Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Nichols
Hi Linda, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born and raised in beautiful Charleston, SC. I grew up on Folly Beach, received my Bachelors and Masters degrees from College of Charleston and have spent most of my career in banking and finance. I currently live in Mount Pleasant with my husband and two daughters. Charleston is home, and my business is a reflection of the coastal beauty that surrounds us.
I’ve always been creative and have loved to make things as long as I can remember. I can never resist picking up shells on the beach and finding ways to repurpose them and give them new life. My business started small, making gifts for friends and family. My first product was monogrammed oyster dishes that I gave as Christmas presents.
People were constantly asking to buy my creations so over time my hobby evolved into a small business. I formally branded in 2020 as Made on Maidstone, a creative spin on the street where I live. Over the next few years, I added other coastal themed jewelry, accessories and home decor to my shop and eventually introduced clay earrings to my product lineup. I keep those aligned with my coastal theme by including designs such as coral, sand dollars and sea life.
Over time my small business has grown into something much bigger than I ever expected. Today, I have multi sales channels that keep me very busy. In addition to my website, I have a booth at Sweetgrass Mercantile in Mount Pleasant, and a strong wholesale business. To date, I’ve shipped my handcrafted products to over 200 gift shops and boutiques around the county. I have a lot of repeat customers who I’m grateful for and who are a testament to the quality products and excellent customer service I provide. I’m so grateful to each and every one who has supported me on this journey to turn a hobby into a thriving small business.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My biggest challenge is balancing time. I work full time in banking in addition to running my small business, and I also have two daughters who keep me very busy so there’s a lot of competing priorities. As well as making all my products, I handle order fulfillment, customer service, marketing, finances, website management, and social media. I’m always juggling multiple projects and responsibilities, and there never seems to be enough hours in the day to get it all done. There have definitely been times when I’m overwhelmed but I’m passionate about the small business I’ve grown and my desire to take this to the next level is what keeps me going.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
So much time and attention to detail goes into creating my products. I personally handcraft each piece with tireless effort, meticulous attention to detail and a heartfelt desire to make something truly unique and special. Each product is a testament to my passion to create and commitment to quality craftsmanship.
I’ve invested a lot of time and dedication to really perfect my techniques and determine what materials work best. I truly believe in quality over quantity, and my oyster earrings are a perfect example of this. Making them is a true labor of love because it takes so much time to find the perfect match for each shell. After finding, cleaning, sanding, drilling, and painting, these little oysters are transformed into a totally unique piece of jewelry.
My other best selling products are my oyster wreaths, ornaments, colorful straw clutches that feature a gilded or decoupaged oyster shell accent and oyster shell place cards that add a personal touch at weddings. Every creation is truly one of a kind because no two oysters are the same.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I’m not a huge risk taker, but looking forward the biggest risk I can envision possibly taking with my business would be to open a brick and mortar store. I can’t quite imagine that happening as long as I’m still working in banking but you never know what the future might hold!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.madeonmaidstone.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madeonmaidstone
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madeonmaidstone
- Other: https://faire.com/direct/madeonmaidstone
