One of this week’s profiles features Taylor Block! She’s a Junior who is majoring in Rhetoric and Communications. She’s involved in Spoon University, as well as a photographer for the Collegian, but her claim to fame is her own jewelry business — Salt and Soul.
“ I started making jewelry as a hobby as I loved having my own pieces that reflected my personal style. When I started receiving countless compliments from friends and total strangers on my pieces, I realized I had found the perfect niche to focus my entrepreneurial drive. Thus, Salt and Soul Jewelry was born,” Taylor said.
She runs the business straight out of her dorm room. She keeps all of the tools she needs right in her desk, and she runs the finance and marketing sides of the business herself as well, but to get the managerial side of the business under control she hunkers down in the lib.
The jewelry she makes appeals to many different kinds of people, so while she may have started making the jewelry to target her specific style, she has branched and expanded since she began.
One of her favorite memories here at UR was when she was doing a trunk show outside of the library, and a few girls approached her who seemed fairly quiet, and as if they just wished to observe. This was until one of the girls asked Taylor where she got the jewelry. “When I told them I made it myself, all three of them absolutely erupted with questions and taking photos to show their friends. I can’t remember if they bought anything, but I was just so thrilled to have a group of girls as excited about something as simple as jewelry as I am. It’s really validating to see a group of people as excited about my pieces as I get when I make them.”
She hosts trunk shows outside of the bookstore, so go check her out sometime! Even if you don’t buy anything, she loves to talk with people and answer any questions one may have about her blossoming company. You guys can also find her on Etsy, as well as Insta and Twitter at @saltandsouljewelry.