Today we’d like to introduce you to Tasi LeDonne.
Tasi, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Tasi, which means ocean in Chamorro and I am the creator of Sirena. As long as I could remember the ocean has always been a place that has brought me joy and comfort. Although many fear the ocean, I have always felt a strong connection with it. I spent most of my life near the beach, which meant I spent all that time collecting shells, rocks, seaglass and more. As the years went by, I just had jars and boxes full of all sorts of trinkets from the beach. I always admired the trinkets I collected and the memories created along the way as well. However, the start of Sirena began with a trip to Hawaii. Everyone kept talking about this shell called the “sunsrise shell” and if you find one, you are lucky because they are rare to come across. Well, it must have been my lucky day because I found the shell while snorkeling with my family. I was full of excitement, but at the same time knew it was too special to just throw in one of my collection jars. I spent the rest of the trip thinking what could I do with this shell. That is when I came up with the brilliant idea to make a necklace.
Ever since then, I fell in love with jewelry making. Eventually, my love for creating grew! I began to incorporate making home decor as well. Which I enjoyed because I love painting and doing DIY crafts. Everyday, I have the opportunity to learn more with my business. After I graduated college, I developed a new love for scientific communication and education. This was a turning point for Sirena because it became a platform to sell homemade goods and educate my buyers about the ocean as well. If you follow my Instagram (@sirena.ca), every Tuesday, you will discover a new marine creature in Trivia Tuesday. I also cover different topics, such as “What is recycling?”, “Macro vs. Micro Plastics” and more. The best part about Sirena is all the shells, seaglass, and driftwood are collected by me! Which means you could be getting seaglass from Imperial Beach, Ca or getting seashells from Melbourne, Australia. Each individual piece collected is unique in its own way and no item can be replicated! As Sirena grows, I hope to inspire people to care for our planet. I believe if someone can see the beauty the Earth can produce, they are more likely to care for it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There has been many challenges I have faced running my small business. When I first began my business, I was just graduated from high school and didn’t understand why pricing was so important. At first it felt like I was making so much money, but then I realized I wasn’t really making that much because I wasn’t taking into account the cost of supplies and the effort it took for me to create my products. So that was a challenge I faced early on, although many of my customers say I charge too little for my items still. Another bump on the road was going to college. College is an exciting time of many people’s lives; I just didn’t realize how difficult it was going to be balancing school and my little business. Since I wasn’t selling as often, I began to lose customers. It was a bit discouraging and I stopped running my business for about two years.
During my junior year of college, our school hosted a little pop-up shop for small businesses at Acorn Park. I decided it was time to start Sirena up again. So I had my little set-up with a cork board from my room and some push pins and decorated my little area. So many people came by my shop and purchased items which made me super stoked and encouraged me to keep going with Sirena. After college, I really wanted Sirena to grow as a business and education platform. This was a bit more challenging because Sirena became more than making products and selling them. I had to come up with lesson plans and different topics to educate others about. It was a challenge trying to balance working full-time, running a business, volunteering, and creating a high-quality education platform. There were many days where I felt completely burnt out, just because it felt like I was doing so much at once but without any proper structure. As time has gone by, I have been better at creating weekly templates and allocating my time accordingly. For me, a personal challenge was feeling that Sirena wasn’t good enough. I witnessed many businesses take off and felt like I was gradually growing and then falling. It was easy to feel the sense of discouragement I did when I was in college, but I know with time Sirena will grow. Plus, it isn’t the amount of followers that matters, but the quality of the customers. The customers I have know are such lovely and supportive people.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My business is called Sirena, which ties in my two cultural backgrounds of Chamorro (Guamanian) and Mexican. In Spanish, Sirena means mermaid and in Guam, Sirena is a story about a woman who loved the ocean so much a curse was put on her that turned her into a mermaid. I feel strongly connected to the ocean and felt the name was a perfect match symbolically and literally. I mainly make jewelry, but on occasion, I will make home decor and canvas bags. I also do custom orders as well, I’ve even made some wine and coffee holders too, which was pretty fun. Sirena is most known for making quality products that remind people of nature and the ocean. I will say though, customers really do love the earrings the most!
I am also known for trying to make my products and packaging as eco-friendly as possible. I try to use packaging that customers can repurpose or reuse. Besides trying to be eco-friendly, I think what really makes Sirena stand out is that all the seaglass, seashells, and wood are collected by myself or on occasion by my parents. I think this really makes each individual product unique because not one piece is exactly alike and there is a story behind each piece I find. Also, I love to travel so the pieces I find really do come from all over the world. I do sell stone products as well, but I purchase those, but would like to travel and excavate them by myself too. I would just need to learn some geology and what not! I am really proud that Sirena can be a business that can link art and science. I just opened up a website in February, Sirena.us and anyone interested can follow my Instagram sirena.ca to learn cool facts about the ocean and planet!
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important lesson I have learned along this journey is just to roll with the punches and enjoy the ride. I’ve learned that it is okay to face challenges head on and that it is possible to accomplish what I want if I keep pushing.
Pricing:
- $5-35+ for jewelry
- $15+ for home decor
- $15 for canvas bags
Contact Info:
- Email: sirena.cabusiness@gmail.com
- Website: https://sirena.us/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sirena.ca/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sirenaca-514811838726578
