For jewelry lover Brittney Rutigliano, trinkets shouldn’t break the bank. Embracing her childhood hobby of creating bracelets, she released her own affordable jewelry line. The Alyse Collection debuted at J. Michael Shoes in February. The sophomore education major showed off the line Thursday and Friday at Delta Delta Delta sorority’s trunk show. The event benefited St. Jude’s Hospital, the sorority’s philanthropy, and 25 percent of the profits went to the organization. Rutigliano spoke about starting her business and how she crafts her pieces.

The Daily Orange: How did you get J. Michael to sell your jewelry?

Rutigliano: I just started networking around, and I contacted them. My roommate’s friend works there. I just wanted to see how it would go.

So how has the jewelry line been doing?

So far it’s been great. There’s been a lot of money within even the past two weeks. For example, I once sold $580 in three hours.

Where do you see your business in the future?

My goal is to sell to multiple stores. I really would also love to have the money that I get to go abroad. I love traveling and I want to travel all over the world. My dream would be to find a little Italian shop and sell some of my jewelry to them.

What do you use to make your jewelry?

There are so many different stones I use. I use stones such as onyx and rubies. Each charm that I use goes with a different color. The elephant, which has always been my favorite, goes with the honey jade. They’re all so cute. I never try to repeat unless someone asks me.

How long does it take you to do a bracelet?

If I rush, it takes me 10 minutes. If I don’t, it takes about 20 minutes. The ones where I use the rubies, though, take me a good hour. I have to strand each stone. Whenever I go to the wholesale stores and see each stone, I just look at all of them and think about how they’re all so beautiful and vibrant.

If you had any advice for aspiring jewelry makers or students who want to start their own businesses, what would it be?

My best advice is that networking is the best thing. Jenn Gubernick, who is one of my friends from the house, helped with my logo and made my site more professional. Teaming up with people and using resources gives me more experience, and I am so happy and grateful for everyone who helped me.

cmdunder@syr.edu

Published on March 4, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Claire: cmdunder@syr.edu | @ClaireDunderman