Today we’d like to introduce you to Deanna Empleo.
Deanna, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I run a lifestyle blog as well as create unique bracelets for my little small biz, KYSS Bracelets. I have a huge passion for expanding my creativity and being hands-on with projects. I started my jewelry line about 4 years ago, and it has evolved tremendously then. KYSS was my creative outlet throughout college. I studied Communications, and that wasn’t fulfilling my creative side enough, so I started making jewelry. Little did I know, that I would be sitting here 4 years later still making my bracelets, AND talking about it as my own business! I hand design and create each individual bracelet, so all are unique from one another. I started selling them through word of mouth, then I was getting approached by small boutiques and I really grew from there. I am in about 8 different stores throughout the country! Most in California, but some in Nevada, Arizona, Texas, and New Jersey. I love meeting people through this business of mine, and seeing how excited someone gets when they receive my bracelets as gifts!! It’s a really happy feeling I get, and something that really touches my heart. After a few years, I decided to take the next step and create a website and sell through there. I am on Etsy, kyssbracelets.com It’s fun to run a little e-commerce site and design the looks of it all, as well as seeing where my bracelets are getting purchased from! It’s a wild feeling. I always think to myself, “wow, someone actually WANTS this! They actually LOVE it!” It’s not that I am not confident in my work, it’s just that with jewelry, the industry is HUGE! I am just a small little jewelry line and I can’t believe people love my pieces more than a Tiffany’s! I am excited to see my next steps with KYSS and to make more people happy with their arm parties!
My newest journey is my blog – Deanna-page. About a year and a half ago, I started a lifestyle blog as another creative outlet! After finishing college, I felt like I really discovered myself and learned SO much in a year. I had so much to share and talk about, so that’s how this blog evolved. I was sort of all over the place, and primarily, I was focusing on fashion and beauty, but as time went by, I drifted a little more away from the fashion side of the blog because my passion wasn’t necessarily aimed at fashion for my blog. After graduation, working full time, living on my own for 3+ years, “adulting,” getting engaged, I felt like I had so many other things to talk about. I wanted to inspire young/mid-twenty-year-olds on tips and advice about being in that age and what life feels like during that time. Mainly to make everyone feel like, “they are not alone.” Deanna Page blog has so much about information for people to get inspiration from love, self-care, food, recipes, decor, travel, and fashion. This is mainly what a lot of my energy and passion goes towards, and I am really working hard on building my self-image and making Deanna-Page a lifestyle for all!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Oh my goodness, smooth road? Does that even exist?! No matter what you do in life, there are always bumps in the road. I have definitely hit moments that have kicked my butt, and I honestly didn’t think I would be able to overcome them but I did! As cliche as it is, overcoming your obstacles and struggles only makes you stronger. I am a firm believer of pushing your limits to see what you can accomplish. Honestly, most of the time I am surprised and find myself saying, “that wasn’t even as bad as I thought!”
KYSS was definitely my hardest struggle during college. I wanted to find my creative outlet, which I totally did, but I didn’t expect it to get as popular as it did. I really thought I would make some and sell to local friends and family, not wholesale to clothing stores! Being a full-time student, working part-time, and making bracelets were rough at times. I had LOTS of deadlines to meet, order overloads, and a ton of all-nighters! Looking back now, KYSS was one of the best decisions I have made in life because it’s provided me financially and given me so much business knowledge. Like I said before, I am so excited to see what the next step is for KYSS!
For my blog, it’s still very new so luckily I haven’t had too many struggles just yet. What I have struggled with is the design aspect, and finding what is “my vibe.” From logos, font, colors, etc. I still haven’t quite nailed it down yet! I have joined awesome communities, and one is Barter + Be. That is a platform for all female boss babes, and we are barter and collaborate with one another. That community has so many talented people in it, I find inspiration so easily! I think being young, and just starting my blog has helped me in the area of creating content easily. Since everything is fresh and new, I have SO many things I want to write about because I am constantly finding inspiration everywhere I look. I think my biggest struggle in the future will be standing out from the rest. We have some really talented bloggers, and being that I am from LA, where it’s blogger heaven, I have to really drill down some content and topics that will allow my brand to stand out from the rest!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Deanna Page Blog & KYSS Bracelets – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I am a blogger and a jewelry maker for KYSS Bracelets!
For my blog, I am building my brand of Deanna-page – Lifestyle Blog! I am trying to reach an audience that has a bohemian modern style, and interested in travel, fashion, beauty, and love. I share all my tips and tricks on the blog for my readers to hopefully get some inspiration. With my blog, I do a lot of content creation and have started to make a side business out of that as well. I love creating content and getting challenged with how to make something look aesthetically pleasing.
With KYSS Bracelets, I hand make and design each individual bracelet. I sell them online with Etsy, and also opened up my own website, kyssbracelets.com.
I am proud of both, and love that I get to use my creativity with both of my businesses!
Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well positioned for?
I feel like with the media, especially social media, it is really opening up a door for a woman in the job field. It’s awesome because it’s helping us all grow and connect with one another, even if we never are able to meet face to face. Yes, there are pros and cons to that, but in my opinion, if I’ve made a solid relationship with someone from another state, I’m happy I gained a relationship even though I may not ever meet them in person. It’s a relationship I gained, and there’s nothing to lose from that! I think social media has really created an outlet for women to show off their skills, businesses, and connect with other boss babes! For example, I joined a community and a company called Barter and Be. I gained that opportunity through social media, and without Instagram, I truly don’t think I would be a part of that community.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5212 E. The Toledo apt.5
- Website: Deanna-page.com & kyssbracelets.com
- Phone: 562-209-9979
- Email: deannaempleo@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deannapageee/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/deannapageee/inbox/
- Other: kyssbracelets.com
Image Credit:
Heather Loegering, Nola Fontanez
Getting in touch: SDVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
