Over the summer, psychology sophomore Dyllan Gowin, a Mechanicsville native, started her own jewelry business on Longwood’s campus and ever since the first week of school, her business has been booming.
Girls all around campus have been rocking Gowin’s hand-made wrap style necklaces. Gowin started making her necklaces in August after gaining inspiration from Richmond's popular and well-loved local jewelry company On U.
Dyllan Gowin's different styles of necklaces are ready for sale.
However, the On U. necklaces that inspired Gowin are priced from $30 to $140. As a college student, purchasing expensive clothing and jewelry is difficult when living on a tight budget, balancing school, books and food. Instead, Gowin’s trendy and affordable necklaces start at $7 for single wrap necklaces and $10 for double wrap or metal necklaces.
Though she loves wearing jewelry and trying out new trends, Gowin said she didn't want to drop an immense amount of money on one necklace. Therefore, she started crafting her own necklaces with supplies - metal string, colored beads and pendants - from Ben Franklins, a reasonably priced crafting store in Mechanicsville. As she began to wear her creations, clients rolled in.
“I started doing them all the time then one person asked to buy one from me then when I finally got to school everyone started asking me for them,” said Gowin.
She said she had around 20 customers in the past month, despite the size of campus and timing in the semester, earning around $100. However, designing her necklaces aren't just her business but one of her favorite past times.
“It gives me extra cash to do things, and it’s my hobby I like doing it, so I really don’t mind making them for people,” said Gowin.
In the future, Gowin said she felt like she could eventually grow her business on campus, excited to see other women wearing her jewelry and meet new people as her jewelry becomes more popular.
“My close friends will text me and say that one of their friends saw my necklaces and that they want one. People come up to me on campus and say I want one of your necklaces," said Gowin.
If you decide to order a necklace, you can customize it to suit your needs. Gowin offers a range of colors for beads, pendants and strings. For Gowin’s wrap style necklaces, the wearer wraps the unclasped necklace around the neck before closing it by connecting a bead on one end of the necklace through a small loop at the other end of the necklace.
The simple necklaces are meant to provide a quick, easy and versatile option for spicing up an outfit. One day you can wear the necklace as a choker, another as a longer necklace or even as a bracelet - dressing an outfit up or down.
Gray rocked Gowin's double wrap string necklace in all black paired with a light pink sweatshirt perfect for fall weather.
Gowin constantly updates her necklaces, thinking of more styles and keeping up with trends. I usually style Gowin’s necklaces with a baggy over-sized t-shirt and running shorts to class, and it even ties my outfit together on casual days. You can also style these necklaces with any dress, romper or even over a sweater with jeans.
If you are interested in purchasing a piece of her jewelry, you can contact her via Instagram, @dyllgo.
