About
Glitter Guts and Glory is a community of makers and shakers…or (amazing humans that handcraft items + kick- ass brick n mortar/online shop owners).
My mission is to connect these two communities in a way that has not been done before. I believe in elevating each other through telling our honest stories, being transparent in sharing our knowledge and understand that we rise by lifting others up.
I am Jen, the creator of Glitter Guts + Glory. I am a maker (of jewelry) and also a shaker (boutique owner.) I understand the Glitter (passion), Guts (challenges) and Glory (that feel-good success) on both sides. I have been making jewelry for over 14 years so you can say that jewelry design was my first love. After making a move from Las Vegas to Denver, I sorta "fell into" opening a small boutique space in 2014….and have fallen in love with both the maker and shaker life.
As a Maker
This is what my journey has looked like...
Take classes at bead stores in Las Vegas (when bead stores EXISTED- OMG!) …
Learn + then develop my own style
Dabble and make items for friends and family
Put up designs on Etsy
Take it down from Etsy (and repeat that 10 more times LOL)
2013 - Convinced myself I need a fancy website + logo - paid way too much money for a designer
2014 - never sold a damn thing on that fancy website - never used it because I then changed my biz name - opened the small boutique space
2014-2017 - Sold my jewelry designs in the boutiques and local markets
With the expansion of the boutiques + having my beautiful baby in Oct 2018, focus and time was taken away from jewelry making. There was a big pause for two years, which made me evaluate how I want to spend my time. I missed creating. I made the decision to downsize and proceeded to close 3 boutique locations in mid 2019 and early 2020.
Here we are! 2020! And what a year it has been...ahh! It has been a roller coaster with business and emotions. The boutique closed for 6 weeks, which was super hard but also enlightening. I was forced to look at my priorities and what I wanted to keep and which ones I didn't love. It enabled me to focus on jewelry, get in the studio when I could, and LOVED IT!
I began to put my jewelry designs online. I am currently, (this is June 2020), working on new collections, having fun making one-of-a-kind items and looking forward to expanding our online shop and sharing the process on the podcast!
As a Shaker
April 2014 - opened the 200 sq foot small space - totally clueless just wanted to sell my handmade jewelry. Didn’t know how to purchase wholesale or any aspect of business LOL
2015 - I finally quit my full time massage therapist position to dedicate to the boutique
2014 + 2015 - I struggled to be clear on what Love Harper was all about and what the hell I was doing. Inventory? Taxes? ROI? With ZERO retail/business experience it was challenging to say the least
2016 - I expanded to my 2nd location + expanded 1st location
2017 - I expanded to my 3rd location + expanded 1st location
2018 - I invested and went big into my 4th location + expanded 1st location
2019 - learned big lessons, personally + business, on expanding. Realized it was not making me happy so made steps toward big changes - downsized to 2 locations.
2020 (so far) - Have ONE boutique location - down to the OG shop (which is now over 800 sq feet), did a total REVAMP of that location, getting back to my first passion - jewelry making! Launching the new collection on loveharperboutique.com AND the biggest, baddest thing - launched the life-changing Glitter, Guts + Glory!
I feel like my journey is only getting started but I have learned SO SO much along the way. I have learned the most from fellow entrepreneurs + I can not wait to see this community grow and be a big part in elevating your life + business. It means so much to me that you are here + I can not wait to hear YOUR journey!
xo jen