throw these things on all the time and I just go for it all the time.
12:26They're so lightweight.
12:28Everyone always stops me and says, oh, I love your hoops.
12:30I love your hoops.
12:31And I just put them on and I go.
12:34I love them so much.
12:36And I love those on you.
12:38You have the neck for modeling these earrings.
12:42I just absolutely love it.
12:45I've never heard that before in my life, but I will take it.
12:50And then the red lips.
12:51Come on through.
12:52Come on through.
12:53Come through.
12:54Red lips.
12:55The gold hoop earrings.
12:55So these are another style that I have as well that are not that you don't have a pair
13:01of, but I love pairing the Ankara wax fabric with the hoop earring and the leather topper.
13:08Oh, that's gorgeous.
13:09So you can find these on my website, www.live, laugh, bejeweled under hoops.
13:17And there we go.
13:18One of them fell off because I guess it wants to jump into my ear, but I wasn't going to put them on.
13:22See?
13:22I love it about me.
13:23I'm going to be winding down now because I know we can't stay on for forever.
13:29But before I choose my last pair, which I think that will be the silver.
13:35This is the next to the last pair here.
13:38Now, what woman does not want a pair of fierce leather feather earrings?
13:45Leather feather.
13:45I don't know her.
13:47Leather feather.
13:48Yes, I made you a pink pair.
13:50This is the Beyonce silver here.
13:53The renaissance.
13:56The renaissance leather feather.
13:59Now, length check.
14:01We got a length check one more time here.
14:03That's length check.
14:04Length check.
14:05So these two are, again, six and a half inches long.
14:11You cannot walk into a room with six inch metallic recycled leather earrings and somebody is not like,
14:20who is that woman?
14:21She could be my friend right there.
14:23Now, of course, for those women who don't necessarily like the long look, but you still want bold style.
14:32We've got our short and sassy ones here.
14:35And this one has a little bit of painting that I've done on this particular pair right here.
14:41So length check for these, let's see, length check, three inches.
14:46These are like three inches long.
14:48I actually have my mother wearing up to three inches of earrings now.
14:54Because before she would say, oh, no, that's too long.
14:58I don't want that on my neck.
14:59And now I'm like, well, mom, do you like those?
15:01She was like, yeah, I like those.
15:03I don't mind those on my neck.
15:05I love those on you.
15:07I can't, I can't decide which ones are my favorite on you.
15:10I really don't have to decide.
15:12We have them all.
15:12I love, love, love.
15:15There's something for every single one in my closet here.
15:19Why decide?
15:19I just want to show, you have some really, just look at all these incredible designs.
15:25I love these.
15:26I love these.
15:29These are beautiful as well.
15:31Yeah, we do custom painting.
15:34We are into our polymer clay, which is the pink ones that you have over there.
15:39So the last pair that I'm going to highlight for you are the butterfly earrings.
15:43These are my monarch butterfly earrings.
15:45And you have a pair of those as well.
15:47And I paint them.
15:48Oh, put it in the other ear.
15:50Oh, oh, okay.
15:52There's a logic to it.
15:53Okay.
15:53I'm supposed to look like a butterfly.
15:54You can look like a butterfly.
15:56There you go.
15:57And I paint them in different color combinations.
15:59So you have the red, the classic monarch butterfly colors, red, orange, and yellow.
16:06This one here has a copper, a gold, and a silver.
16:11And I started to make monarch butterfly earrings when I first started to make earrings.
16:15And I was at an event, probably my first event.
16:19And the person who organized the event said, hey, I have a friend who has a modeling agency.
16:26And she is having a show soon.
16:29And they're going to be highlighting monarch butterflies.
16:31Do you make monarch butterflies?
16:33I said, of course I do.
16:34I had never made a monarch butterfly in my life.
16:37But I figured I could do it.
16:39So I called my mother.
16:40And she was like, oh, we need a template.
16:41And we can go from there.
16:43And that's how this started.
16:44But the monarch butterfly earrings have become more of my signature earring.
16:50And these are all custom painted.
16:52They're all, turn it around.
16:53There you go.
16:54Yep.
16:55They're all custom painted.
16:56I have different shapes that I make.
17:00There are three different shapes that I make for monarch butterfly as well.
17:04So that's in the color that you currently have.
17:06Also have them in this white color here as well.
17:10So various colors.
17:11But, you know, I did not recognize the connection that people have to monarch butterflies or butterflies in general until after I started making and selling these earrings.
17:22And people started to connect and tell me the story about metamorphosis and change.
17:27And I didn't even connect it to my own story about how I was on my growth journey.
17:32We're still on a growth journey, right?
17:33But how I started this whole thing as a part of my own growth journey, trying to see who am I going to be?
17:39Who else am I going to be in this big old wire world?
17:42And I'll tell you this one of my story.
17:44It was a friend of mine from college.
17:46She saw the earrings and I sent her a pair in the mail and she burst into tears and she started crying.
17:52She called me and she burst into tears.
17:54And I said, well, why are you crying?
17:56And she said, because my dad had just passed away not that long ago and he used to call me Madam Butterfly.
18:00Yeah. And so I just stay connected to that.
18:04So she's one of my best customers ever, ever, ever.
18:07But I just started thinking to myself, I have this is a purpose for me.
18:12This is a mission for me. This is a passion for me.
18:15I'm supposed to be here.
18:17And out of this is going to come so many things.
18:20Not only is it for me and my own growth, but also support for others along the way.
18:25And, you know, I didn't know this as well, but, you know, I'm serving as kind of like or this whole thing is serving as inspiration for my son watching me pursue my goals and my dreams and my parents watching me do that as well.
18:39I didn't even realize that they were that they were in the rear cheering me on.
18:43But, you know, they pulled me aside the other day and said, I'm just so proud of you.
18:48You have always just stuck your head out there.
18:51And even when you were scared, you jumped scared.
18:54So I just thank my Bejeweled Bays for coming on this journey with me and we can support each other together.
19:01And I'm just so excited to be a part of Shop Essence Live.
19:05I just can't even tell you how excited I am.
19:07Oh, my goodness, Erica.
19:08We're so excited to have you as a part of it.
19:10And speaking of, it's in partnership with New Voices Family, which you are a part of as well.
19:16Can you talk a little bit about what it's been like being a part of New Voices Family?
19:21Let me tell you, they put your work, right?
19:23But it's a good thing because I think as entrepreneurs, especially those of us who are creative and some of the neuroscientists by training, I did not think that I had a creative role in my body.
19:36You know what now by training?
19:38I have a doctorate in neuroscience.
19:39So I didn't think that I had any kind of creative role because I thought if you were creative, you could draw.
19:45I can't draw a doggone thing.
19:47But, you know, I've just started to discover so many more things about myself along this journey.
19:53I'm just so happy to be a part of it.
19:55But as creatives, and I call myself that now without hesitation, I think we tend to focus on the bright and shiny and the fun parts.
20:02But what we don't focus on are the finances and all of the other things that we think might be a little bit tougher, a little bit harder.
20:10But those are the very things that once we learn more about them and the more that we work on those and secure those, we can continue to focus on the more creative side and not have a fear that I'm not going to be able to sustain this because you've really solidified your foundation.
20:26And that's what participating with New Voices is doing for me.
20:31It's helping me to further solidify the foundation of Live, Laugh, Be Jeweled so that this can go on and on and on and on.
20:39Well, we love that, and we're so excited to see your business continue to grow and continue to scale, and you guys can help and support in that by getting these incredible ones.
20:52If you want to do it for yourself, do that for yourself.
20:55If you want to get it as a gift for some loved one or that rich auntie that you don't want to get her, trust me, she would love Live, Laugh, Be Jeweled.
21:06Well, Erica, it's been so great to have you guys on.
21:10We're going to throw up the promo code one more time so you guys can take advantage.
21:14You only have until November 19th, and then go to their website to see their full array of what they have to offer.
21:20If you're watching this on Pinterest, we are pinning all these products.
21:23If you're watching it on Essence, we have the little hotspots that you can click on to buy.
21:28But make sure wherever you buy that you are supporting 100%.
21:32Erica, it's been so great to have you on the show.
21:35Thank you so much for joining us.
21:37And everybody at home, thank you so much for watching and buying.
Comments