28/04/2026
Recently I’ve been business brainstorming, and as I reminisce about how this all came to be, I’m in awe of where life has taken me. For those of you who don’t know the brand story, here it is:
Urban Eclectic Jewelry was born in Los Angeles in 2005. I was working a stressful law firm job, making jewelry helped me unwind after work. I started selling designs to coworkers and just like that, my hobby became a small business.
But corporate life was not for me. My quality of life was s**t. Work was overwhelming. I ditched my job and moved to Costa Rica in search of a “better life.” The stars aligned and 3 months later the opportunity to open a beachfront boutique in Playa Tamarindo fell into my lap. That was nearly 20 years ago.
I had no idea what I was doing, I’d never run a business and my brand wasn’t even established yet. But I went for it. I had the shop for 17 years! The first 14, I sold only my brand. It grew into being carried in other boutiques. After the pandemic, I shifted the shop into a collective representing nearly 30 national artist’s work.
Even though business was growing, my spirit wasn’t. I was SO bored living at the beach. I was intellectually and culturally unstimulated. In 2024, I sold the shop and returned to city life.
I’d fantasized about moving to San José since 2018, but life (and the pandemic) delayed it. Turns out, my spirit thrives in the chaos, noise, and congestion of a city. People said I was “living the dream” at the beach but it wasn’t my dream.
Returning to city life immediately felt like slipping back into my own skin. Being free from running the shop allowed me to focus on expanding the brand. It’s now in 13 stores across the country (and growing!).
Running my business without constant face-to-face client interaction has been a big shift, lots of trial and error and constant brainstorming. Entrepreneurship is equally rewarding and terrifying. But after nearly 20 years, I trust the power of dreaming, deciding, and leaping into the unknown.
As I finish my 2nd year working from my home studio, I’m excited to execute what’s next. Life is wild. Who would’ve thought those designs I made in 2005 would lead to this?
