815: Ashley Wehrstein of Rockford turns jewelry-making hobby into business - Rockford Register Star
The next issue of 815 magazine will be out Sept. 17 in home-delivered newspapers.
Most high school seniors aren't prepared to calculate profit margins and organize inventories, but Ashley Wehrstein of Keith Country Day School in Rockford is learning do to so as her hobby morphs into a senior project and small business.
Since December, the 17-year-old has been selling her handmade necklaces and bracelets as Eunoia Jewelry, named for the ancient Greek term for a beautiful mind.
“It’s been a really eye-opening thing, a little glimpse into what people have to do every day for a living,” she said. “You have to be proud of what you put out there.”
Wehrstein started making jewelry for herself and friends after failing to find inexpensive jewelry simple enough to fit her taste in stores. Now, with the help of her mother and sister, she sells her pieces through Crimson Ridge and 815 Yoga.
Wehrstein said she enjoyed the research that went into the pieces she designed for the yoga studio, which incorporate spiritual traditions and designs, but formalizing her inventory and altering prices to account for studio owner Ally Troia’s cut was a challenge.
“I have never been like, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore,’" she said. “This is hard, but I love what I’m learning.”
Accounting lessons and advice from other business owners are what Wehrstein credits for her success, and she says she feels prepared to study business in college next year. Regardless of whether she continues producing jewelry specifically, she feels she’s discovered the type of career she’d like to continue.
“I like the idea of having a small business so it’s my stuff,” Wehrstein said. “I can make sure that I really believe in what I’m putting out there and I love it.”
One of her favorite parts of running Eunoia is when she sees people wearing her creations.
On Valentine’s day, Wehrstein sold special pieces with hearts on them for classmates to give their girlfriends.
"It was really cute just looking around the lunch table and seeing everybody with necklaces on,” she said. “They all still wear them.”
“Some people probably don’t (take me seriously) but I think it’s fine,” she said. “I am just starting out, and I am young.”
Even so, Wehrstein has turned a sizable profit, which she’s saving in cash until a worthy spending opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, she’s happy with the learning experience and creative outlet she’s found in entrepreneurship.
“It’s made me optimistic for the future,” she said. “I can’t wait to do this with my life.”
