Episode 27 - Enter the Entrepreneur: Holly Daniels Christensen, CEO and Founder of Dune Jewelry Co.
Kate and Bella chat with entrepreneur, Holly Daniels Christensen, CEO and Founder of Dune Jewelry Co.
Can you go from crafting at your kitchen table to a multi-million-dollar business? As CEO, Holly Daniels Christensen has proved – yes! Using grit and the actual sand beneath her toes, that’s exactly what this entrepreneur has done.
The founder of Dune Jewelry left home at 15 years old, and never looked back. She held a variety of jobs with stints as a zookeeper, pharmacy technician, promotional model, bartender, cellphone, car and cruise salesperson. She also spent 14 successful years as a top agent in Boston’s highly competitive real estate market.
This unique bootstrap entrepreneur who proved she was unafraid of hard work was voted 2016 Woman-Owned Business of the Year for Massachusetts and New England by the Small Business Association (SBA). In 2018, Inc. magazine honored Dune Jewelry as No. 2590 on its 37th annual Inc. 5000 List which is the most prestigious ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment—its independent small businesses. Currently, Dune Jewelry is the one-and-only experiential jewelry brand in the world.
It all started in 2007, when this self-taught jewelry designer began making beach sand jewelry for friends and family at her kitchen table, then officially launched Dune Jewelry full time in 2010. Now, Dune employs a team of 25 people working in a 3,100 square foot studio space in Hyde Park, Massachusetts. Dune continuously fills orders for over 600 retail partners worldwide while their thriving e-commerce website focuses on selling personalized Experiential Jewelry that captures their customer’s most cherished memories. Additionally, Holly has created an exclusive Sandbank that holds over 5,000 sands and earth elements gathered from iconic and memorable locations around the globe which customers can select from to customize their jewelry.
Holly is an advocate for giving back to the community and is proud to spearhead many fundraisers each year for non-profit organizations such as SMILE Mass, Joslin Diabetes Center, and the Association to Preserve Cape Cod. In addition, Dune often donates a portion of their sales throughout the year to various charities such as the global relief organization All Hands and Hearts, the Surfrider Foundation and the P.A.W.S Project.
Currently, Holly is hosting “Kitchen Table Talks” a 30-minute live show on Facebook and Instagram, where she shares updates on current events, favorite recipes, funny happenings and style hacks along with information on Dune’s new brand collaborations and designs in development.
Holly lives in Walpole, Massachusetts with her husband Eric, their two daughters Alexa and Lyla, and their rescue pup, Earle. She is dedicated to creating a future that motivates people to understand that continued hard work and perseverance is a direct path to success.
Follow Holly Daniels Christensen on her personal Instagram: sandy__hands
Follow Dune Jewelry on social media:
Instagram: DuneJewelry
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dunejewelry
Twitter: @dunejewelry
Kate (00:22):
Welcome to eight by Kate. Good morning. How are you
Bella (00:27):
Doing well? I'm excited for today's episode. I know
Kate (00:30):
Today is our enter the entrepreneur segment, and I love talking to inspiring entrepreneurs. And today is no exception. We have the amazing Holly Daniels Christenson. She is the founder and CEO of dune jewelry company. Why don't you tell our listeners a little bit about our guests today?
Bella (00:50):
Absolutely. Well, can you go from crafting at your kitchen table to a multi-million dollar business as CEO Holly Daniels Christensen has proved using grit and the actual sand beneath her toes. That's exactly what the entrepreneur has done. This unique bootstrap entrepreneur who proved she was unafraid of hard work was voted 2016. Women owned business of the year for Massachusetts and new England by the small business association in 2018 ink magazine honored doing jewelry as number two, five nine zero on its 37th annual Inc 5,000 list, which is the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest growing private company. This all started in 2007. When this taught jewelry designer began making beach sand jewelry for friends and family at our kitchen table, then officially launched June dune jewelry in 2010. Now dune employees, a team of 25 people working in a 3,100 square foot studio space in Massachusetts doing continuously fills orders for over 600 retail partners worldwide while their thriving e-commerce website focuses on selling personalized experiments, the essential jewelry that captures their customer's most cherished memories. Currently, Holly is hosting kitchen table talks a 30 minute live show on Facebook and Instagram where she shares updates on current events, favorite recipes and style hacks along with information on dunes, new brand collaborations and designs and development. Thank you so much.
Holly (02:37):
So we're so happy to have you here today. Hello. Thank you for having me. I'm excited. I'm excited to be chatting with you guys
Kate (02:47):
Ran out of breath, just talking about all your accolades, just so you know, we did edit some for everyone to, to really get the full understanding of who Holly is. You need to make sure that you check out the bio that will go along with this podcast to read everything about her. Super interesting and inspiring. So thank you and welcome to the show. You know, today I really want to talk about a lot about how you got started because I actually owned a business that was super similar to yours and where it was a startup. I was doing it on my own. I was hand-making things. So I'm super intrigued about that. So tell us a bit about your background even before dune.
Holly (03:41):
Sure. I I grew up on Cape Cod and then moved to Maine with my family and I actually ended up dropping out of high school when I was 15 and leaving home. So that kind of got me to this point where I was, I was working to live. I was carrying three jobs. I was, you know, testing out different, different career paths, trying to see where I was supposed to be going in this life. And you know, the cool thing about that is that I worked for so many managers and so many leaders. As the I sold travel, I worked as a bartender. I was a promotional model. I I was a zookeeper for many years every summer. I, I mean, I did it all. I think I've had over probably 125 different jobs in my lifetime from when I was 15 to 25.
Holly (04:41):
And I picked up all these great tips and tricks from all these leaders over that time, and then settled into a career in real estate, in Boston development and sales. But it still didn't have the creative. It still didn't have the creative opening that I was, I was looking for or the creative potential that I was looking for. And then I started making jewelry using sand and earth elements at my kitchen table, just as a hobby. And I started gifting it to friends and family, they would, and then I'd run into them and they'd have it on. And I'm like, okay, that's, that's a good sign. Right. That kind of gave me the confidence to, to test the waters.
Kate (05:29):
So amazing. Like I think some of the best entrepreneurs that I know and have met started life, and this isn't a bad word by the way. Some people might think it's a bad word, but hustling, you know, like when you have a drive that's bigger than anything, which is survival and living that is when true talent in, I swear by it. So
Holly (06:00):
True. And, and you're forced to learn so much in a short amount of time. And and you either adapt and, and run with it or you, or you don't. I mean, it can go either way, but I think I think for a long time I was so ashamed that I didn't have this formal education. And that makes me sad. I want people to, I mean, of course formal education is so important and I want my daughters to have a great education. And but if you don't have it, you don't have it. If you didn't have a chance because your upbringing was subpar quite frankly, or tumultuous or dysfunctional, leave it behind, move on, keep stepping forward because it's it's, you can do great things. You don't have to live in the past.
Kate (06:47):
And, you know, we need more messaging like that because the pressures that our youth has already on them have already on themselves is just crazy. So to say, you know what, whatever your path is, it's okay. You know, and you figure it out, you know, in some way. So I'd love that, that whole backstory. So first let's talk about dune. Tell us what is it and sort of what was the driving force behind it or whether it was the driving force years ago, or what is the driving force now? So tell us about doing
Holly (07:20):
Dune jewelry is the one and only experiential jewelry brand in the world. And what that means is we capture experiences in every single piece of jewelry that leaves our studio. So like when I was younger, we would always, we would take photos and we would print them out and we would put them in this beautiful, tangible album or scrapbook, or it was kind of more of a project. Whereas nowadays everything is stuck in our phones, right? Like it's all virtual. So the concept of dune is that we can take standard earth elements from a memorable or iconic location anywhere around the world and personalize a piece of jewelry or an accessory for you so that you can hold onto this tangible reminder forever. A great example would be sand from your honeymoon or pressed flower pedals from a wedding or funeral. People send in all sorts of crazy things. We've done coal recovered from the Titanic. We've done crushed shells picked up on the, on the ocean floor from someone's first scuba diving expeditions. That was a lifelong dream. And, and then we crafted into these beautiful artists in pieces of jewelry that lasts
Kate (08:38):
Forever, by the way, I own some pieces and I actually gifted one to Bella this holiday.
Kate (08:56):
Know what? I don't even remember. I apologize. That's okay.
Holly (09:04):
I love that. Is it from anywhere special or is it just kind of a beachy beachy reminder of the beachy one? Yeah, I love it. It's so awesome. That's really cool.
Kate (09:16):
I was super impressed with everything. Cause you know, you see a lot of companies like this and and they're doing great, but I re I mean, the craftsmanship of what you guys do is really amazing because you know, you have a lot of these that are out there, not what you're doing, but jewelry in general. And sometimes you order something or get something, and it's not what you expect. This went above and beyond just, you know, so unplugging you right now. I appreciate it. Take
Holly (09:45):
Much pride in every piece that's crafted in the studio are, you know, we don't necessarily, yes, we have a production line, but it's, it's not like a, a factory or a, I mean, it's a, it's an artist studio where our stand artists that every day and craft these pieces and they are they're little works of art. And you know, sometimes if it's, if you choose a sand, say from the Jersey shore or the Carolinas, sometimes it's not the most colorful or textural, but it doesn't matter because that's where your memories are. Right. You're personalizing customizing it to your, to your,
Kate (10:25):
What do you think is your best seller and why do you think it's successful? Like what, what do you think is the connection
Holly (10:31):
We have? That's an easy one by far. We have this this, this little wave necklace wave, pendant necklace very, very simple design, one of my first ever design. And I'm, self-taught so some of my designs are very simple. But I think that people love it because first of all, the beach is such a happy place for so many people. It's not only fun, but it's healing. It's, it's regenerative. It's just, it's just such a beautiful place to be so peaceful. So I think the wave really resonates with people. And I think that as I'm, you know, I might've been like, Oh, I could have done these little embellishments on this design. I think people love the simplicity of it because they can add their sand or earth elements or shells or, you know, whatever is meaningful to them. And have it personalized. And I don't know, I water's magical. So maybe that's why now
Kate (11:33):
This wasn't one of my questions by the way, but I'm going to ask it. So we're, we're doing nine. Okay. Explain to people the process, if they, they just say there, cause like people are now getting out in the world, right? The world's opening up, they're going to different places. So if I'm going to Bali on a trip and I want to save the memory and I collect sand, tell me the process on how that gets to you and you guys create me something. That's
Holly (12:00):
Such a good question. So there's two options. You can search our sand bank on the website and we do have over 5,000 locations from all around the world from Dubai to post a ton of Italy, to Bali, to Fiji. I mean, it's really incredible what our customers have sent in over the years. But if you're out this summer and you're just making the best memories you've had in a long time, you just, you know, make sure you're reading all the rules and regulations and and collecting sander elements that are, that are okay to collect. Because it really goes down to a municipal level and you take a little tiny pinch of that, that stand or shell or leaf or grass. I mean, we've even done grass from golf courses and you send it into us and there's a little form that you fill out. You put your order number on there. And essentially when you go to the website, you're kind of, you're just looking for the silhouette that you like, the design that you like, because we're going to put your chosen element into it. Got
Kate (13:06):
It. See, I'm glad I asked that question. That's a really good question I should have. Okay. So what, you know, being a startup is always tough. I've been won numerous times. So what were some of your initial startup pains and how did you overcome them?
Holly (13:24):
I think for me personally I think for me personally, I first off get a mentor go to score their free find a mentor because that's important. I had a really hard time transitioning from an artist mindset to a business owner and CEO and, and learning how to read the numbers and read a profit and loss and, and figure out how to be a bootstrap profitable business. So it's a challenge. I mean, you have to be ready to live. It live, breathe 24 seven. And I know people don't like to hear that everyone wants to hear work-life balance and, and that is possible for some entrepreneurs. It was not possible for me. First of all, it's not my personality. Probably, but I think the challenge is don't have expectations. Don't have crazy expectations because it is a rollercoaster ride and you have to be willing to do the work and, and you might have to be uncomfortable for a little bit.
Kate (14:34):
Yeah. And also failure is a part of the process. Right. So I can totally relate to that. Several times in this step and, and pieces of my owning businesses. So I can relate to that
Holly (14:55):
Hard. Failure's hard.
Kate (14:57):
Yeah. You got to pick yourself up though. And Holly, it sounds like, you know how to do that.
Holly (15:02):
Absolutely. I kind of just a bit of a bowl, but I think that's okay. I really do my best not to live in the past and not to dwell on the state because they will just eat you alive and everyone makes mistakes. And at the end of the day too, you feel like everyone's watching you or seeing your failures and yeah. Maybe some people have, but for the most part, people are, they're not necessarily all eyes on you. They're not thinking about your failures, you know, they're working on themselves. So I think you have to take away a little bit of that. I don't want to say it's narcissism because that's not the right word. But it's not all about you. So don't be, don't be nervous. Just get up dust yourself off and keep going. That's what people are going to remember. They're not going to remember the failures.
Kate (15:53):
Yeah. I think it's about letting your ego go.
Holly (15:55):
Yes. A hundred percent. That's that's, that's probably the best way to say it.
Kate (16:00):
So what has been the most impactful, effective marketing for the business and why do you think it worked?
Holly (16:06):
I'll tell you someone re I'm going to tell you a recent nugget that I learned. And I was talking to this gentleman David Shane from he's an MIT. I think he's an MIT professor actually. But he said to me, Holly, look at your business. If you're looking for new avenues to grow the business and, and enrich the business, look at other industries and try to apply it to the jewelry industry, to your, to your business. Which sounds so simple, but it, it was, it was like this crazy aha moment because we've been offering this lifetime warranty for many, many years, and it's kind of, no questions asked people say, Oh, I lost one of my earrings. Most of the time, we just replace it for them. It's very important for me to treat our customers like gold and make sure that they're happy and they're spreading good vibes and good good intention for doing jewelry.
Holly (17:09):
But I thought to myself, what the heck I thought, what about every Cuisinart? You get every Hoover you get every appliance you get, you'll have to register for that lifetime warranty. Right? So I implemented this really cool registration for our lifetime warranty. And it's so powerful because now we have our customer's name. We, you know, it's a little, they sign up for the warranty, but they have to tell us what their favorite beaches what's their anniversary. So we can send them an anniversary card what's their birthday so we can send them a birthday message. And it's, it sounds so simple and silly, but I'm really proud of that. Tweak in my brain where I was like, Oh my goodness. You know, no, we're not Hoover, thankfully, but we can apply this really simple concept to our lifetime warranty, learn more about our customers, service our customers better, you know, serve them great content that's meant for them.
Holly (18:05):
And that was really cool. Holly, what was one lesson you learned since starting your business? There have been so many lessons. I know this is kind of a simple one, but sometimes done is better than perfect. I think so many people can get really caught up in the details and yes, details are important, but sometimes if you can push through a project that's been bogging you down that you've been waiting to get it just perfect. And just right before you release it or, or introduce it if you can kind of push through that and, and, and move it forward, that momentum really does help you start to succeed and move forward. So I just think sometimes you can't wait for everything to be perfect.
Kate (18:54):
You know, that's such an amazing point that you just said, and I absolutely love it. Girl. You're like a sister from another mother or something because I'm, we work with a lot of startups and I would say we have a mixed bag, but I will tell you one of the hardest types of startups to work with are ones that, and I call it fear, right? Fear of moving on and progressing and they overthink everything. And I'm like, look, we just got, you got to get it done. Like, you've been talking about it for five months now we got to make some headway and move on things. So read that, you know, things, especially as a, especially starting up, it's never going to be perfect. Let's be honest.
Holly (19:35):
No. And also who are you to, to define what is perfect? Like in the beginning, I wanted to make all of these really very kind of geometrical designs and let the sand and shell have this organic nature, this beautiful contrast and keep it very simple. And my customers were like, no, no, no, no. I want starfish. I want waves. I want sand dollars. I want beachy. I want anchors. And I'm like, gosh, that's not what I had envisioned, but I'm not only passionate about the art, but I'm also passionate about business buildings. So you have to realize that sometimes you've got to listen to the people around you or listen to your customers. And you know, maybe your, your idea of perfect is not necessarily so good.
Kate (20:25):
I love that. So what was one piece of advice that you can share with other entrepreneurs that you've received, especially those looking to sell a product or that you want to give to somebody? So if I'm a startup and I'm, cause product is different than, you know, B2B, and, and I know what the pro what selling products, especially in the United States and how sometimes it's super difficult because of cost. So what would be one piece of advice you would give somebody that's ready to sell a product, or they have an idea they want to start implementing?
Holly (21:04):
I would say, I mean, again, it sounds simple, but it test it, you know, get out there, do your market research, make sure that you're not assuming that someone's going to love something or assuming what something should look like or because, I mean, all, all great ideas come from a strong vision. And I do understand that, but I'm always constantly surprised at how different your vision can be compared to what your consumer is looking for. Also knowing your consumer really trying to target that consumer because you've got to speak to different, different demographics in different ways. So it's important to, to do the research on that as well. A lot of, I feel like a lot of people are like, Oh, I have this product and everyone's going to buy it. And that's not the case.
Kate (21:59):
Yeah. And you know, also what you're passionate about may not mean dollars or that it's going to be huge or big. So setting expectations too, like, okay, this is a passion of mine, and this is the expectation. I'm not expecting this to be a multi-million dollar business. Right. Because th the, the audience could be super small. Right. So having an understanding of that is important. Definitely important.
Holly (22:25):
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I can liken it to some of my design work. I mean, I've designed some, some pieces that I absolutely love, but they don't necessarily resonate perfectly with our core dune customer. And that's okay. I mean, I, I still, it's still about the artistry. It's still about the creative journey. But sometimes there, it's just, you think something's going to be this big hit cause you're, so you see you're in love with it yourself, and then you realize, you know, that you're not, you're not speaking to the right demographic. Yeah, totally. I love that. You said that because I've experienced that myself and you kind of do have to listen to what people are like, you know, listen to what's working and listen to what your customer, you know, is liking. And don't, if it's working and it's, don't change it, like go that route, you know, especially if you're looking to, to build a business.
Holly (23:19):
Yeah. So yeah, I was going to say, that's the difference, right? Because some people are pure, you know, pure, true artists who aren't looking to build a business. Yes. They maybe want to make some money or have a teeny tiny business, specifically selling their art and their vision all the time. I knew when I started, it started as art, but then I, I wanted to build a business from it. And when I really started listening to my customers and I would go on, this is when Facebook was organic. Like everything know when, when I would post something and say, Hey, do you like this color for our logo? Do you like this new design? What would you like to see next? I would get all this amazing feedback from our customers. And that was the driving force behind dune in the beginning, it was just listening, learning, executing. And that's another thing is you can listen, you can learn and you can have ideas, but if you can't execute, there's no, there's no help. You've got to have to figure out how to make it all happen. You have to be able to execute. And and that's the only way you're going to succeed. Yeah.
Kate (24:28):
Specifically with product too, because you can, you can't be like dance around stuff. You got, if you say that this is what you can provide, you gotta be able to provide it, you know?
Holly (24:38):
Yeah. And it's hard. I mean, we launched a candle line during a quarantined and it was just like this genius idea. I'm like, ah, can't be that hard. It was extraordinarily hard. There were so many learning curves and bumps and bruises along the way. And we finally got to these delicious luxurious candles, but it really, it really was painful to get to that point.
Kate (25:07):
Yeah. I mean, like that business alone, it's a super flooded market and now yeah, but you already had, and I would think that what you had going for you in that arena would be, you already have the trust factor, but with so many people that are already customers. So that's, that's, you know, you know, I actually just saw the other day, like Jody Watley. I don't know if you remember her from the eighties. She actually has a candle line. I'm like, what?
Holly (25:32):
I mean, everyone in their brother has a candle line.
Kate (25:38):
I'm going to attack her in this, by the way. No, not the Jody Watley go check her cable out. No, but dunes candles are amazing. So yeah. Nope.
Holly (25:50):
I'm a huge, like, I love, I love supporting other entrepreneurs. I mean, candles are something that I think it's a great business, but I think some people do it really you know, not, not well. And then there's just these other, these other candle brands out the Kendall lines out there that are so luxurious. So well-made no, you know, no pesticides, no chemicals. Just beautiful.
Kate (26:16):
Yeah. Yeah. I love that though. Well, I also love that you're continuingly thinking about other ventures or doing other things, because that's another thing with business that you can't be stagnant. You got to grow, you need to add things. You need to adjust things you need to. So I love that about you and that you're continually thinking that way. So kudos to you.
Holly (26:37):
Thank you. So Holly, what's up next for doing jewelry? Well, right now we are, I wouldn't say we're pivoting. We, we definitely made a pivot during during the pandemic to a lot of virtual events and, and website promotion and things like that. But what I'm seeing on my end of business could be totally different from someone else's our website sales are slowing down a bit and our our retail partners, our brick and mortar, retail partners, boutiques museum shops, jewelry stores, they are fired up. So I just love it. I love, you know, seeing this resurgence of people going out, getting into stores, shopping, supporting local, supporting main street. It's really exciting. So I think the summer I'm going to jump on the road here and there and do some pop-up shows at our favorite retailers. Definitely on the East coast. If I'm not there, our brand manager will be popping in or one of our sand artists, but we want to just get back out and get these to face with people and, and really connect because that's what dune is all about is sentiment and emotion and experiences.
Kate (27:57):
I love that. And if you're in Philadelphia or in New York city, please let us know we'll come out and show some support. I
Holly (28:04):
Love that we have a photo shoot in New York next week with one of our collaborators and I'm like beside myself, I'm so excited.
Kate (28:12):
Okay. Awesome. Awesome. Well Holly, can you tell everyone where they can find you and dune?
Holly (28:19):
Absolutely. You can find dune jewelry website, which is dune jewelry.com. It's D U N E like a sand dune. And we're also on Instagram. We have a really, really, really fun Instagram where you can see lots of different sands and elements and designs and behind the scenes and collaborations. We're also on Facebook dune jewelry Pinterest we're everywhere doing jewelry.
Kate (28:48):
I love that you came prepared. That's all awesome. Okay. Can you just real quick, tell us a little bit about what this table talks is all about
Holly (29:00):
Kitchen table talk. Yes. So it, that actually was one of our pivots during quarantine, my brand manager. And I started saying, gosh, we've got to talk to our customers. We miss everyone. No, one's on the road anymore at our retail partners. And so we started doing this kind of half hour Instagram, Facebook live every Thursday at 1230. A lot of times it's just Lauren and I talking about new designs, new elements, travel, you know, travel tips and hacks. And then we recently started having guests on. So usually it's an entrepreneur and we're just talking about their brands and, and, and promoting their business and letting people learn about about new brands and people it's really, you know, I think so many business owners kind of stay close to the close to the cuff when it comes to promoting other businesses and people. And that's just not us. I'm like, there's so much room in this world for all of us to succeed. So I want everyone to know about, you know, the brands that we love and the people that are doing great work.
Kate (30:08):
Yeah. W we're come from the same mindset here as well. And that's why even we have other marketers on and we have other experts in marketing on, and, and that's the reality of it. It's like we definitely don't know everything. And we also want to expose, you know, people to what else is out there and get as much information and knowledge as possible. So I love that whole, you know, community vibe that you're giving to small business owners. Thank you for doing that. Holly, this has been such a pleasure today. Thank you so much for joining us. And I look forward to seeing what's next for dune and for Holly. Thank
Holly (30:48):
You so much. I really enjoyed speaking with both of you and yeah. Thank you for having me on
Kate (30:55):
Bella. Can you tell us what is up next on eight by gate?
Bella (31:00):
Absolutely. So next week we are going to have Steve de Mayo, a strategic creative person of pine, a creative agency, and he will be discussing eight roles for branding.
Kate (31:10):
Oh, I love that. Well, thank you, Holly so much, Bella, as always, and thanks to our listeners. And until next time happy marketing