Although she is no longer a student at CNU, you can sometimes spot a sweet and friendly brown-haired girl in the Freeman Center. Eva Meckley, an alumni from the spring of 2017, visits CNU regularly.
Major: Psychology B.S.
Minor: English
What were you involved in on/off campus?
My main extracurricular activity at CNU was hiking club. I went on hikes with the club starting freshman year and was club president during my senior year. Monthly hikes with the club really provided me with an escape from the stressors of school and I met some of my best friends in the club. It also fostered my appreciation for nature and taking care of our planet. The other major involvement during my time at CNU was working at the Freeman Center as a building supervisor and a personal trainer. It was during my time personal training that I realized my passion of sharing fitness and helping people feel better physically and mentally.
Tell me about your store, what do you sell? What is the meaning/inspiration behind it?
I have been making jewelry since I was little and it has always been my favorite form of art expression. I taught jewelry-making classes in high school and made jewelry as gifts for my family and friends. After graduation I decided to open up an Esty shop to sell my creations. Right now my shop is focused on necklaces made from crystals, gemstones, and chains. I make long and medium length necklaces and chokers. While I was coming up with a store name I thought about the message that my name would send about my jewelry. I want my jewelry to make people feel happy and confident. I also wanted to have a whimsical and positive vibe to my shop. I came up with “dogwood daydream” because outside of my family’s home there is a beautiful dogwood tree that I used to climb as a kid. To me, the name brings happy and carefree memories from my childhood.
What is your favorite product to make and why?
My favorite type of jewelry to make is anything with gemstones. I absolutely love all of the beautiful colors, especially rose quartz and aquamarine. I also love how natural and untouched these gemstones look when made into jewelry. Making jewelry from natural materials is one way that I connect with nature in my everyday life.
How did you start making products in the first place? Where did you learn? How did you improve?
I started out making jewelry with one of those pink and purple plastic jewelry gift sets that you get as a little girl on your birthday. It was fun and relaxing for me and I continued to make more as the years went on. I mostly learned through trial and error and taking old jewelry apart to see how it was made. If there was a specific way to wrap wire that I didn’t know how to do I would work on it until I got it right. The fun thing about jewelry, though, is that there isn’t one right way to do things. I like the freedom to use my creativity to put something together from scratch. Especially now that I am selling my jewelry, I take extra care to fully secure my chain and beads so that I am selling quality pieces that won’t fall apart.
Where can interested readers find your products, both in store and online?
Right now I am selling my jewelry exclusively on Etsy. I also post a lot of my new pieces and shop updates on my social media. My handle is @dogwooddaydreamjewelry on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.
What inspires your creativity?
My biggest inspiration comes from nature – the colors and shapes and natural formations. If I feel like I need more specific necklace ideas I go on websites that sell jewelry I like, such as freepeople.com or inspiration sites like Pinterest. I mostly take shape and form ideas from these sites and then make them into my own piece by using my unique materials.
What are you most proud of in regards to your store? What are your long term and short-term goals for your business?
Honestly, I am most proud of my jewelry photos. It may seem like a small thing but something that kept me from selling or posting my jewelry in the past was that I didn’t think I could make it look good or professional enough. I was intimidated by those super flawless blogs and social media influencers that have immaculate photos with perfect lighting. I stepped outside of my comfort zone and just went for it and I am proud of that. If any of you guys reading this have felt that way I encourage you to just create that Instagram account or make that first blog post. I am so glad that I put myself out there and pushed past the self-doubt. My long-term goal of my business is to have it be a source of part-time income. If I can love what I do for a living then I’m a happy camper. My short-term goal is to get to 15 sales on my Etsy shop! Starting out can be hard because buyers want to see that the shop has made sales to make it seem more trustworthy. The more sales you have the more credible your business seems, which definitely makes sense.
What advice would you like to give to CNU students that would like to open their own shops or work as independent creators? Any advice for balancing passion and adulting?
To anyone who wants to open his or her own shop/pursue a creative self-employed career: just do it!!! It can be pretty scary to put yourself out there so some of the best advice I can give is to do research. There is so much that goes into marketing and creating a brand in order to be successful in your business and it’s almost all free! Everything I have learned about running an Etsy shop has been from Google searches and Youtube videos. As for balancing passion and adulting, I am really still figuring this out. I think the biggest thing here is to accept that you’ll have to work hard and hustle for a while. Right out of college (four months ago) I took a full-time job as an assistant in a chiropractic office. Why? Because I felt like I would be a failure if I didn’t get a full-time job right out of college. But because it wasn’t my passion I really hated it and was pretty miserable. After encouragement from my boyfriend and family, I decided to pursue my passions: fitness and jewelry making. Even if I have to work an extra side job to afford rent so that I can do personal training and my Etsy shop part time, I can still be happy and fulfilled knowing that I chose to do what I love.
What have you been doing since you graduated?
A lot of exciting things are happening! I am moving into my own place at the end of September and continuing to grow my personal training clientele and my Etsy business.
What is one interesting fact or hobby about you?
I am one of eight children; I have six brothers and one sister. Having a big family can be pretty chaotic sometimes, but you always have someone to support you!