Today we’d like to introduce you to Seth and Tenielle Mourra.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Married for almost 20 years and for 15 of those, we’ve worked together in our photography business, Feather and Stone Photography, specializing in destination weddings. Seth is from Florida, I’m from Australia and some might call us nomads because we’ve called a few different places home, including Australia, Botswana in Southern Africa and now California, USA. We’ve learned the value of prioritizing time over money, so we keep our life and business simple so we can focus on our spirituality and volunteer work which gives us purpose and brings us so much joy!
March 2020 hit and the wedding industry (amongst many others) was crushed. Within a matter of days, every wedding we had booked had been postponed to either late 2021 or 2022. Our world was turned upside down. The first lockdown was in motion and I turned to art/craft as a distraction. Seth baked sourdough bread and I began learning how to make freshwater pearl jewelry. Our creations weren’t the greatest but we loved dropping off gifts to friends, a little spark of joy amidst the heavy pandemic cloud.
As we moved deeper into the pandemic, we understood the profound impact it had on our work. We had no photography work on the horizon for at least 18 months, and there was absolutely nothing we could do to change that. Rather than be crushed by it, we realized we had to find a way forward, adapt and be ingenuitive. We had no debt, so we were able to touch a small portion of our savings to purchase supplies. I started designing our very first collection, we built our website, took all our own photos and on July 27th, 2020, we launched Sabi Collective, our handmade freshwater pearl jewelry designs.
It’s been a whirlwind and the support we’ve received has been humbling, to say the least! We’ve since re-designed our website, added many more designs and expanded the collective to include homeware and lifestyle, importing handmade pieces by artisans from some of our favorite places in the world. What was intended to be a happy distraction from the pandemic blues has turned into a small business that’s helping us find a way forward during these very uncertain times and we are so very grateful for it!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Having our income ripped away from us for 18+ months left us feeling pretty helpless, but we knew we had to do something. Seth and I aren’t risk-takers, we’ve always been very careful and calculated when it comes to making decisions. Still, starting a small business is a risk, but starting a small business during a pandemic is next level.
I also battled with a lot of self-doubt. Would people like my designs or even want to buy jewelry at this time? We had to shelve those thoughts & just put ourselves out there.
Also, being a one-man (or a one man and one woman) show is a heavy load. Sourcing, sampling, designing, trial and error, handcrafting the jewelry, creating the branding from scratch ourselves, all the graphic design, down to the tape for our boxes, our website design, photographing every single piece, modeling it (least fav part), uploading, adding descriptions, pricing, etc. Then on top of all that, marketing, starting a new Instagram account, well, that’s another beast.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a self-taught jewelry designer. It’s been a labour of love and I’m continually learning. To be quite honest, I’ve never liked pearls, I always thought they were classic, traditional & bland. However, in the last two years, a fresh take on pearl jewelry began emerging from Australia & Europe, I was inspired, it fired my imagination and it changed my perception of pearls.
I began to appreciate these little ocean treasures & their characteristics. They’re the epitome of natural beauty & they just so happen to be the perfect neutral.
I custom make every order & I pour a whole lot of love into creating each piece as well as the packaging (which we’ve worked hard to make sustainable & reusable). In essence I want each client to feel spoiled, knowing their piece is truly one of a kind.
My designs focus on the imperfectly perfect. I work mainly with pearls, pairing them with gold-filled chains, finishings & precious and semi precious stones.
I love minimalism & maximalism, so my designs are a mix of simplistic everyday pieces & statement pieces.
I’ve also designed a collection for modern and unconventional brides looking for a fresh take on bridal style.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Growing up in Australia, a typical summer’s day begins around 4:50am as the sun starts to rise with the roaring hum of cicada’s joined by the song of every bird all at once, rosella’s, cockatoos, magpies, rainbow lorikeets & kookaburra’s.
As the heat sets in, everyone heads for the coast, as you hit the sand, you take your shoes off & run as fast as you possibly can in hopes of avoiding 3rd-degree burns on the bottom of your feet. The water is turquoise, crystal clear, warm and the best summer’s day was spent in the water body surfing the breaks, getting tumbled in the whitewash and swimming until sunset. Aussie summers live in my heart forever!
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@shopsabicollective.com
- Website: www.shopsabicollective.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabi_collective/
Image Credits:
Feather & Stone Photography (that’s us) www.featherandstonephoto.com
