Young best friends make bracelets, hand in hand – beragampengetahuan – Beragampengetahuan

Best friends Macie Wagner, 10, and Cassidy Roberson, 9, are young artists who make bracelets by hand. Cassidy is from Westminster and Macie is from Monkton.

Macie and Cassidy got interested in crafts two years ago. They started calling and getting together on FaceTime.

“We started talking about having a business and selling our bracelets.” Cassidy said.

“Other people liked them so we decided to sell them,” Macie said.

“Our business started a year ago with a lemonade stand. We also put out a few bracelets we made,” Cassidy said.

They were not selling much lemonade, but the bracelets sold well.

“Our first sale was a neighbor,” Cassidy said. “He ordered a bracelet for his daughter for her 16th birthday.”

“We started going door to door selling our bracelets. We sold five bracelets,” Macie said.

They kept making bracelets and have a good inventory of them.

“We told our friends at school about our bracelets, and our friends bought them,” Macie said. “We started going to craft shows and flea markets to sell our bracelets.

They named their business Bracelet Chics. Once they came up with the name, they spent half a day designing their logo. They picked the color, shape and font. They worked with Mike Roberson, Cassidy’s dad. They bought the rights to their logo, a banner and business cards.

The first flea market they attended was at Reese Fire Hall. It was a cold, windy day, and their tent came down. They made $96 and donated $9 to the Reese and Community Volunteer Fire Company.

“We donate $1 of every $5 to charities,” Cassidy said.

They learned that they had to pay for their retail space out of their sales, a good lesson in business.

“We made seasonal bracelets and sold Halloween bracelets in Reese,” Cassidy said.

Then they attended the Carroll County Agricultural Center Flea market in November. They sold Christmas-related bracelets there.

“Christmas bracelets are different kinds. They used red, green, gold beads with alternated seed beads and more,” Macie said.

They sold $260 worth of bracelets.

Their best sellers for Christmas were Grinch bracelets made of clay with letters that said “Grinch” in different colors of green. They do commission work and had an order for Hanukkah bracelets.

“Our Swiftie bracelets are purple and pink, named after Taylor Swift fans. Swift likes those colors and the letters say Swiftie,” Macie said.

They also make necklaces, earrings, and phone charms.

“Phone charms attach to the phone cases,” Cassidy explained.

There are three kinds of bracelets: clay, plastic and glass.

“We mix the materials together. One bracelet has a pearl, a seed bead and alternates,” Macie  said.

The materials create patterns designed by the girls. They also add charms to their bracelets that coordinate with the bracelets.

Another specialty is a Bestie bracelet. Each has one half of a heart charm with a magnet that connects with their friend.

The bracelets cost $4 to $6 depending on the medium.

“We theme the bracelets. Summer would be pinks and bright yellows. They have added shells. We have also added flower charms for summer,” Cassidy said.

To get new ideas, the girls go on YouTube, Pinterest and TikTok. They are constantly on the phone with each other for as long as two hours. They video each other making bracelets as they are talking on the phone.

Macie promotes their business on Instagram and TikTok.

Plans include selling their jewelry at more local shows.

“I like having a hobby. I like designing bracelets and combining the colors,” Cassidy said.

A true fashion lover, Macie said, “I have to have a bracelet or hair tie at all times. They show your personality and match your outfits.”

Their website braceletchics.com is under construction.

Lyndi McNulty is the owner of Gizmo’s Art in Westminster. Her column, An Eye for Art, appears regularly in Life & Times.