Meet & Greet with Templeton Silver!

Hey loves!
Today, I am featuring one of my favourite shops that I’ve followed on Instagram and admired dearly, Templeton Silver ! I have been able to see this shop grow via social media and I am sooo excited that I have teamed up with Nikki Wood to giveaway some awesome Pacifier clips [that can dual into a gorgeous bracelets for mama – see photos below] ! 

With all the giveaway madness, I wanted to slow down a bit.  I wanted to give you  a chance to get to know the shop owners on a more personal level. Hence, why this post is a little different !!
So lets meet the gorgeous face behind www.templetonsilver.com !!!

Tell us a little about yourself!

Hey there!  I was born and raised in Charleston, SC and went to the University of South Carolina for college (go Gamecocks!!!)  I came right back to Charleston after I graduated.  I guess you can say I have a slight love affair with my hometown!  I have been married for 7 years to an amazing man that I am head over heels about.  He truly is an amazing person all the way around.  We have already been through a lot in our short time of being married. Making a three year story VERY short, while trying to have a baby and no luck at it, my husband and I went to a fertility specialist where they found a huge fibroid blocking my uterus.  When I went in for surgery to have it cut out, the doctors found cancer on my uterus.    After cutting out the cancer and a year of medicine that keeps cancer at bay, it came back right before we were about to begin the IVF process, and it came back aggressively.  I had to have a complete hysterectomy which sent me into surgical menopause (gotta love some hot flashes[Symbol]).  We are in the process of trying to adopt or do a surrogate, but both are insanely expensive.  I do know how lucky I am to be here and to be alive.  Wherever this little baby is, he or she has saved my life.  Had I not had trouble getting pregnant, doctors would have never found it, and I’m not sure I would have the same outcome.  We also have two very large, very fat, very LAZY cats!

What sparked the idea of starting Templeton Silver?

I owned my own handmade beaded jewelry company for about ten years with my jewelry in boutiques all over the southeast.  I had a childhood friend approach me about taking over her business.  She made sterling and beaded pacifier clips that turn into a keepsake bracelet for mom after the baby outgrows the pacifier stage.  She had children and couldn’t give the business the time and energy it needed.  I thought the idea was absolutely genius.  There is a ton of competition with making jewelry and this opportunity came to me at the perfect time.  I’ve always loved children and have always wanted to do something in the children’s industry.  I ended up taking over the company about 2 years ago and basically revamped and expanded everything.  She had a few different styles of clips (that were amazing and adorable) but I took my jewelry background and came up with different collections of clips and named them after all of my best friends kid’s names.  And then I came up with nine different looks.  It was a perfect fit for me.  So in 2013 I made Templeton Silver my own and it’s grown in leaps and bounds since!

Is there a meaning behind your shop name? 

Templeton was the maiden name of my friend that started the company.  I kept the name after taking over the company.  Even though I changed the majority of things about the company (including the look and feel of the clips, etc) I loved the name and wanted to keep it as is.  I think the name to me now means that if I can take an idea and run with it, anything is possible.  I’ve taken their genius idea and added my touch to it.  We are now in over 250 boutiques in the Southeast.  It’s a lot of work and there are days that I want to just throw my hands up and quit, but I know that is not an option for me.  I have never been a quitter and don’t plan on starting now! I think there is a lot of hope in the name of my business.  Going through our infertility and then cancer struggle was very tough, and then this opportunity came to me, and I’m hoping it’s paving the way to our little baby and of course making a lot of moms out there very happy!

Is there a specific clip that you love the most or means the most to you? 

I love the light green turtle clip.  Green is my favorite color and the turtles are adorable.  Very coastal (like Charleston).  I just came up with our “initial” clip and it’s under our “Capers Collection”.  IT’s probably my very favorite right now.  I think the clip will be very special to all the sweet mamas out there that receive that clip.  It’s special and specific to her and her little one.  That makes me happy that they will always have something to remember that special time in their life when their baby was so young.

If you could give one piece of advice on how to start a business, what would it be?

Such a good question.  You can spend so much time being afraid of the unknown and that what ifs.  I say, pick a place and just start.  That’s the hardest part.  Just taking that leap of faith and going for it.  ANYONE can do it!  There will be a million times you want to quit, but don’t.   Woman are so strong.  We can do anything we want.  When I start to second guess myself, I always think of that quote, “She believed she could, so she did.”  Now, don’t get me wrong, lol, there are many times when I have to repeat that a million times to myself.

Who inspires you?

I have several woman that I really look up to and admire all that they have achieved in their business.  But, the person who I look up to most is Megan Hewitt.  She owns a company called Shrimp and Grits (kid’s clothing) here in Charleston, SC and she is super successful and just an all-around super cool chick.  Not only has Megan gone after her dream (and achieved it!!) she’s still so humble, so kind, and willing to help out other people.  She’s not afraid to help someone else achieve their dreams and be successful.  I have reached out to a lot of other people for advice or help, and never hear a peep back.  I think that sometimes some other businesses think that if they help out someone else, it will take away a piece of their success.  Megan is so successful, yet no matter what, she always takes time to help me out, whether that’s answering my question, helping me in some way to promote my business, giving me advise, just listening, et, etc.  When I was just starting out on Instagram, she posted something about my company to get me some recognition.  I think there is enough success to be had for all of us woman owned business.  And Megan exemplifies all areas of an all-around amazing woman entrepreneur.  She helped me out even though she knew there would be nothing to gain from it.

What’s next for Templeton Silver in 2016? 

WE are hoping for some big things in 2016!  We want to roll out another silver product, but it’s still in the planning phases.  We’d also like to get our brand out there to more mamas so they know who we are and we’d love to be in more children’s boutiques.  And, of course, I’d love to hear the pitter patter of some little feet.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed!! <3

I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling inspired ! Make sure to use my personal code “raisingjayandabel” for 25% of your next purchase!

Now for the really fun part! Nikki, has generously offered to giveaway four $25 dollar store credits to her store  templetonsilver.com !! Entering is super easy, just enter using the rafflecopter widget below! Thank you and good luck!

with love,

HEYDY

a Rafflecopter giveaway