Today we’d like to introduce you to Lori Brenneman.
Hi Lori, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve always loved jewelry… and people! I now own a jewelry store in Mount Dora, Florida but my story starts in Maryland where I was working for 25 years as a dental hygienist. Ten years ago, my husband got transferred with his job to Florida. Florida didn’t recognize my dental hygiene license, so I found myself without a career. It was scary because the only thing I knew how to do was see patients, well, except for making jewelry, which I had been doing as a hobby since I was a teenager. When I moved to Florida in 2010, I started selling my jewelry in other people’s shops and low and behold, it turned out that people liked it.
In 2013, I started my company with a website. In the fall of 2019, I took the plunge and decided to open my own storefront. I was offered a space in the Mt Dora Marketplace …I was scared, not so much because of the money, but my pride. I am a perfectionist and just wasn’t sure that I could take it if I wasn’t successful. But, with the encouragement of my husband, my family, and a whole bunch of friends, I decided to go for it. I signed a lease and the adventure began. As it turned out, I met a lot of amazing people who were passionate about their businesses as well, learned so much about having a storefront, enjoyed meeting and seeing local customers and people visiting from out of town and had a blast! Even when Covid hit, we all worked together to get creative and figure out ways to stay safe, improve our websites, and keep our businesses afloat.
When I felt confident that my business was going to be successful, I started looking to expand. I talked to friends of mine who had just combined their two smaller shops into one larger shop in a prime location in Historic Mount Dora. I mentioned that I was going to look for another larger shop to move to in the future. They invited me and “TFC” to be a “shop within a shop” and move into their shop with them! They have been friends of my husband and mine since we moved to town and their shop, Papilio, is beautiful and in an awesome location so I enthusiastically said, “YES!” We hired an amazing local couple to build my new shop to make it look like it belonged inside Papilio. It is a nature-inspired store, so I wanted the outside of my shop to fit into Papilio’s decor and the inside of my shop to be sparkly and bright like my jewelry. The finished product looks amazing and I get compliments on it every day.
I feel so fortunate to be inside one of the nicest shops in Mount Dora and I also love that we can help each other by sharing our clientele with each other’s businesses. It truly is a win / win!
One thing I haven’t mentioned (and I’m probably telling you way more than you want to hear) is that I have amazing friends. I would guess that most business owners have insecurities and endless questions, and I do as well, but I have always had a network of amazing and supportive friends. All through my life, I have depended on talking with friends and family for support and guidance and I am so thankful for all of them. (one of the reasons I loved dental hygiene so much~ I loved talking to my patients all day long) My mom visited me and hung out with me at my shop recently and said “you do the same thing that you loved about dental hygiene… you talk to people all day long”… and she’s right. I love people and I love making them happy. I am passionate about my jewelry designs and my customers share that passion with me. We create bracelet stacks together, match earrings and necklaces, choose gifts, create custom pieces… anything my clients want. We love it and we always have fun. My shop is a happy place for everyone.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Early on in my business, someone else tried to start a company using my same name so I’ve had assorted complications dealing with that.
I started out with my first storefront in a different location than where I am now. Although I am incredibly thankful for that opportunity, it wasn’t a great fit for my brand or my personality. I am grateful every day for the opportunities given to me with having that first shop and all of the amazing people that I met through that adventure. Of course experiencing Covid five months into the opening of my shop was a struggle! But, honestly, dealing with Covid forced me to think outside the box, like all the other downtown merchants, and we all worked together to come out stronger than ever.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I design and create jewelry. I travel to gem shows and to cool vacation spots and choose gorgeous gemstones, bring them home and then create necklaces, bracelets and earrings with them. My designs are always unique, high quality and always special! I always do things like put a larger loop on the clasps to make it easier to fasten and sneak a Swarovski crystal on the closures for a surprise sparkle… use a jewelers grade elastic on my stretch bracelets for quality, durability and ease for my clients but also use high-grade gemstones and Swarovski Crystals so my clients can have both the quality that comes with the stones that I pick but also the ease of putting them on with the elastic cord. One thing I offer that is very unique to my shop is customizing fit and style. If a customer tries on a bracelet and it is a bit too large or small, I have a work station in my shop where I can adjust the fit so it’s perfect! Sometimes, I can even change up the style on the spot to add a favorite color or change the accent metal to gold or silver to suit my client’s preference. I do anything I can to make my client’s happy and thrilled with their TFC purchase.
I specialize in helping my clients put together stacks of bracelets. Lots of my customers come in regularly to add to their collections… they’ll start with one focal bracelet and we add to them to form an awesome stack! I also have a jewelry subscription club, TFC + ME, where I’ll send my subscribers a piece of exclusive jewelry once a month that is only available to them at a price much less than it would be at retail. We call it “Happy Mail” and it’s a way for them to Treat Themselves once a month.
What are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of my customer service and that I genuinely love my customers and I love to make them happy by helping them choose a perfect piece of TFC. I have $28 earrings all the way up to $1400 14k Gold, all of them hand made pieces, and no matter what you are looking for, my staff and I will always attempt to exceed your expectations to make your jewelry shopping fun so that you leave with a smile and look forward to your next trip back to Jewelry by TFC. My goal is to make my customers feel good about themselves… sometimes it’s jewelry, sometimes it’s conversation and friendship… but I always want my customers to leave my shop feeling better than when they arrived.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Just that I started dental hygiene school when I was 17 and it’s all I knew how to do. I was so close to never starting my business because I didn’t know anything about business or where to even start to own a business. But, I was kind of forced to because dental hygiene wasn’t an option because of the licensing problem. I would just say to anyone who is thinking about a new career that if you are passionate about what you want to do, don’t be afraid. No matter what age you are, or what you think might be too many problems, if you are passionate about it, you should just go for it! I’ve found out that so many others feel the same way! We all have the same concerns and most people are willing to help and encourage each other. We all thrive on it. Just make sure you’re passionate. I would say that businesses will fail if you are not passionate. I am so thankful that I am doing what I’m doing. I love it every day!
Contact Info:
- Email: Lori@jewelrybytfc.com
- Website: www.jewelrybytfc.com
- Instagram: jewelrybytfc
- Facebook: Jewelry by TFC
