Meet Angelique Fernlund | Owner, Peach Lane Permanent Jewelry

We had the good fortune of connecting with Angelique Fernlund and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Angelique, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
It’s so funny when I think about how long I went through my life believing I was not an entrepreneuer. A younger version of me never dreamed I would be on this path right now. I went to school all the way to a graduate level degree. I got my first full time job and continued to level up in each one of my positions.

I’ve had a 23 year long career in payroll and payroll management. They were perfect roles for someone like me with a natural tendency toward deep analytical processing. I love rules and getting things right, so payroll tax compliance, labor compliance and balancing numbers were right up my alley. As I got deeper into each role, I found I loved what I was doing and still I was so overwhelmed. This pattern happened on repeat at each new job. Changing companies wasn’t the right answer anymore. I just didn’t know it yet. Sometimes people say your greatest strength can also be your greatest weakness and the reality for me was, I was good at those roles because of my natural tendencies, but those roles were not so good for me because of my natural tendencies.

I did some heavy work exploring new roles in the workforce and even considered going back to school and starting over completely. It took some time, along with deep reflection, coaching and mentorship to finally learn I really needed to work differently. For some people that would mean working on new practices, habits and skills around the things they want to change. For me, it became a mission to create the kind of work I wanted for myself. I fell in love with the idea of people celebrating special moments and relationships through the unique permanent jewelry experience and decided to make that my full time business!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
It’s uniquely meaningful jewelry. People get their pieces done together to celebrate something special. People come to me for bracelets to celebrate their relationships. For example, family members get the bracelets together; moms get them with their daughters, best friends get the bracelets for a fun girls experience and before one moves far away, getting bracelets together unifies generations in that moment. Couples get them together to celebrate their bond. People also choose permanent bracelets for special occasions like a birthday or anniversary, a graduation, a personal victory and more. It’s uniquely memorable because emotions are imprinted in such an impactful way, when you remember a positive experience you literally get to re-live all the feelings and emotions of that special occasion as if you are in the moment again for the first time. Because the jewelry is welded on and worn all the time, the wearer will see the jewelry they chose and re-visit that memory in the moment.

When I started this venture and tried making the jewelry for the first few times, I had so much doubt in myself. How was I going to work with these teeny tiny chain links and do this well? I constantly asked myself “What was I thinking turning off a computer and turning on a welder?” My son tells me he admires my perseverance, which is a super nice way to say I muscle through my challenges. I would sit up for hours practicing opening and closing those links. I couldn’t have imagined something so simple would be so difficult both because of the size and because a perfect close on those links means a perfect weld more often than I ever realized.

I am so grateful to be part of a larger community with other permanent jewelry artists and even serve on the board of the new Permanent Jewelry Expo where I stay up to date on industry best practices and safety. Through the community I have access to reliable, high quality supplies and tools. I love being able to volunteer and serve the community and businesses that taught me so much in the beginning of this venture.

If I had to point out one lesson I’ve learned, stay in your lane. You do you, boo! When you’re focused on what everyone else is doing, you’re not focused on your business. I do periodically take some time to check what the market is doing in my field. Sometimes I see something going on and I don’t agree on the choices some artists make, other times I compare myself to where someone else is in their business. Neither of those things help my business grow. It’s my job to focus on my next most important thing for my business and my customer’s experience. Then the next and so on. When I focus on my own work and make decisions for my business that make sense to me, my business will continue to evolve as my business, not someone elses version.

The best part about doing this work is the connections and the stories. I have the most fun when people I meet tell me their stories. How they’re connected and why they want permanent jewelry together. Every one of the stories are sweet and memorable. I’m when they choose me to be part of their moment.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, I would definitely have to recommend some of the more well known spots around Denver and nearby cities include Red Rocks and its Museum, Castlewood Canyon Park for hiking, Garden of the Gods is amazing, Denver Mint, Fiddlers Green Ampitheater and I love going to Rockies Games. I’ve recently tried the Epic Sky Park in Castle Rock and it’s a new favorite spot for me!

I recently tried Isla Verde restaurant in Parker and would highly recommend that to anyone! They have a delicious Puerto Rican style menu and a super fun energetic atmosphere.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
100% I have to first shout out to my younger sister, Shera Rowley at 7degrees. She has always known who she is, what she wanted. Even though her dreams have taken many forms over the years, she is at her core a true entrepreneuer. She’s learned the ups and downs of business ownership and she’s an amazing creator. Shera was the first inspiration I had into my own adventure. She relentlessly believed I could do something different by creating my own opportunities and has supported me every step of the way.

I definitely have to give two more huge shout outs, First to Aundrea DeLeon at Next Level Consulting and her expertise coaching and mentoring through the Business Made Simple program. Having the right coach is essential when you’re a new business owner. Aundrea has helped me turn a corner in my business by providing structure, helping identify priorities and keeping accountability to focus on those priorities. The other major influence for me has been Rob DeLeon at ComXL for incredible training and insights into NextDoor and Google platforms critical to setting my business up for success in my broader local area.

Support from these three and countless more have been instrumental in developing my skills and growing a business while learning all the ropes.

Website: www.peachlanonline.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/peachlaneonline

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PeachLaneOnline

Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@peachlaneonline?_t=8YJOrCVBpbH&_r=1

Image Credits
TruBlu Images