Meet Ximena Guillen | Mythical Gem Shopkeeper

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ximena Guillen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ximena, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Back in April 2020, I realized I was intrigued by the idea of making jewelry. I had quite a few ideas in mind, so I decided to try my hand at wire wrapping crystals. At first, I wire wrapped a few pocket crystals from my personal collection, but I soon had to begin expanding as customers asked for custom designs. Of course, the pandemic was in full swing at this point which made me realize that I would not be able to attend pop-up shops anytime soon. With this in mind, I knew that I would have to work to build my online presence, so I brainstormed different strategies to do so. In fact, the name I decided to adopt was “Mythical Gem Shop”, and the three components of the name represent the idea being born from my imagination, my immense appreciation for gems, and the modern use of the quaint word “shoppe”. Thankfully, I had the support of my family and people who decided to give my small business a chance early on in this process. At this point, Mythical Gem Shop is a little over a year old, and I hope to continue expanding.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Currently, I am in the Fall semester of my Senior year at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA. Since my college has transitioned to be fully in person once again, I packed up most of my business materials and set up shop in my apartment. Admittedly, with classes in session, it has been a challenge at times to partition time between schoolwork and fulfilling orders.

I am so grateful to my campus community for their immense support for my small business. being kind and customer service

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My family deserves the biggest shoutout in the world. They have been incredibly supportive in many capacities. My older sister, Lorena, who I lovingly call “Ladle”, provided ideas on what style I could use for my page while also being pragmatic about the investment running a business requires. My mother who was picking up a gardening hobby in Spring 2020 encouraged me to use the flowers in her garden as background for my pictures; this helped my jewelry and gems to stand out especially when the sun would pay us a visit. My younger sister, Dayana, who I lovingly call “Daryl”, would offer to practice doing acrylic nails on me, and this added another layer of beauty to my posts on Instagram while also helping her to explore a new hobby. Also, my father and brother helped to build a stunning shelf and workspace for me to organize all of my materials in one designated area. Thank you for always going above and beyond.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/mythicalgemshop/