As I begun last week, we have started a photo tour of downtown businesses and featuring them on the blog. I have said it before, it’s so wonderful to be a part of community and ever since I came back from the Creative at Heart conference, I have felt this passion even more…the passion to help promote other small businesses, to work together, to do what I can to help them. For me, obviously a good part of that is providing them with some amazing images of not only them at work, but also their product, the owners and so on.
I was thrilled when I was at a meeting with Jocelyn, owner of Journey Lockets, and she approached me about partnering with her as she begins to launch a new program for photographers. As a photographer, I love having quality but beautiful products for my clients. Products that are unique, that are stunning, that are “show stoppers” and these lockets are just that. I’m super excited to be able to offer them to my clients…and just in time for Mothers Day!
If you are interested in ordering a Locket, please use code SARANN and you will receive 5% off!
Also, for my clients, if you order through the studio, you you can order images for your lockets at any time, free of charge…and we can even do several from your sessions. This is so awesome! Those of you in the Lullaby Club…just think, you can showcase your newborn session images (every one of them) or my beach session clients, you can wear a different image every day! Isn’t that cool!
You can follow Journey Lockets on Facebook here and on Instagram at journeylockets and another little tidbit…Jocelyn’s daughter and mother both have businesses downtown too. Maybe you will see them here soon!
Tell me about why you started JL? When did JL begin and how?
The inspiration for Journey Lockets was very personal. I was the first Journey Lockets customer. In 2008, I had recently had photographs taken of my then 1 and 4 year old daughters, Maddy & Ava. I bought myself a glass locket and created the tiny prints of my favorite photographs to wear inside of the locket. The necklace immediately became my favorite piece of jewelry, because it had these amazing photographs of my girls in it. I began wearing it daily and so many other moms wanted me to make one for them. Being a website designer, I decided the easiest way to take orders would be online, so JourneyLockets.com was born.
What is your vision for it in the years to come?
I am very excited about our new direction and vision for my company. I have just launched a program that will bring more women in, to be a part of our Journey Lockets Team. We are partnering with women who love the Journey Lockets concept, brand and product and want to be a part of the business. This new arm of our business is called Joss Lane. (Joss is my nickname, short for Jocelyn, and Lane is my given middle name.)
We love the idea of connecting women and bringing more people in to share the amazing fun of being in a business that makes so many people happy. Women who sign up to partner with Joss Lane will be a JL Brand Rep. They will be our “experts in the field” and will help others learn about, choose and buy Journey Lockets and other Joss Lane jewelry. I have always wanted to get involved with women who have an interest in entrepreneurship. Joss Lane is an easy start-up business program that is perfect for women who aren’t ready to do something on their own. It’s a win-win.
We are also very excited to be partnering with amazing photographers across the US to offer their portrait photography in our Journey Lockets jewelry. We can’t think of a more perfect partnership between industries. We are looking forward to seeing all of their gorgeous work in our lockets. I hope there are a lot of happy mommies and brides out there when they open their JL jewelry boxes.
When developing your brand, what were the things that were most important to you?
I have always been dedicated to creating a brand that is built on “true meaning”. I want what we do here each day to impact our customers. We strive for extraordinary quality in our products, and above-and-beyond customer service. We hope to accomplish this by treating our customers like people, the way we would like to be treated. We stand behind our products and repair or replace anything that has any issue. We believe that that is how business should be run. The last thing that is very important to me is that JL jewelry must look and feel timeless. We want our designs to be a true keepsake, of heirloom quality. We don’t want to be associated with “trends”. We want you to pass down our jewelry to the next generation with the stories of why those images are so important to you. Our tagline is “celebrate your journey”.
Tell me about you?
I had to do an exercise in a business development workshop I took last year. I had to ask 25 people that know me to send me a short list of my best qualities. My top 5 results were: Creative, Business Minded, Driven, Organized and Genuine. I agree with each of these. It was a fun exercise to get feedback from people that know you. I would also add that I started out on this journey as relatively shy and introverted young woman. Creating, then building a small business has been very rewarding and has been an amazing way to learn and grow as a woman and a leader. I want to teach my girls strong leadership skills. I believe girls and women need to be supported in their dreams and business ideas. I believe in being able to make a difference in the world, by making a difference in one life.
What is the greatest joy about being in a small business?
My husband, Josh, and I are very excited to be fully engaged in small business as of 2015. He came on as a full time partner and left corporate America last fall. I love being able to make our own choices and live the life we want to live. Ask my parents, I was never good at being a follower. I guess that turned out to be a good thing.
Why did you choose downtown Burlington for your studio?
I chose downtown Burlington for my studio for a couple of reasons. First, I grew up in a historic house on Front Street about 6 blocks away from my studio. I have always loved the feel of our quaint little downtown and I love the old buildings and the character. I used to come downtown to eat lunch at Company Shops when I was working from home. I loved the energy and excitement of Downtown Burlington coming back to life! I knew if I moved my business out of the house, that I wanted it to be in Downtown Burlington for sure. I love the feeling of community that has developed over the past 2 years. It is nice to know that you are a part of a neighborhood with caring neighbors where you work!
Jocelyn, thank you so much sharing yourself …Im so excited to share you with my readers! (by the way…you are beautiful!!!)
I love the Toggle chain!
We can do this too…Monogram on one side, photo on the other
The new oval locket is just stunning!
The Large round locket is my favorite! (those of you who know me well..would easily guess this)
This is Jocelyn’s girls over the years…the locket has so many possibilities!
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