"you should tell your story more."

Someone told me last week - "you should tell your story more." I don't tell my FULL story too often, for fear of oversharing / thinking you guys don't care. (which maybe I am + maybe you don't ) 

So, here it is.

I'm Savannah. The owner of Mint Jewelry co. I am 22 years old. I started my own company at 19 years old. I dropped out of high school when I was 15. I got a full time job. I home-schooled myself on my work breaks - and graduated a year later. I moved out when I was 16. 

 

When the Hawaii chapter came to an end, I backpacked through Thailand. I slept on trains, ate weird bugs, and fell in love with living out of a backpack. I got my diving certification on the island of Koh Tao + solidified my intense obsession with the ocean even further. I ate disgustingly good curry, drank too much coca-cola + was so tan I looked like a leather handbag. (gross I know.) We got held up in customs + almost weren't allowed to come home. If you find yourself doing a border run to Malaysia to renew your traveling visa - just, don't. Needless to say almost going to Thai prison for overstaying your visa (unknowingly) will put your life choices into perspective REAL quick. I remember landing in Hong Kong for my first layover, finding wifi (it was a burger king LOL) and calling my sister bawling telling her all about it. She thought I was nuts. (She still does. If you're reading this, love ya sister.)

I moved to San Diego + married the love of my life at 19. We spent our first months surfing, cooking, dreaming + planning out our life.

My first company, BARE - was born 2 months into our marriage. It was a women's bralette top clothing + lifestyle brand. I was busy sketching patterns + sewing. 

Look, here I am sewing. 

AND THEN, I figured out - I HATE SEWING. Like, scrape your head against a cheese-grater, kill me now type of hatred. SO bye bye BARE.

Then we moved back home. Bend, OR. I was born / raised in this gem of a town.

A couple months later I was making jewelry on my living room floor, and my husband says to me - "why don't you sell these? They're rad."

For me, jewelry wasn't a business. It was how I liked to relax. I didn't even know how to REALLY do it right. I was completely self taught + basically making everything up  and calling it jewelry. But being the creative genius my husband is, he convinced me we could do it. And - there was Mint. 

Want to see some of my first ever jewelry pieces? I cringe now. It's amazing for me to look back and see these pieces, and see how far I've come in developing this art.

So here I am 2 years later with a growing business. We have a team of 6 employees, (me- founder + owner, ryan-seo + marketing director, vienna - professional lifesaver + production manager, kelly - customer service, Ashley + Jenny - wholesale reps.) We've got an amazing team, and we care about doing more than just creating beautiful jewelry for you. We are inspired by giving back + are always looking for ways to do so. 

So... that's my story. 

I grew up fast. I endured a lot of heartbreak. I worked my butt off, and I never stopped trying.

Trust me, I'm not saying how I grew up works for everyone. But it worked for me. 

Feel free to ask questions, or comment below.

Best, xx

-Savannah