A Letter to My Valentine’s: It’s been 10 Years!

The life of a small business owner is always changing. Every day brings a new challenge, a new opportunity, and a new problem to solve. You’re constantly looking forward and planning ahead. With all that forward motion, you often forget to stop and reflect on how far you’ve come. Sometimes, you even miss major milestones - like I almost did when I sat down to think about what I would write for a Valentine’s Day blog post. Then suddenly it hit me… I’ve been doing this full-time for 10 years! Can you believe it??

A Season of Transitions 

February of 2015 was a time of major changes for me. I had been living the typical artist life, cobbling together several side hustles to support my fledgling jewelry business. I had shifts at Lululemon and SCAD, as well as frequent house and pet-sitting gigs. But I decided to take a major leap of faith and gamble on myself. I quit all my jobs and went all-in on Kristen Baird® Jewelry. 

As if that wasn’t enough, Drew and I got married on February 28th, and I moved into his house which was still undergoing major renovations. Oh, we also hosted the wedding reception in the backyard of the house that was under construction. It was a beautiful hot mess! 

To top it all off, I had just run my first-ever marathon near the end of 2014, leading right into all this. Most of the time that would be a major milestone, but in that particular month, it was barely a blip on the radar!

Building a Business 

When I moved into Drew’s house, my studio was only partially set up and in the middle of renovations. At the time, it consisted of one little bench, a buffer, and a flex shaft. There was no safe, no real computer set-up, and definitely no fancy laser welder! It’s kind of crazy to think about how little I was working with at the time, but it was enough to get me started.

Right around the time I officially moved into my studio, I created the first Ripple Cuff. This cuff was famously mistaken for a ring on a poster. I received so many requests for the Ripple Ring that I had to try making one. After several failed attempts, I came up with a design I loved. The rest is history. 

Since then, there have been so many incredible highlights in my business. From winning the Halstead Grant to launching my first gold collection to bringing on Abby and my social media team…it’s been quite the journey!

Building a Life 

Not long before my wedding, we decided to paint the house Caribbean Blue. The back patio where the reception was being held was still under construction, and we hadn’t even taken engagement pictures yet. (We got them back from the photographer four days before the wedding.) Clearly, I am not the ultimate event planner. 

Somehow, though, it all came together wonderfully. Drew and I got married in classic Savannah Style, in Warren Square downtown. That day, it tried to rain on us but held off just enough for our ceremony. We had the best time dancing to the DJ in our backyard, even if we were freezing our rear ends off. The memories were incredible!

Marrying Drew was by far the best decision I’ve made in my life and we’re so blessed to have our two wonderful boys, Paxton and Preston. I couldn’t be happier. 

A Special Thank You! 

I am so greatly blessed to have made it this far. Very few entrepreneurs can say that their first small business lasted ten years. To those of you who are new here, thank you so much. To those who have been around since day one… I want to extend a very special thank you today. You are my true Sparkle Sweeties, my Valentine’s. You have made my life so full and my dreams come true. 

If you’ve been here from the beginning, you are a true part of the Kristen Baird® story, and I’d love for you to share it! Reach out or reply in the comments with how long you’ve known me, where you got your first piece, and any memories we have together. 

Thank you for being a part of my life and HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!