Meet Taylor Blount | Handmade Earring Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taylor Blount and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taylor, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Starting my own business happened kind of on accident! I had purchased a pair of earrings from someone and they broke not long after purchasing them. I also saw other people on Instagram making earrings and thought, “Hey! I could do that!” After a little research and buying supplies, I found myself spending all my free time making designs and I eventually had a plethora of earrings and wanted to share them. I started posting on Instagram and the business just happened. After a month, I had such a high volume of orders that it prompted me to create my own website and start selling earrings from there. I was overwhelmed with the support I was getting online and it pushed me to keep it going.

I also used making earrings as my creative outlet. It was a way to cope with idle thoughts and feelings of uncertainty during the beginning of COVID.
I never planned on my earrings making me money. I never planned on anything more than just paying for the supplies I needed. But as time has gone on, I have found a steady following of very loyal customers that have made pursuing this business worth it.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My career has been a balance of following my passions, using my skills, and finding employment that is stable and something I enjoy. I had worked in Human Resources for 4 years and now, I am only working on my small business!
It’s been a battle trying to navigate my professional path and I have learned that finding what you really want to do can take time – and that is perfectly okay!
I want others who read this to know that it is okay if it takes you longer than others to find your passions and achieve your goals. I am still working on reaching mine and finding out what is next for me and I am happy with where this journey has taken me so far!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If I were to take you to every place I love, it would take many weeks to hit every spot. Some of my favorite spots are Bull & Bean, Elmo’s Diner, and Armadillo Grill. But it wouldn’t be a trip to Durham without getting Bojangles!
Some of my favorite things to do would be visiting Duke Gardens and Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, seeing a Bulls game, or catching a University basketball game.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give a shout-out to my husband, Davis, for his unending support. I wouldn’t have started my small business or continued it without his encouragement.

Website: taylorbdesigns.bigcartel.com

Instagram: @taylorbdesigns