Junior Nayeli Garcia, experienced in cosmetology, fashion design, and business, was featured on “ShoutoutHTX” for her small jewelry business, HeavenlybyNayeli, on Sept. 7. 

ShoutoutHTX is a website which highlights small business owners and artists. The article featuring Garcia included a transcript of the email interview which discussed topics about her business and the struggles she has had.

“It was an important event to me because I’m still a small business and it made me feel important,” Garcia said. “It made me feel like my hard work was paying off because I was getting a bit of recognition.”

Garcia expressed appreciation to those who support her small business, and especially to those who helped kick-start her journey. She credited her parents for encouraging her and helping her buy the materials she needed to start making jewelry.

“I just commented to my parents about starting a business and they were like, ‘You should do it!’ and if it wasn’t for them, it would have been just an idea,” Garcia said. “It would’ve been like, ‘I want to start something and never do anything about it.’”

Garcia began her small jewelry business as a website that sold resin-based products in March of 2020. Garcia has always been a person who loves jewelry, so she wanted to start making some of her own. After a year and a half of doing resin, Garcia decided to rebrand her small business, because it didn’t suit her own style anymore, and she found out about the negative effects resin has on the environment. She built a niche around resin jewelry and gained many interactions and followers. The rebranding negatively impacted Garcia as she lost many followers and started over with a completely new niche. The change that happened a few months ago resulted in the current HeavenlybyNayeli, now based on beaded accessories and jewelry charms. 

“I guess it did discourage me a little bit but at the same time I expected that,” Garcia said. “I had to build up my business again and rebrand.”

Her business grew as she advertised her business to her peers, posted consistently on social media, and also hosted in pop-up markets to sell her products. Garcia’s products include necklaces, earrings, hair clips, phone charms, and bookmarks. Helen Perez, a senior, has bought Nayeli’s beaded bookmarks and phone charms.

“The items I bought were very cute, and I always get compliments on my phone charms and people have asked me where I got it,” Perez said. “I bought two bookmark charms for my friends because they like to read and I thought it would be really cute.”

During the first year of Garcia starting her business, she kept her business a secret until the end of her freshman year in 2021. Whenever Garcia started to publicize her business more to her peers, her two best friends, Keilly Flores and Gabriela Reyes were the first to know. Reyes described her reaction as shocking, as jewelry making was a new part of Garcia that Reyes saw.

“She is really dedicated to it and always wants the best for her customers. The change showed how she grew as a person, and I got to see how her business grew up with her too. I hope through her products, people can also see how special she is.”