cutenlittle x sequinjewelry :: I Launched My Own Necklace!

cutenlittle x Sequin Jewelry Butterfly Charm on Ball Chain 16″ – 20% off w/ KILEEN20
shown here with Freshwater Pearl Chain 16″ and Pave Evil Eye + Joy Charm

I can’t even believe this is happening, but here we go… I am so excited to announce that I have my first ever collaboration to launch a product of my own!!  I still remember my first Sequin piece — the pearl initial talisman necklace that I purchased on my own after seeing it on social media.  Sequin found me after I shared my love for them on my Instagram and well… the rest is history!

Sequin Jewelry is a brand that I’ve loved for over a year now, and they are a small business that I continuously recommend to everyone I know.  Sequin Jewelry pieces are unique and timeless, each one sculpted by hand before it’s dipped in 22K gold-plated brass.  I always have Sequin Jewelry necklaces around my neck and it’s truly the only brand that hasn’t discolored over time.   I couldn’t have picked a better brand to work with for my first collaboration experience and I’m so excited to share some of the behind-the-scenes details of this jewelry launch!

The Story Behind My Necklace

cutenlittle x Sequin Jewelry Butterfly Charm on Ball Chain 16″ – 20% off w/ KILEEN20

In early April 2021, Sequin Jewelry reached out and asked if I’d be interested in potentially collaborating with them to develop my own talisman charm.  I still remember reading that email literally 100 times as I was in disbelief!  Part of me was so scared to launch my own product — was I ready for this?  what if nobody likes what I create?  But then I also thought, wouldn’t it be worth it to have my necklace share a part of my story?  what if the journey that my necklace represents is able to touch someone so that they are able to relate to it in some way?

initial mockup of my butterfly charm

I started brainstorming what it was that I wanted my talisman charm to represent.  For much of my 20s, I dealt with abandonment issues that stemmed from life events that happened when I started college.  It made me lose trust in people and isolate myself from friends and family.  I look back and see that I was extremely lonely, but at least in my loneliness I felt safe.  By pure chance, I ended up reconnecting with my now husband, Adrian, who was a college crush of mine at the time through a mutual friend almost a year after I graduated college.

It’s crazy to think that Adrian and I have now been together for over 16 years and I’m forever grateful as he’s shown me how to trust again.  Unfortunately, my marriage took a big hit in 2017 and it’s an area of my life that is still very much a work in progress that more recently has taken quite an emotional toll on me.  The pandemic made things more complicated, and during that time both my son and I ended up getting diagnosed for ADHD.  Treatment for ADHD has brought its own challenges as it’s been a touchy subject with no clear answers but I have some so many positive changes that have given me hope.

For me, a butterfly best symbolized this journey that we all take as we sometimes move through difficult life cycles.  I’m slowly learning it’s ok to be vulnerable and there’s actually intense strength in doing so.  No matter how hard that metamorphosis process can be, I wanted to show that we come out more on the other side more beautiful inside and out.  A butterfly to me represented so much resilience yet it isn’t weighed down by its past.  For this reason, I also chose to have my butterfly charm connect from one of its wings, so that when attached to a chain it would have the look of “taking flight”.  Butterflies move with a sense of playfulness and I wanted my charm to capture that lighthearted innocence.  Finally, I added pave diamonds on the butterfly body and bottom wings as a way to remind ourselves of our own brilliance, to always shine as our true selves.

cutenlittle x Sequin Jewelry Butterfly Charm on Link Chain 16″ 
shown here with Open Hamsa Charm + Joy Charm
all 20% off w/ KILEEN20

I worked closely with Tara, the Creative Director at Sequin Jewelry, through Zoom calls / emails to ultimately arrive at our final design, and it was truly such a fun process!  Tara was able to bring to life the vague mumblings I had of my vision and created such a beautiful piece that literally took my breath away!  My butterfly charm is 1″ x 1″ and perfectly captures the blend of strength yet daintiness that I was looking for.

My butterfly charm itself is priced at $30 and shown above with the 16″ link chain.  Wear any way you like: on a necklace, bracelet, or even keychain!  I also love how it looks layered with other talisman charms and I love the Create Your Own Talisman visual guide available on the Sequin site for seeing how all the charms look when added together — you’ll find my butterfly charm under the Collaboration category!  Also be sure to use my code KILEEN20 to save 20% off anything on the SequinJewelry site.

Here’s a layered look I’m loving:

cutenlittle x Sequin Jewelry Butterfly Charm
Sequin Jewelry Nova Charm
Sequin Jewelry Night Sky Inlay Plaque
Link Chain 16″
all 20% off w/ KILEEN20

cutenlittle x Sequin Jewelry Butterfly Charm on Ball Chain 16″ – 20% off w/ KILEEN20
shown here with Freshwater Pearl Chain 16″ and Pave Evil Eye + Joy Charm

Thank you so much SequinJewelry for trusting in me and giving me an opportunity to collaborate with such an incredible brand whom I’ve only grown to love even more throughout this entire process.  I hope you love my necklace and that the message speaks to you in some way!