Today we’d like to introduce you to Wendy Van Loo and Kristina Oliver.
Wendy and Kristina, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Wendy: I first learned about Baltic amber jewelry for pain relief in 2009. My first daughter, Shelby, was just over a year old at the time, teething up a storm, and all the traditional methods to ease the pain just weren’t cutting it. I had read a little about the history behind amber use for pain relief and learned that amber has been used across Asia and Europe for centuries on teething children as well as adults suffering from a range of issues such as arthritis to carpal tunnel and sciatica. I was intrigued, to say the least and ordered a necklace for Shelby and an anklet for myself.
Pregnancy had left me with a lot of nerve pain in my hips and I figured it was worth a shot, right? I was astonished at the amazing results the baby and I both had with our amber jewelry. Pain relief from jewelry? It really worked! However, I noticed some issues with the quality of the jewelry available on the market at that time. So I took my 12+ years of experience making jewelry, combined it with research about the best amber to use for teething and pain relief (along with the intricacies of making jewelry safe for children), and began making amber jewelry for friends and family. I really saw how this natural option for pain relief was helping people, and it was a joy to pair it with my passion for the jewelry-making artform. Funky Birdie was born!
Kristina: Fast-forward seven years to 2016, when Wendy gave me a Baltic amber necklace to try for my chronic headaches. I was definitely skeptical, being into science and all, and just not convinced that jewelry could help with pain relief and prevention. Lo and behold, it worked. My headaches were non-existent as long as I was wearing an amber necklace. I was a convert! That’s when Wendy asked me to join forces with her and take Funky Birdie Amber to the next level. With my skills in graphic design, social media, marketing, and experience making jewelry, Funky Birdie Amber began to blossom and help more families than ever!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Wendy: There have been plenty of learning curves and obstacles for us with growing Funky Birdie Amber as a business. One of the most important things about amber jewelry for pain relief is sourcing genuine, authentic Baltic amber which is the highest in succinic acid, the natural compound in amber that’s responsible for pain relief. Baltic amber is imported from Lithuania and Poland mainly, along with the coast of the Baltic Sea.
It has been a challenge learning to communicate with international vendors and dealing with overseas shipping, but along the way we’ve made many trusted connections and even friends with our Lithuanian suppliers. But snags do happen. Several years ago, amid political unrest, Russia closed down the export of amber and prices began to skyrocket. I stock-piled as much amber as possible to hold Funky Birdie’s loyal customer base over until it was more readily available again. That sure made things interesting!
Kristina: Concerns about safety from customers are another thing we hear since many haven’t heard of using jewelry on babies and children – much less for teething or wellness purposes. Safety is our number one priority! We provide information on correct sizing and usage and pride ourselves on the special care we take with safety points on each and every piece of jewelry. We use top quality thread and each piece of teething and children’s jewelry is knotted between every bead to reduce the issues of loose beads if a piece were to break. Also, Funky Birdie Amber offers specialized pop clasps, which pull open with gentle force. All of these measures make our jewelry safe for your whole family!
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Funky Birdie Amber – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Kristina: Funky Birdie Amber specializes in Baltic amber and gemstone jewelry for all-natural, drug-free pain relief for the whole family. We stand out in the Baltic amber jewelry industry for a couple of reasons. First, each and every piece of jewelry is handmade in the USA by us personally, right here in Houston, using Baltic amber and gemstones we meticulously source ourselves from reputable vendors.
Wendy: And because Funky Birdie Amber jewelry is 100% handcrafted by us, we’re are able to offer fully customizable amber and gemstone jewelry to suit your every ailment, goal, or style. There are necklaces, bracelets, and anklets for pain relief and any ailment you may have, and we’ve had the pleasure of customizing many pieces of birthstone jewelry, character-inspired pieces, memorial and tribute jewelry, and more. Earrings too.
We are proud of our reputation in the local Houston community and now, because of Etsy, worldwide for our unique, high quality, customizable jewelry with a focus on stellar customer service and care.
Kristina: And we really love rainbows.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Kristina: We work to stay on top of current trends, and we’ve got big plans to expand our men’s styles in the coming months. We’ve grown a great community of fans on Facebook and are always listening to customer feedback – it fuels our creativity more than anything else. We’re also planning on launching a separate stand-alone website in addition to our current shop which is on the Etsy platform.
Wendy: We’ve got plans for more local involvement and giving back to the community, too. Seeing the way Houston pulled together after Harvey inspired us to get more involved, so we donated a percentage of our sales in the following months to displaced flood victims. We’re so grateful to be able to give back to a community that has supported us for almost a decade, and we aren’t stopping there. We will continue to look for every opportunity to support our local Houston neighbors. If there’s a storm, we’ll be a part of the rainbow that comes after!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.funkybirdieamber.com
- Email: funkybirdieamber@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/funkybirdieamber
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/FunkyBirdieAmber
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/funkybirdieambr
- Other: www.etsy.com/shop/funkybirdieamber
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
