By Raven Ramsey
Theme Editor
Freshman Ava Eisenberg helps the cancer community one bracelet at a time with her jewelry business, Juels Jewelry.
In November, Eisenberg took to Instagram and announced that during quarantine she had decided to honor her late grandfather by creating Juels Jewelry. She named her business after her grandfather and plans to donate the proceeds to colon cancer organizations. Eisenberg has been interested in fashion and jewelry from a young age and decided to use her time during quarantine to make and sell her own products. With the help of family friends Allana and Mary Friedman, Eisenberg learned how to make jewelry and establish a business selling them.
“During quarantine, I had a lot of free time, and I wanted to do something productive and meaningful,” Eisenberg said. “A friend showed me how to make everything, but ever since then I’ve been doing everything by myself.”
Eisenberg took the name of her grandfather, Juels, and used him as inspiration for her business, Juels Jewelry. Eisenberg’s grandfather passed away from colon cancer 20 years ago, and to honor him she plans to donate 10 percent of the money she makes from selling her products to colon cancer organizations in the South Bay or Jonothan Jaque’s Cancer Organization with Memorial Care Hospital in Long Beach.
“I feel like I know him through the stories I’ve been told, and my middle name is also Juels,” Eisenberg said. “I felt that making jewelry would make me feel closer to him, and I knew I wanted to give back to colon cancer [patients].”
Since Eisenberg does everything herself, it can be a difficult process. Making the bracelets takes between 10 and 15 minutes for Eisenberg, and she charges $25 per bracelet. Customers can find her products on her Instagram, @JuelsJewelry, and send her a direct message to place an order.
“Making bracelets is very time consuming,” Eisenberg said. “It can be difficult and frustrating because everything is very delicate, so if I miss a step or do something wrong, the bracelet will break.”
Despite the difficult aspects of jewelry-making, Eisenberg enjoys the process. She takes inspiration from other designers and adds personal special touches that make each piece of jewelry uniquely hers. According to Eisenberg, she loves seeing her customers’ reactions when they receive their orders and knowing that her hard work has paid off.
“Tying the bracelet at the end always feels like a sort of accomplishment,” Eisenberg said. “It is always a great feeling giving the customer their bracelet and seeing how much they enjoy it.”
Eisenberg’s overall goal for her jewelry business, Juels Jewelry, is to increase awareness for colon cancer. In the past, Eisenberg has made items to raise money for cancer organizations and believes that Juels Jewelry is the next step for her to aid in giving back to the community.
“Making jewelry is a creative outlet for me,” Eisenberg said. “This is a creative way for me to give back.”
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