Behind the Scenes Small Business Spotlight: “fromHannie”

Over quarantine, many people took strides towards starting small businesses. The rise of resin art has taken hold of Tik Tok and landfills everywhere. Unlike those questionably overpriced pieces of art, one of Blake’s very own has started a successful small business. Junior Hannie Le makes handmade jewelry through her business, “fromHannie.” 

Le began to make jewelry for her family and friends during quarantine. After receiving mass support and interest, she opened her shop in November of 2020. The transition to in person education was a struggle for the business, given Le’s immense school and extracurricular load. “I am a straight A student taking a full schedule of AP courses and I am involved in around 10 in school clubs. I also play varsity lacrosse and field hockey and piano,” she says. “Yes there are weeks when I don’t have time to work on my business but I try to make time during weekends.”

Despite that, Hannie continues to regularly update her Instagram page multiple times a week. She has held two pop up shop events that were highly successful. The entrepreneurship and raw talent has impressed many of her friends and peers. Le even buys crystals from other small businesses, showing that she genuinely cares about the success of others like her. 

“The regular crystal wrapped rings and crystal bracelets are my best sellers and I sell a good amount of them each month,” says Le proudly. After I spoke with her, the amount of wire bending it takes to make an adjustable ring leaves my fingers aching at just the thought. 

As far as pricing goes, Le bases it on the cost of the materials and the time and level of effort she has to put into each piece. If something takes longer to create, has a lot of detail, costs more material, it will be priced higher. 

Unfortunately, Le has dealt with the hate that comes with success, with many people taking the time to leave rude comments on hate pages. “Real supporters that have purchased from my shop and wear my jewelry everyday have shut down those rumors saying that my jewelry has stayed good quality.”

Alvarez bought a bracelet a few months back and still wears it to this day. “It’s unique, durable, and pulls my outfits together,” says happy customer and student Jefry Alveraz. “I would recommend her to anyone who wants long lasting, well priced, and even custom jewelry.” 

Le has four main tips towards those who wish to start a small business. Those include taking nice product photos, ensuring items are good quality, proper promotion through social media, and the support of friends and family. “I wish people knew how much work it takes to run a small business,” says Hannie. “How much we appreciate any kind of support, even resharing posts, following, telling other people about our shop, [and] complimenting our things.” 

With a little ambition, anyone can start a small business, but it takes real dedication for success. Viewers can support Le through her Instagram fromHannie.