There’s nothing I love more than seeing a girl going after what she wants, especially when it comes to business. Entrepreneurship can be an intimidating and daunting prospect, but with a lot of hard work, sweat and let’s be real, tears, it can be done and quite successfully.

That’s why I’ll jump at the chance to support a fellow woman who is out there doing things on her own. That brings me to the new online jewelry shop sweet & spark. Founder Jillian Bremer had me as soon as she shared her mission:

“to always be authentic and share your spark”

So love that ethos. That’s why, when Jillian asked if I would join a group of fellow bloggers {and fabulous ladies I might add!} to be a part of her lookbook shoot, I jumped at the chance. Spend a day playing with fabulous fashion, jewelry and getting all done up? Count me in. As you can see, the result was tres chic!

We all gathered at this amazing warehouse-like office space in downtown San Francisco to pick through the sweet & spark collection of vintage jewelry.

That is how sweet & sparks works: Jillian has partnered with her buyer – her dad! – to shift through estate sales, flea markets or yard sales on the east coast to find unique earrings, bracelets and necklaces. They focus on pieces produced between the 1940s and 1990s. After careful research, they estimate the decade each piece was produced in and have noted it in the descriptions.

The best part? There is only one of each piece available for purchase!

We were tasked with putting together black & white looks from our own closet and then got to accessorize to our fashion heart’s content. Here are a few outtakes from the day of shooting!

I had to rock my rock n’ roll look barefoot to keep from being a head taller than the balloons!
I also had the chance to sit down with Jillian and learn bit more about her vision for sweet & spark as well as get a few words of wisdom for you aspiring business owners out there! Here’s what she had to say about life as a lady entrepreneur.

What do you think makes your shop different and special?

The novelty of sweet & spark is that it’s authentic vintage jewelry, meaning there’s only one of every piece. Thanks to the rise of blogs, I think we’re experiencing a shift from following specific trends to having unique style freedom. I have yet to run into someone that doesn’t appreciate vintage!

Partnering with my dad on his love for antiquing, he’s doing the dirty work scouring yard sales, flea markets & antique shops along the East coast and I’m out West, building curated assortments of quality, designer signed costume jewelry from the 40s-90s. At the core we’re about the classics and seasonally, we are building collections mimicking current trends which we roll out on a weekly/bi-weekly basis. Check back often, there’s always something new!

What gave you the idea or made you want to start sweet & spark?

With over five years of corporate buying experience for large All American bands, I was most recently working on a new brand with American Eagle Outfitters, which closed last May. I decided to spend the summer home in Buffalo and for the first time in my life, found myself embracing my dad’s love for vintage by spending time out shopping with him. It was then that I had the realization that no one was bridging the gap between the mass market and the overwhelming & un-glamorous world of sourcing vintage pieces. Specifically, there isn’t anyone focusing on just jewelry  – for most vintage brands, it’s an afterthought.

So, I decided there was never going to be a better time. At that point I’d been lifestyle blogging under s&s for over a year and had a basic understanding of what it would take from a creative standpoint to execute my vision. I spent hours on YouTube, took a few Skillshare classes and posted on Craigslist for things I couldn’t figure out on my own. I’m a big believer in just getting started and letting it evolve from there. {editors note: brilliant piece of advice there. Write that one down!}

If you had one piece of advice to give to fledgling entrepreneurs or one thing you’ve learned about business that you never would have otherwise considered, what would it be?

A constant struggle for me along this crazy ride of entrepreneurialism is embracing the unknown. While the possibilities are incredibly exciting, they are also scary at the same time. I’m constantly learning how to let go of expectations and trust intuition it will never lead you astray.

Well I for one want to congratulate Jillian for jumping into that scary abyss. We’re all going to be better and more beautifully accessorized for it!

Be sure to see all the stylin’ bloggers who starred in the sweet & spark lookbook {I showcased her Add Edge Trend Collection}. I have a feeling this brand is going to be one to watch for a long time to come!

images via Sweet and Spark & Vanilla Extract

What do you think?

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9 Comments

  1. What gorgeous jewellery…and such a great idea! I love seeing entrepreneurial women give each other “a leg up” (as we say here in England!)

  2. I would love to share my story with you of how I started my Jane Waggoner Fine Carpet Collection.

    Here are two nice articles that will give you some background.

    http://www.papercitymag.com/Article/5860/Telling-Stories%3a-Who-Needs-Walls-to-Talk%3f/

    http://dhome.dmagazine.com/2013/01/behold-dallas-designer-jane-waggoners-killer-spring-rug-collection/

    I’m so proud of this collection. It is so much more than wool rugs. It is truly an extension of myself.

    Best,

    Jane

  3. Kudos for recapping such an amazing day!
    So thankful to have met you.
    Lots more fun to come….starting with drinks tonight 😉

    XO!
    Jillian

  4. Jillian seems like an awesome girl with great ideas. Her company is so cool, and it’s inspiring to see how hard she is working on it. All of you looked gorgeous. I love your outfit and the jewelry you chose. All of the necklaces are beyond beautiful.

  5. This looks like a fabulous day of fun for you all. I see so much talent and energy in one beautiful room here. I definitely understand Jillian’s sentiment of it being scary and exciting all at the same time with a new venture. I will definitely jump to her blog and boutique. I started my own online boutique last spring so I do understand the amount of energy that goes into the process. Since she and I are both running our businesses as the ‘one woman show’ I can definitely see how being with such a lovely and supportive group was very exciting.
    Cheers to you all!
    Heather

    http://stylemindchic.com

  6. Heather, I just looked at your shop and it’s really cute! I’ll definitely be dropping back by regularly!