June Topic: Share a moment when your business met the need of a client.
By Jill Vater with Jianna Studio Designs
It started back in 2003 when I had my Laryngectomee. I would not go out in public unless I had to, and I would not talk in public because of the way people stared at me or reacted to the sound of my new voice. I pretty much just hung out with my family and a few very close friends. This was the beginning of a whole new way of living for me.
Then, one night at a family gathering, my cousin Rosalee gifted me a lovely silver netted necklace. She said she wanted me to feel pretty and confident about myself again.
I would typically wear “crutched covers” to cover my stoma when I did go out, but they weren’t very attractive. I kept thinking about what my cousin had said to me about feeling confident and pretty again, and I kept looking at the necklace. I thought to myself, I can make these myself for other women’s laryngectomees.
And that is when I started Jillian Waters Designs, I would make beaded bib necklaces and post them online, through a support group for other Laryngectomees. And since no one is one size fits all, I started making custom-order necklaces when women asked me to make them in specific colors. Some wanted them wider or longer than others. One lady had me make one specifically to match her dress for her daughter’s wedding with a bracelet to match.
I would have orders come in, and I’d make them to their specifications, then mail them out. I even had customers in the UK.
Someone had heard about me making custom necklaces, and I was approached by a local newspaper. They wrote an article about me overcoming adversity.
One gentleman called me because he saw the article in the paper and asked me if the necklaces were just for Laryngectomees, or if I would consider making his girlfriend a necklace with a matching bracelet and earrings.
Even though my jewelry-making business had shifted, I still take orders from women with Laryngectomees as long as the need is there.
I still look at that article from time to time to remind myself how far I have come and how I made an impact on other women with Laryngectomees.
