Interview With Jewelry Designer Jeemaa {and Give-away!}

Please join me in welcoming jewelry designer Jeemaa to Making Home Work!  Jeemaa is the brilliance behind Mommy Jewelry Sturdy and Purdy. Jeemaa, tell our readers a little bit about yourself.

I am a wife to my wonderful husband Jeff and a mom to our sweet little boy Zachary. I love scrapbooking, cooking and taking long walks in nature. I also enjoy beading and creating unique and functional pieces of jewelry for mommies.

Jeemaa and her husband, Disney 2011

 Thank you Jeemaa for interviewing with us, please tell our readers about your business products.

I make nursing and teething ring necklaces for mamas and caregivers. They are especially designed to keep babies’ little hands busy while making the mamas look stylish. I use natural wooden teething rings, organic Flaxseed oil or beeswax and all kinds of semi precious stones.

I have ordered a few of your beautiful necklaces and I love wearing them as much as my toddler loves playing with them! Jeemaa, tell us how you got started making jewelry.

My business was inspired by one of my best friend’s custom necklace requests and my own experience with my baby boy.  A few years ago I opened my Etsy shop to sell my nature inspired whimsical jewelry. At that time, I had a full time teaching job so I could not always find the time to maintain my shop. When my son was about four months old, one of my best friends asked me to make a nursing necklace for her. I got some pretty beads with different shapes and textures and made one for her and one for myself. I wanted the necklace to be durable and functional – interesting enough to grab babies’ attention but pretty enough that it can be worn as everyday jewelry. My son loved it!! He gets easily distracted during nursing, especially in public. With the necklace he was more focused. He loved the natural donut stone and really enjoyed exploring the beads. He played with it while I waited in a checkout line or changed his diaper. He tugged on it instead of pulling my hair. I was so excited that I posted the necklace pictures on Facebook and it didn’t take long before another mommy wanted one. And my business has been flourishing ever since.

 

I love a good story of how children inspire a mother in business! Tell us more about your son.

We have a very busy eighteen month old toddler! His name is Zachary. He loves to play with his daddy’s golf clubs, remote controls, tools (which he doesn’t get from his dad), stickers and anything that makes noise. Zachary also loves books that keep his little fingers busy. We think that Matthew Van Fleet is his favorite author.  He never gets tired of reading Tails with mommy and daddy. 

Oh he's a future reader! We love readers here at Making Home Work!

Never too early for books!

Your child is still pretty young, do you involve him with your work?

I do not involve my son in the making of the jewelry part as I work with beads and small pieces that are not safe for him. I also work with teething rings and keeping them clean is extremely important. So mostly, I make my jewelry during his nap time or after he goes to bed. But there are parts that he gets to help mommy. He loves putting the packages in the “mail” bag. We frequently journey to the post office and he has become good buddies with the post office ladies! We both enjoy listening to the post office ladies sing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” to us.  

Packing the mail bag!

Sounds like Zachary is a favorite at the Post Office! 

What do you find the most challenging aspect about working from home?

For me the time management is the most challenging aspect of working from home. I am very lucky because our son takes pretty long naps during the day and it really helps me to get my work done. But I can’t always count on naps - there are days he doesn’t want to nap and needs mommy to hold him or be near him at all times. In such instances, there is not much that I can do but wait for my husband to come home.  Working late nights or weekends can get stressful at times but things always seem to work out in the end. 

How do you handle meal preparation? Do you have a time saving trick that allows you more time to work and less time in the kitchen?

I am not very good at planning things but with the help of my better half who is more organized, we make a pretty good team. We usually have some idea of what we are going to cook that week and create the grocery list accordingly. The amazing time savers are my husband’s grandma’s amazing crock pot that turns anything we throw into it a delicious dinner, a rice cooker that my husband got me for my birthday, the savory lemon herb Rotisserie chicken that Meijer prepares, and a giant wok that we purchased from Amazon! That is dinner/lunch for at least three days of the week. Then we add some kind of easy pasta and tortilla wrap dinner to our weekly menu and we are all set! Our meals get sort of repetitive at times but it definitely saves us time and money.

Sounds good to me! Crock-pots do come in handy, I have two that I rely on heavily here at our house.

So with all of this to consider, is it worth it? What keeps you home instead of having an outside career? 

Absolutely! It is worth everything! I will be honest. Some days I wish I had a 9 to 5 job, made more money, had more adult interaction or more alone time, could go shopping and buy new clothes - but even before I finish the sentence, I take it back. I count my blessings every day and am so thankful that my husband works extremely hard so that I can stay at home with our baby. Without a doubt it is one of the most challenging jobs. So what keeps me home? The joy of watching our lil guy grow!

That's the best reason to stay at home! Thank you Jeemaa for giving us a glimpse into your home life. Next post we will explore the work side of her business. Be sure to check out the beautiful necklace give-away below!!


Jeemaa has graciously offered a beautiful necklace give-away and a 10% discount code to our MHW readers! The coupon code for readers is: MAKINGHOMEWORK  The coupon code is a 10% discount code for Jeema's etsy shop. 

Giveaway ~ "Grandma's Little Sunshine"

Description: This all natural organic maple teething ring measures 2.5 inches. The teething ring and the wooden beads are all finished with Certified Organic Flaxseed oil. It is safe for your little one to chomp on. The wooden beads are individually knotted. The 100 percent 2 mm cotton cord is extremely durable. It is a beautiful soft brown cord. The necklace is adjustable up to 29 inches with a Sliding Knot.

Grandmas Little Sunshine

Value: 11.50

To enter, (you can have up to five chances to win) leave a separate comment for each one you complete:

Mandatory: 

• "Like" Mommy Jewelry Sturdy and Purdy on Facebook and leave a comment here

Optional extra entries: 

• "Like" Making Home Work on Facebook 
• Follow Making Home Work Blog
• Tweet this give-away (tell us your twitter name!)
• Share this give-away on Facebook (tell us your Facebook name and/or leave link)
• Post one comment telling us you've done each item above and increase your chances to win! (up to five entries!)

Entries must be made by Friday, Nov 18, 2011 by midnight. Random.org will select our winner, verification and announcement will be made Sunday, Nov 20, 2011 by noon.  Check back here to see if you won!