Sarah Ortega of Sarah O. Jewelry types diamond, gemstone and customized high-quality jewelry from her two retail store destinations in Denver, as perfectly as on-line. Her rising enterprise has triumph over issues in the course of the pandemic due to a potent on the web presence, all the though debuting new dreamy collections of fantastic jewellery.
Wealthy Background and Heritage
Ortega’s mother, Mary Vigil, started off her business enterprise by promoting jewelry out of a shoebox at her daughter’s swim tactics. She later opened a retailer right before her daughter began center college. Ooh! Aah! Jewellery is nonetheless likely sturdy right now and Vigil has no strategies of retiring shortly.
Ortega’s passion for jewelry design and style formulated early in her childhood as she assisted her mom in her boutique, Ooh! Aah! Jewellery in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
“I assume every little thing my mom had accomplished when I was young motivated me and gave me the will to be an entrepreneur,” Ortega explained.
Ortega’s mom wasn’t the initial in the spouse and children to have an entrepreneurial spirit, and she undoubtedly wasn’t the very last. Her grandparents, Ralph and Dominga Flores, owned a farm in New Mexico, which expanded more than time. She recalled stories of her mom and grandmother creating dinner for the farm personnel just about every night time to reveal their appreciation for their tricky get the job done. Whilst her grandparents’ organization was successful, it was their loved ones-like perform environment that was most vital to them.
“They truly valued the persons that labored for them,” Ortega reported. “I believe that handed down to me. It’s the individuals that make the enterprise.”
Sarah O. Jewelry’s Heritage Selection, introduced in 2021, was based mostly on this very strategy. Ortega developed the assortment in reference to her roots in New Mexico and abundant household historical past, which continues to inform how she operates her firm today.
Sarah O. Jewelry Dazzles Denver
As for Ortega’s entrepreneurial journey, items commenced in her dorm area at Regis College. She created beaded items, earrings and necklaces as a side hustle whilst earning her mathematics diploma. When requested what she desired to do just after graduation, she found her heart was in the jewelry business. Right after higher education, Ortega began doing the job for a area jeweler and realized far more about the jewelry design and style process.
“One day, I was driving down Tennyson and I saw a very small spot. We [her and her husband] resolved to rent it,” Ortega said.
In 2006, Ortega begun advertising jewelry from her small location on Tennyson, which sooner or later grew to healthy an additional spot on the avenue. At the time, her shop was a lot more of a boutique, marketing handbags, jewellery from nearby designers and, in a tiny circumstance, Ortega’s very own layouts.
While Tennyson St. is now a bustling community with small firms sprouting up on each and every corner, it wasn’t approximately as chaotic in the 2000s. Before the days of social media, Ortega was discovering innovative methods to sector her brand name and the avenue. By dropping off postcards all-around the community and capitalizing on First Friday Artwork Walks, she place in the get the job done to catch the notice of the Denver community.
“We worked so numerous several hours striving to set Tennyson on the map as a place to go boutique browsing,” Ortega mentioned.
When a corner house opened up at 4301 Tennyson St., wherever Sarah O. Jewelry continue to life right now, Ortega took a leap of religion into earning it a jewellery retail outlet relatively than a boutique. Just one-by-one particular, she extra her have items to the situations, right up until it became a retail store full of her patterns by yourself.
Sooner or later, word spread and people today desired custom made pieces from Ortega. She appreciated operating a single-on-just one with her clients to establish a solid foundation of believe in.
“Customers want to have faith in the enterprise they are shopping for a high-quality jewellery piece from mainly because they are heading to have it for the relaxation of their existence,” Ortega said. “So I obtained to set up that have faith in involving them and me.”
Now, Sarah O. Jewellery can not only be observed at its Tennyson site but also in the Dairy Block at 1825 Blake St. Suite 120.
Good Jewelry In the Electronic Age
By 2019, the brand name acquired much more traction on social media and the enterprise was executing much better than at any time. Having said that, 2020 delivered a multitude of worries for Sarah O. Jewellery to prevail over, as it did for lots of modest organizations. Ortega made a decision to shut down quite early, out of protection issues for her crew.
Ortega was confronted with the chance of losing everything she’d created up. After a tricky night time of pondering what to do, a surge of bravery came around her.
“I considered, ‘we’re setting up in excess of. We’re heading to get most people operating from dwelling. We are going to obtain a way to make this perform on the World-wide-web,’” Ortega mentioned.
Ortega didn’t forgo a one 1 of her staff members. She gathered her workforce for a morning assembly and requested every person to share something they ended up grateful for, which boosted morale. The team’s camaraderie, self-confidence in the mission and willpower to go ahead contributed to Sarah O. Jewelry’s good results throughout the pandemic.
Regardless of the precarious situation of providing good jewelry in an online market, Sarah O. Jewelry nonetheless identified a way to get shoppers to trust them. On the internet consultations and digital purchasing activities were being implemented to make offering high-quality jewellery in a digital environment doable.
“It was complicated but so amazing to see our group come collectively in a seriously hard minute,” Ortega stated. “I realized each and every solitary day we have been likely to make it by.”
A Glowing Upcoming
Just as the firm heritage of Sarah O. Jewellery is total of splendor and that means, so is the jewellery by itself.
According to Ortega, the gemstones she finds on her travels spark her imagination and inspire her to design and style. But she also considers what her consumers are on the lookout for, which has affected her future assortment.
“I often type of truly feel like there are two unique sorts of people that buy jewelry from us. Some people today want a one of a kind gemstone, when some want a exceptional white diamond. So those two things marry each and every other in this selection,” Ortega reported.
As always, lots of of the rings will be stackable, indicating you can incorporate other bands to them for extra sparkle. In reality, there is a stacking guideline on their site for inspiration on how to stack your rings in Sarah O. design and style.
“There are selected means you can customise your piece every day without the need of heading to a jeweler to change it out,” Ortega reported.
The new collection is established to start sometime in July. Having said that, that’s not all that the manufacturer has in keep for the future. Ortega also shared the information that Sarah O. Jewelry will be hitting the street for trunk reveals through the U.S. The dates and spots of these trunk reveals will be declared quickly. As business enterprise carries on to elevate and expand for Sarah O. Jewelry, you can stay updated on their endeavors via their web page and Instagram.
All pics by Roxanna Carrasco unless of course otherwise indicated.
