Devon Sanders, a mass communication sophomore from Houston, has turned her jewelry-making hobby into a business. She now sells fashionable jewelry at affordable prices to University students.
She said the idea came to her when her roommate’s birthday was coming up and she wanted to give her jewelry as a present because they always borrowed from each other. Shopping around, Sanders realized that everything she came across was far too expensive.
A friend suggested she visit a bead and jewelry supply store in Houston, and Sanders said she recalls walking in and immediately having a “cornucopia of ideas” for different designs.
She began making jewelry for fun until someone told her she should consider selling her pieces, and from there, she began promoting them on her own Facebook page and eventually opened up an Etsy store.
The business officially began in July, although Sanders originally thought it would only be a summer endeavor. But she continued to make more pieces and brought her booming business with her when she moved back to Baton Rouge for the school year. She has now sold over 800 pieces.
She started this endeavor to show that women don’t need to buy boutique jewelry at astronomical boutique prices most students on a budget can’t afford. She prices her merchandise reasonably, without aiming to make a large profit off of her peers.
“I just really enjoy doing it and the whole reason behind [this] was to save money,” Sanders said. “Making my designs expensive wouldn’t agree with my ideals I started this business with.”
Sanders essentially completes each part of the process herself. For design inspiration, she draws from friends’ opinions, photos she takes of people’s jewelry and Instagram.
She describes jewelry making as a trial and error process. She often sends her ideas to her twin sister for honest feedback.
“Something I can be really excited about making can wind up being a dud on the website,” Sanders said.
Most of her supplies come from a shop in Houston and she makes the pieces in her apartment in Baton Rouge at an old craft table.
Running the two websites is not an easy task. Sanders said she had to research a great deal, especially for shipping rates, and seek guidance from friends before diving into the business world on her own.
“It’s definitely still a learning process, especially with the new website, but it’s opened me up to more skills that I would never do otherwise,” she said. “I’m learning so much about business than I thought I ever would.”
Each style is named after her friends at the University or in Houston. The first ten pieces she made were named after her best friends from home and the list keeps expanding.
“I want customers to have an affordable way to own cute jewelry,” she said. “Students should not have to spend a lot to look cute or make a statement. I know the feeling of getting something new and nice at a price that you feel good about, and I want to make others feel that way too. It’s what fuels me to keep the business going.”
Devon Sanders Designs includes casual and dressy necklaces, bracelets and anklets, ranging in price from $10 to $25. The necklaces can be worn on a night out, a gameday or just to class with a casual top. Sanders said she wants her pieces to be functional as well as stylish, and many can even be layered.
“I thought it was going to be something I did for a week; never in my wildest dreams did I think it would become this, but I’m so happy it did,” she said. “It lets me be creative in making my own stuff, while saving money and making a small profit to survive in college.”

Gallery • 4 Photos

Chunfeng Lu

Mass communication sophomore Devon Sanders displays her jewelry designs on Tuesday, March 28, 2017, on campus.