Meet Jennifer Holguin | Jewelry maker, online merchant

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

Hi Jennifer, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve always dreamed of starting my own business. After having my daughter I looked for ways to work from home so I can be able to spend more time with her. Also I liked the idea of making my own schedule and I had the hope that as much hard work I put in, thats as much as I was going to get back in return unlike a regular job, where it’s rare to get rewarded for going above and beyond and being a hard worker. Also I had the hope that by being a small business owner I can inspire other women that it’s possible to own a business and be your own boss.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
We are a family business located in Denver, Colorado run by Martin and Jennifer. Established in 2018.

We work from home and have our own website where customers can place orders from. Jennifer hosts live videos on Facebook where customers can place orders and interact live, and Martin puts together the beautiful one of a kind pearl jewelry customers order.

Darlene & Pearls offers a beautiful variety of freshwater pearls as well as ring, earring, and pendant settings to go with them. We take pride in the amazing quality of our pearls whether they are especially picked loose pearls or pearls revealed from oysters. We love working with our customers personally to set the beautiful pieces that they have chosen and we make it a goal to go above and beyond so that they are happy with the pieces they create!

It has not been an easy road. We started this business with just an idea but no business experience. We didn’t know what to expect but with the help of kind strangers that took a chance on us, 4 years later we are still going and we have met some wonderful people along the way that are there literally there everyday supporting us and trusting us with their orders. Everyday is a learning experience for us and we never stop learning how to better our small business. I always tell new customers that this is the place to be and that everyone that is part of our small business is so positive and encouraging that they’re always going to have a positive experience. It’s amazing how people you have never met from different places and different time zones can come together and be so supporting and bring each other up with kindness and that’s something you will notice and something that we are so proud to be a part of.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Definitely one of the first stops would be our home. We love hosting and just having a good time. It can be a whole dinner or just some coffee and pastries! Also there would be table games! And for sure we would go out. One of our favorite places to go is red rocks because of the beautiful views. We can also go on a hike to El Dorado Springs that also has beautiful views. For a quick bite we can go to Panchos Birrias. They have the BEST birria subs/tacos and anything birria!
One place we can’t get enough of either is Plays bowls. They have the best açaí bowls!
For a really good dessert or something new is a cronut place in Denver called Parlor Donuts. You will never want to try donuts from anywhere else again! There’s so many great places that Denver offers.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Thank you to my amazing husband Martín for being so supportive and believing in us, in me and my ideas and for working hard along side with me. It’s very motivating when you have someone in your life that believes in you and I couldn’t have started this small business of ours without you.

Thank you to my beautiful daughter who inspires me everyday since the moment she was born. Darlene, I hope you know that you can accomplish anything your heart desires if you work for it hard enough. You taught me this the day you were born.

And ofcourse thank you to our customers for making our dream a reality! Thank you for supporting us and for taking a chance on us and trusting us with your orders, we truly appreciate it. Thank you for supporting our small business.

Thank you to my beautiful mother for teaching me to be a hardworking person and for the post office rides.

Website: Darleneandpearls.com

Instagram: Darlene and Pearls

Facebook: Darlene and Pearls

Image Credits
Jewelry pictures- Darlene and Pearls Couple picture- amandhaphotgraphy