Susan Alexandra never imagined that her passion for jewelry and beaded bag making would actually find her any success as an artist and designer. Nor did she expect her namesake brand to gain the attention it has from celebrities, brand collaborators, and her loyal 180,000 Instagram followers. While Susan had no formal jewelry training when she launched her brand, she did have the determination to make it all work, even if at first it meant running to popups to sell her accessories on off hours at her day job.
Today, Susan’s kitchy namesake brand is a true extension of her personality– welcoming, inclusive, optimistic, and kind. Using her platform to celebrate and uplift her diverse community, Susan Alexandra is dedicated to designing antidotes to all the bad things in life.
Who were you at twenty?
I was living in Chicago, scared, anxious, deep in self discovery though I didn't know it yet! Part of me knew myself very well. What I loved, what I hated...but I didn't give myself permission to fully let myself be...myself.
What did you study in school? Does this play a role in your work today?
I studied fashion merchandising and I would say it 100% has not enabled me for a career in fashion. Hot take: college is really good for getting you out of the place you were born and thrusting you into a new environment with new people. That's the real purpose of higher education...
How have you evolved since?
In many ways I'm so much better at being me. I think the same things I needed to hear at 20 are the same things I need to hear now..."it will all be ok,” “you are where you're meant to be," etc.
Was there any sort of AHA moment where you were maybe beading as a hobby and realized it was actually meant to be your career? Tell me about it!
It wasn't an AHA moment because I never believed in myself enough to think I could really do this! I always wanted it, I was sort of Cinderella staring at the step sisters going to the ball and pining away after this dream life. I wanted it but didn't think I had what it took. I know it sounds a certain way, but I feel things happen because they're meant to happen and the universe sort of met me halfway. I pushed myself to take proper jewelry classes and people began asking where they could buy the things. It was the very beginning of Instagram and I suddenly had a way of putting it into the world. It was all so fortuitous.
Tell me about launching your namesake jewelry, accessories, and handbag brand.
Where to begin...I worked fucking hard!! I would peddle bags and jewelry to pop ups every opportunity I got. I would work early morning to late at night and scramble to my retail job in between. You have to be willing to burn the candle at all ends. And you have to push yourself to make connections.
Even with a following of 180k, you’ve built a really close knit community. How do you use your platform to connect with your customers?
I'm obsessive and try to be everything to everyone. It's called lack of boundaries, ever heard of it? But really, the whole reason behind the brand and all that I do is to create a group of loving, kind, inclusive people who are gentle and kind to each other's inner children.
You’ve built a brand around kindness and inclusivity, what’s been the most rewarding part?
Meeting people like you! I wish I had someone to talk to when I was in my twenties! I wish to be the person that I needed the most when I was the most lost and scared.
How do you maintain positivity in a world where being cynical is deemed ‘cool’?
I'm not that positive lol...I just make things to be the antidote to all the awful stuff. I found fashion so exclusive and so grim and wanted to make the pieces that I couldn't find.
What advice would you give to yourself at twenty?
I would give myself this advice, not sure if I would listen but...trust the process and be careful who you let in! I also wish I didn't hate myself so much. I hated my skin, my body, my hair, my clothes. I was so focused on seeing myself through everyone else's lens, I almost never felt good. I mean, listen, I still struggle with all this, I just have years of human observation that most people don't think about us the way we think they do. And if they do, as my friend Catherine Cohen says "let's find a god and pray for them."
What would you say to a twenty-something year old about finding her place in the world?
I worried about this SO much. I still worry about it! It will fall into place. Be the best person you can be, be interested in everything, say yes to as much as you can (within reason!!) and the universe will help you along. What's a better way of saying "be yourself" without saying just that? That's what I want to say. Be as authentic and live in your truth as much as possible. People really dig that.
Anything else you’d like to share with my audience!
I wish I could convey to you all the power of hard work and the power of just being kind. It's really simple and it's so rare. You will stand out.
Learn more about Susan Alexandra and discover her world here.