A babysitter can be a magical influence in a child’s life—sometimes a babysitter is a kid’s first caregiver besides parents, and the babysitter could have a Mary Poppins kind of charm and lively spirit that makes every encounter special.
For Erin Sachse, founder of Los Angeles–based fine jewelry brand Eriness, that inspiring babysitter became a lifelong mentor and major career influence. Growing up in L.A., Sachse’s babysitter was Ashleigh Bergman, now owner of the jewelry company Milestones by AB.
“She would come over on Saturday nights with her box of beads. I’d watch mesmerized as she made her beaded bracelets,” Sachse says. “I knew she was the exact person I wanted to learn from. She ended up teaching me and, in turn, my whole class how to make jewelry.”
From there, Sachse was always making jewelry in some way or another, she says. While in high school at Crossroads in Santa Monica, she made wire-wrapped jewelry for herself and her friends. As she was just going about her day, people often asked about her hand chains and would buy them right off her anywhere she went.
The summer before college, Sachse worked retail at Fred Segal Kids, but her jewelry career was already showing promise. By that point, she had 10 wholesale accounts she supplied jewelry to and was making jewelry every free minute she had.
She went to Boston University to study public relations. “Looking back, I spent most of my time making jewelry in my dorm room. At the time, I was making all my jewelry by hand, working overtime to supply the demand of both my wholesalers and all the sorority girls on campus,” Sachse says.
Her college courses took on additional meaning with her jewelry business. “I cherry-picked specific lessons from each class and applied them directly to Eriness,” Sachse says. “I remember bringing two separate notebooks for my Comm 101 class—one for study notes and one for Eriness.”
She graduated from college in 2015 and decided to go full-time with Eriness. “I was absolutely terrified at the idea of being on my own with no guarantee of a paycheck or success, but I couldn’t see myself doing anything else,” she says. Starting her own business at age 22 “felt like such a massive risk, but I knew it was the right time,” she adds.
“My mother, Julie, was my biggest supporter and guiding light,” Sachse says. “It was my mom who kept me moving forward and reminded me daily, ‘Slow and steady.’”
Her mom’s sage advice plus Sachse’s own instincts for making fine jewelry more accessible served her well: Eriness has made Sachse a well-known jewelry designer whose hand-chain customers back in college are now coming to her for their engagement rings.
An old saying about jewelry goes something like this: You wear earrings and necklaces for other people to admire, but you wear bracelets and rings for yourself—they’re the jewelry pieces you see when you’re wearing them. Sachse says she feels awe and contentment when she sees her jewelry.
“I just love looking down at my hands and seeing fun, playful jewelry that genuinely makes me happy. I hope that whenever our clients wear Eriness, they feel the same sentiment,” Sachse says. “The best part of being a jewelry designers for me is being able to watch my brand evolve as I grow alongside it.”
Top: Erin Sachse is the founder of fine jewelry brand Eriness, which evolved from her high school business of making wire-wrapped jewelry and hand chains. (Photo courtesy of Eriness)
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