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Tracey Heinemann - White Moth Jewelry

Do you have a venture you can't wait to get back to?  That's how Tracey Heinemann feels about creating her jewelry line.  "When
you absolutely love what you do, you know it's right for you."  Her past career in marketing beverages, Tracey learned that the look and feel of the design and packaging is critical to the success of the product.  She saw
how a unique piece of jewelry paired with a white t-shirt and jeans could
change the whole look.  "I loved
styling my friends and found myself wanting to create jewelry to complete the
look we were working to achieve." 

Sourcing materials and developing product, selling her
creations was a natural extension.  She
began with trunk shows and Holiday Boutiques to build her brand awareness.  But she says pitching Henri Bendel really opened her eyes.  "They have what
they call 'Open See', where you present your line to their buyers for an in-store
trunk show.  I showed up at 4am and was
number 9 in the line that eventually stretched down 5th Avenue.  It was amazing to see what everyone had to present and I learned so much talking to the people who were there to pitch."  In the process, vendors get 90
seconds to tell their story and show their wares.

Tracey's jewelry line was chosen.  "They said, 'we love
it, you're in', and I couldn't believe it."  This vote of confidence gave Tracey what she needed to move forward.   Reaching out to
local boutiques and home design stores was the first order of business in the fall
of 2010 and now she's in 12 stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Florida,  New York and Wyoming. 

With her brand name starting to build, Tracey is
experiencing some growing pains and may consider part-time employees to meet
the demand for her cool chic jewelry.  
Her two boys, ages 10 and 14, sometimes help with production by polishing
and packaging.  "I love teaching
them about running a small business and think it's a great learning experience
for them."   And her husband sees the smile on her face and
says, "Keep going."

So what is her style?   "I'm
all about layering pieces, I love chunky chains paired with unique elements
like polished stones and  replicas of coins
from all over the world."  For her
signature piece she casts a metal Buddha and puts it on a gun-metal chain.    Tracey's inspiration comes from her travels
and she hopes to venture further to source unique materials to use in her
designs. 

White Moth Jewelry has six lines, Signature, which includes the Buddha, Element, which showcases natural stones, Resort, fun, summer pieces,
Links, which is made up of her chains, Found,
which uses coins and things from around the world, and her new line called Drive. 
These designs are inspired by signs you see on the road like her silver
arrow on a ball chain.    

So she knows she's in the right business by her continued
passion for what she does.  "I feel
great when I see a women wearing a piece I created.  I love empowering women through jewelry."

Contact: 
www.whitemothjewelry.com, whitemothjewelry@gmail.com

VentureMom Tip

Create unique  brand
awareness for your product.