Meet Emily Brown | Handmade Jewelry Designer

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

Hi Emily, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Work life balance is a subject that comes up in conversation with my family and friends A LOT. I would have to say working for yourself – balance is what i find the most difficult. It honestly took me a while to learn the word “no”. This is something I still struggle with. My friends and family are just as important to me as my customers. At the end of the day – my friends, family, and boyfriend are still going to be there for me if I miss a dinner or two. So do I balance everything perfectly? Absolutely not, but I have a team of people cheering me on no matter what because they know how important Emily Kearns Designs is to me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Emily Kearns Designs is different from other brands because i am the one and only employee of my company. I am the designer and make every single piece in my tiny basement office, I run the Instagram and website, I package and take the orders to UPS, I do my own accounting, I do all the marketing, and so much more. “I carry the team on my back” is what my boyfriend would tell you. But, i wouldn’t have it any other way.

Once I saw growth with Emily Kearns Designs and started getting orders on a weekly basis, it gave me the confidence to do more and to have bigger goals. ive learned that if you dont post on insagram or facebook, you’re not going to sell something. It’s as easy as that. Owning a business is a total learning curve. You figure out your clientele over time and you cater to them.

If I had to give anyone advice on owning your own company – it would be to have relationships with your customers. It doesn’t matter if you have 300 followers on Instagram or 10,000. If you have a relationship with them, you will succeed.

(^^ please help me with wording on the last paragraph – i could not figure out how to word the first sentence about the advice)

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh boy! Ya girl loves to go out to dinner and to have a cocktail… or three. I would take my friends to The Select in Sandy Springs (walkable from my house), have dinner at YEBO Beach House, and finish with a glass of wine and dessert at Storico Fresco. If your trying to gain five pounds come hang out with me on a Friday or Satruday night!!! 🙂

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My mom, Lori Brown desereves all the credit for Emily Kearns Designs. Six years ago she was diagnosed with breast cancer. (Thankfully cancer free now) To distract her during and after her treatments we would make pink bracelets with little charms for all her caregivers in the hospital. So my love for making and creating jewelry came from doing that with my mom. No matter how tough the situation was years ago, something beautiful like EKD came out of it. My mom still to this day will help me with orders, send new ideas to create, and even string a bracelet from time to time.

Website: https://emilykearnsdesigns.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilykearnsdesigns/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emilykearnsdesigns

Image Credits
Emily Kearns Designs – Emily Brown took all photos.