Transcript
Speaker: Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in Denver, right?
Speaker: How's it going?
Speaker: How you ladies feeling?
Speaker: Happy Friday.
Speaker: Thank you, you too.
Speaker: We're good.
Speaker: We have our retail stores open in the background.
Speaker: So there's some good music playing behind us.
Speaker: And we're just hiding pretty much in a closet of work.
Speaker: So we can have a good chat with you.
Speaker: Yeah?
Speaker: Talking about entrepreneurship.
Speaker: So to everybody watching and listening, these are the founders of OXB Sweatproof Jewelry, our exercise brand, right?
Speaker: And you ladies met 7 a.m.
Speaker: in a spin class.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: And you kind of give the listeners, like, how did that all happen?
Speaker: By the way, before y'all start, where are you ladies from?
Speaker: You're from the same city or state?
Speaker: No.
Speaker: I'm from Philadelphia originally.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And I'm from Washington.
Speaker: And this is not Maggie.
Speaker: Maggie.
Speaker: Yes, Maggie and Laura.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I'm Laura.
Speaker: Maggie's from Philly.
Speaker: We both kind of lived all over.
Speaker: I'm from Washington State.
Speaker: And we did meet in Denver.
Speaker: My background is in metals and jewelry.
Speaker: And Laura has been in the fitness industry for
Speaker: Forever.
Speaker: Ever.
Speaker: And I was recovering from an injury, so I was in her spin class, and I have been wanting to make this product for a really long time.
Speaker: Basically, a really great line of jewelry that you could wear in your fitness classes to exercise, to do nothing, to shower, to swim.
Speaker: And I thought Laura would be the perfect business partner, so I really just proposed to her.
Speaker: She did.
Speaker: I said yes.
Speaker: So did that exchange for business happen right away?
Speaker: Did it take weeks, months?
Speaker: When did that start to grow for both of you?
Speaker: So three months earlier, she had been helping me with a marketing project on a different jewelry brand.
Speaker: And so I got to see her skill set in marketing and sales.
Speaker: And she was kind of the whole package in terms of her involvement with the fitness industry and then also her ability to do all things technological except for join Instagram Live.
Speaker: And...
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Don't put that on my resume.
Speaker: It was great.
Speaker: It was really, we've been really lucky.
Speaker: So that was like 2018-ish.
Speaker: Yep.
Speaker: And then we launched Moxby in 2019.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Got it.
Speaker: So can you ladies break down or one of you, if you mind, how does jewelry connect with fitness?
Speaker: Because to be honest, I got this Maya Tent bracelet.
Speaker: I've had this on for probably two years.
Speaker: Never taken it off.
Speaker: I've been on TV.
Speaker: I've been in a pool.
Speaker: I've been in the ocean.
Speaker: It doesn't come off.
Speaker: So can you explain like why it's beneficial to have
Speaker: sweat proof jewelry because I don't really understand the meaning behind it.
Speaker: Other than you want to work out in your jewelry.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: So we're trying to accomplish a few things.
Speaker: One is that jewelry is a really personal product.
Speaker: Like the reason that you've had that on for two years, I'm assuming is because it probably means something sentimental to you or it's a motivation or whatever.
Speaker: So we love that aspect of jewelry.
Speaker: It really like gives life and soul to the product, which we care a lot about.
Speaker: The problem with a lot of metals is that depending on what they are, they tarnish or rust or like ultimately don't look great after time if you wear them for your normal activities.
Speaker: So one of our goals was to, if you're buying this piece of jewelry, that's super important to you.
Speaker: We'd like you to be able to have it for a really long time.
Speaker: The other aspect is environmental.
Speaker: We really believe that if you like, you know, spend a little bit more on something that's higher quality, you'll have to buy less.
Speaker: And again, because we want these pieces to be important to people, we hope they do have them for a really long time.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And so what makes it sweat proof is the metal.
Speaker: So the metal that we use is different.
Speaker: We don't plate anything.
Speaker: So you won't see like any turning of color of the metal.
Speaker: It won't rub off.
Speaker: Won't tarnish, turn green.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Really good for sensitive skin.
Speaker: It's hypoallergenic.
Speaker: We use all gold fill and sterling silver.
Speaker: We're getting ready to launch our fine line because we've had so many requests for it.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It's interesting you say that because I bought a piece of jewelry.
Speaker: I was gifted something years ago and it was a key and I had believe on it.
Speaker: And over time,
Speaker: the wording will kind of like fade, kind of like disappear.
Speaker: I don't know what type of jewelry was but I was like damn that sucks.
Speaker: I can't believe on my key on my key chain.
Speaker: Also, in my younger days, you know, you would have like, you go to the penny store candy store and you get like little piece of jewelry or watch and then you realize you get a rash and you break out.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: I never knew why.
Speaker: Why is that?
Speaker: Metals are really reactive.
Speaker: So it's all kinds of different things happen.
Speaker: Like you sweat and that oxidizes them.
Speaker: Oxygen is obviously what oxidizes things.
Speaker: But ultimately it's the interaction between different chemicals and different metals.
Speaker: It can leave like rust.
Speaker: It can cause like corrosive behavior.
Speaker: We're not really getting into like the periodic table.
Speaker: But yeah, it's just, it's because it's just like an environmental thing.
Speaker: And it depends like, for example, in a pool, chlorine is something that really reacts with metals.
Speaker: Really dirty air does as well.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Heat is like really extreme heat, something that can make metal super reactive.
Speaker: So again, what Laura was saying earlier is that we really just only use metals that can withstand sort of all of those obstacles.
Speaker: Elements.
Speaker: Elements.
Speaker: You know, I was doing some research on you guys' website and your brand, and I realized, you know, Meggie is more like the creative and the product design, and then Laura is more like the business and the marketing.
Speaker: So tell me how both of you guys' like –
Speaker: you know energies and minds connect where Laura I think I read that one of the acts what spin studio did you work for but I think I read you opened up a studio in Bangkok or something like yeah I'm like what type of studios is that wait it's not SoulCycle is it?
Speaker: Before we started this business, kind of a nomad all over and my cycling career took me all over the world.
Speaker: So prior to moving to Denver, I was in Thailand teaching spin class.
Speaker: But I also, while I was there, learned how to code and got like really into websites and digital marketing.
Speaker: So when I came back here, I kind of had this like fitness and marketing skill set that I never knew would turn into a business until I met Maggie.
Speaker: So I
Speaker: We kind of really have like the perfect skill sets for each other.
Speaker: It's not every day that business partnerships work like this, but we have such a like respect for the work that each other does.
Speaker: Like I know that I could never
Speaker: dream up the things that she does in our head regarding our products and metals and and I don't know the first thing about anything technological so it's really perfect.
Speaker: It works out.
Speaker: Yeah it works out great.
Speaker: It's that balance that that duality that's that yin and yang and I'm like that with my manager you know he's more detailed I'm a big picture right so he helped me understand the details I give him the vision like this is what I want
Speaker: So in your line of business, first of all, I just got a quick question for both of you.
Speaker: Okay, Maggie, I'll start with you.
Speaker: If you had to pick, I think I know your answer, but I don't want to say it.
Speaker: You had to pick between yoga and jewelry, what would it be?
Speaker: Whoa, yoga and jewelry?
Speaker: Yeah, you had to pick one.
Speaker: And Laura, the question is, if you had to pick one, would it be cycling or fitness?
Speaker: Oh, yeah.
Speaker: I think, oh.
Speaker: There's no right answer.
Speaker: Fitness, okay.
Speaker: I go fitness.
Speaker: Since I quit my cycling career, I've gotten more into kind of everything else, which has been really fun.
Speaker: Also, we need to get you some sweat-proof jewelry.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Yeah, please.
Speaker: My intent bracelet says supernatural, right?
Speaker: It says supernatural?
Speaker: Supernatural.
Speaker: So I believe in supernatural things, miracles, things that you can't really see, you can't predict.
Speaker: They just, it's forever.
Speaker: It's like,
Speaker: It's a miracle.
Speaker: It's like, how do we do this?
Speaker: I can't even tell you.
Speaker: It's just supernatural.
Speaker: I love it.
Speaker: I love it.
Speaker: I'm using it.
Speaker: I think, you know, jewelry does have a meaning in a lot of people's lives.
Speaker: And, you know, people pass down their rings from like their grandfather and grandmother and necklaces and, you know, people get married and they get rings.
Speaker: But for you guys, what piece of jewelry do you wear every day that means the most to you?
Speaker: Is it?
Speaker: necklace, bracelet, like what pieces of jewelry do you guys wear on a daily consistently?
Speaker: You go first.
Speaker: Okay, I have one of my grandmother's signet rings on something very similar at OXB, but they, you know, have initials on them.
Speaker: It's gold.
Speaker: They hold a lot of meaning.
Speaker: So I wear that every day.
Speaker: I wear th is is kind of funny.
Speaker: I wear a
Speaker: a little pinky band that both my dad and I wear.
Speaker: And it was the first piece I ever soldered.
Speaker: So that's like the torch work that you do for metalsmithing.
Speaker: And that was seven years ago.
Speaker: And yeah, we both were a matching one and we live on pretty far apart, but it has a little moon on it.
Speaker: And the symbolism is supposed to be that we're always under the same moon.
Speaker: So I think with your supernatural, yeah, it resonates.
Speaker: And can you speak on I've read that you talked about you guys only create like gold because gold is, I guess, more expensive and more I don't know the meaning, but I've done research and realized that
Speaker: They say gold increases your frequency.
Speaker: I'm not sure if that's true.
Speaker: Oh.
Speaker: Yeah, like I heard like back in the day, Egyptian days, like a lot of people wore gold.
Speaker: Like they increased that frequency, that vibration.
Speaker: And then also, you know, saw that she talked about metalsmithing.
Speaker: I don't know what that is.
Speaker: Yeah, that's fair.
Speaker: Can you explain to the listeners what metalsmithing is and why gold jewelry over like platinum or silver or any other type of style or kind of stuff?
Speaker: Definitely.
Speaker: So a few things.
Speaker: Metal smithing is a really old art form, and it's basically turning metal using heat or forming and forging into different things.
Speaker: So you can turn it into, I'm not like a blacksmith, but you could, you know, do something like horseshoes or rings or headbands.
Speaker: pieces or whatever you wanted to do.
Speaker: It ranges from a whole different skill set that I will talk about later if we want.
Speaker: But you can cast, you can do torch work, you can do cold connection, which we do a lot of.
Speaker: Something that's been really important in our business is that we actually do our metalsmithing in-house.
Speaker: So it was a big goal of ours.
Speaker: We have a team of four, five production people and we've trained them all or send them to metalsmithing programs because it's such an awesome art form that we hope to preserve.
Speaker: And they're also like creative in their own way, which is super inspiring.
Speaker: Car is on here right now.
Speaker: Our production managers.
Speaker: Just jumped on.
Speaker: Did you get an extra point?
Speaker: Shout out to Car.
Speaker: And so then to go back to the metals, we use two different kinds of gold.
Speaker: One is gold filled.
Speaker: And like Laura was saying, we don't plate anything, which is basically just putting a gold mixture onto a base metal.
Speaker: Gold filled is an entirely different process.
Speaker: It is gold by weight, but it's not solid gold all the way through.
Speaker: So it's like a layer of gold on top of something else.
Speaker: But the way it's bonded is it will last 10 plus years.
Speaker: We also, so we're also doing our fine line, which is solid gold.
Speaker: And the reason that we have both is because I think it's really important to have an accessible price point for people.
Speaker: And Goldfield really allows us to do that while maintaining our integrity of being sweat proof.
Speaker: And then we do offer sterling silver too, because people who are silver people like swear by it.
Speaker: So we'll do certain silver and then we will also go into white gold as well.
Speaker: And platinum I've just never really worked with.
Speaker: You have to have a whole set of different tools for platinum because it melts at like extremely high temperatures.
Speaker: And
Speaker: I just have never worked in it, to be honest.
Speaker: She's a metal genius.
Speaker: See?
Speaker: Gold baby, gold.
Speaker: I got a passion for gold.
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: OXB, so can you elaborate or can one of you explain the name of the brand?
Speaker: Because I was like, OXB, when I thought of that, I thought about P90X.
Speaker: Right?
Speaker: P90X, bodies.
Speaker: This is actually kind of embarrassing, but it's funny.
Speaker: And it's a good lesson because you really can kind of like evolve as you go.
Speaker: You can always change what you're doing.
Speaker: But do go.
Speaker: About our name, well.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Where do I start?
Speaker: Maggie has another jewelry line called Oxbow.
Speaker: completely different kind of style, but it started very much how OXB started, like just basic mantra bars, some sack rings, kind of like this other line of her other brand.
Speaker: And so when we came together, we like wanted to connect both of the brands.
Speaker: So we basically tripped the OW off Oxbow and called it OXB.
Speaker: which I guess like the outer banks is called like OBX.
Speaker: There's all of these things.
Speaker: We get called OBX a lot.
Speaker: So, you know, a year in we decided to call ourselves our exercise brand and really retrofit the name to who we are.
Speaker: But our exercise brand really like now encompasses like everything that we do.
Speaker: like all forms of getting sweaty.
Speaker: And so that's what it is now it's our exercise brand.
Speaker: Our exercise store.
Speaker: Jamie Tworkowski Exercise in general, I think sometimes the perception or connotation of it for some people who are not in the fitness industry, like you and myself, they have a different connotation, right.
Speaker: But I always tell clients and people in general,
Speaker: motion changes emotion, right?
Speaker: So if you think of your brand, your jewelry is energy, right?
Speaker: So if I mean, the way I think of it, like, it's exercising your body, which is your brand when you wear it.
Speaker: I don't know if there's like a slogan or a tagline for your jewelry.
Speaker: When I think about it, because jewelry is energy, right?
Speaker: It moves energy within you.
Speaker: It's the exercise brand.
Speaker: This is the brand, which is your body, and you wear it, and you embody it, right?
Speaker: I thought it was a cool name.
Speaker: I just email from your PR person.
Speaker: I was assuming this is like a fitness product, right?
Speaker: Like P90X.
Speaker: That was the first thing that came out.
Speaker: Anna Jonak It's an ab roller.
Speaker: Jamie Tworkowski Yes.
Speaker: So I didn't know what to do.
Speaker: So it's just interesting.
Speaker: And then both of you have two different backgrounds.
Speaker: Like I think you know, you still have websites, right?
Speaker: You help people with their websites and stuff like that and social media marketing and then you're into yoga.
Speaker: Like, oh, she's a yogi, like, you know, meditation.
Speaker: So it's like it all aligns and I think it's beautiful for the people
Speaker: Because here's the thing, when you have things, you have to subconsciously put your name in a person's mind to think about your product, right?
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: There's a lot of jewelry company, but I feel like the ones that prevail and continue to go is because they have a tagline or something that's attached to them, then people want to wear it.
Speaker: So now when I get a piece or when I get my piece, I'm going to think like, yeah, the first thing, yeah, you can work out of this.
Speaker: So don't ever take it off.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And we specifically designed OXB for the fitness community, like in mind, like we knew who our customer was right off the bat.
Speaker: And we designed this product for them.
Speaker: And in the two years that we have been a business, like it's really evolved from like, you know, fitness industry specific to like all types of movement, like you're saying, all types of energy and movement.
Speaker: And it doesn't necessarily have to be like sweaty exercise, but like it can be like the sweat behind like opening a business and like,
Speaker: Anything you get sweaty for, you can wear your jewelry to because you don't necessarily have to take it on and off.
Speaker: You can keep it with you.
Speaker: It's easy.
Speaker: You look good all the time.
Speaker: So it's evolved.
Speaker: It's like sweat equity, right?
Speaker: That's enough.
Speaker: I've heard that.
Speaker: Yeah, sweat equity.
Speaker: Literally.
Speaker: You know me.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And what you were talking about earlier with like the exercise, I think it's so important to just, it's so easy to be like, I need to do the most intense exercise to feel good.
Speaker: And like what Laura's saying, exercise can mean so many different things.
Speaker: It can be walking your dog, it can be taking a 20 minute like breathing break for yourself, it can be all these different practices.
Speaker: And it's not just about like, how intense and tired can I get?
Speaker: It's like, how can I feel better and do something for myself?
Speaker: And it is like I said, words have meaning and we give meaning to everything we think about, we do and believe in.
Speaker: So to anybody that's wanna purchase jewelry or look at the habit, what should they know other than it's sweat proof and it's not tailored to the fitness brand, but it's part of that.
Speaker: Like if someone was on this live, maybe they didn't know your brand.
Speaker: What is the like a 15 second synopsis of why they should have it, why they should want it, other than what we discussed, if you have anything?
Speaker: Yeah, I think, I mean, we're moving towards a world of like more conscious consumerism.
Speaker: So not only being like a super fun jewelry brand, and we have like an amazing community in our clientele and our ambassadors, but also just wearing things that last longer.
Speaker: So buying things that you don't have to throw away and fill into the landfill.
Speaker: Things that hold meaning and as it lasts longer, your believed necklace won't end up in the trash and the word goes also in the trash.
Speaker: So just buying things that last longer, being conscious with who you're supporting.
Speaker: And because we're such a community-based brand, we donate 5% of all of our sales to a rotating series of nonprofits.
Speaker: So that's super important to us.
Speaker: We really appreciate people shopping with us.
Speaker: We want to give back to like a bunch of different organizations that we all care about as a community.
Speaker: It's a super fun way to like unite us.
Speaker: So yeah.
Speaker: And I mean, that's a great point because that I'm sold.
Speaker: No, seriously, because I've brought things in the past, like say some Sony headphones that were $20 at Rite Aid and then they broke in two weeks.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: quality over quantity.
Speaker: Like I said, I've had this thing for two and a half years and it's been on my arm forever.
Speaker: Little things like that for me is beneficial because I don't have to think about it rusting or getting old or
Speaker: falling off my arm or falling off my neck.
Speaker: And the meaning you said, I think it is meaningful to have pieces on you, jewelry, especially jewelry like artwork, right?
Speaker: If you have a piece of art in your home, it has energy vibrating from it, right?
Speaker: So just like your pieces, I'm pretty sure y'all make it with love, right?
Speaker: So you're putting your love and energy in it.
Speaker: So when people buy it, that energy is going to transfer to the
Speaker: and make them like the brand.
Speaker: That's the problem.
Speaker: I'm into energy, I'm big on energy.
Speaker: Right, and we know where our product's made, we know who's making it, and we're super excited about making those jobs because as a creative person, it's not always the easiest thing to find a job in the creative industry where you feel like you can flex those muscles.
Speaker: And right on the other side of this wall is where all of the jewelry is made.
Speaker: Really, you're gonna take us through a tour?
Speaker: No.
Speaker: I mean, like we can.
Speaker: The sound might get a little crazy.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So let's talk to more like the entrepreneurship side of things.
Speaker: As you know, founders and business owners, what do you feel like for your brand and product?
Speaker: What's working for you?
Speaker: And what you think is the greatest challenge?
Speaker: What's worked for us from the beginning is our community.
Speaker: I mean, we totally built it based on every single person that's bought our jewelry and like worked with us.
Speaker: Um, in the early days we launched like pretty much six months prior to COVID.
Speaker: Um,
Speaker: And 90% of our business was sold in store.
Speaker: Yeah, 90% of our business was wholesale in fitness studios, and we lost it all.
Speaker: So we worked really hard on making connections, virtual connections over the, you know, Instagram and the internet throughout COVID.
Speaker: And we felt this amazing team of ambassadors.
Speaker: We now have almost 70 men and women, like, representing OXB.
Speaker: And we work with them all individually.
Speaker: And the community is just...
Speaker: then everything to us because like you said, there's 1000 jewelry companies out there.
Speaker: But I think what makes us different is the fact that we make everything in house and then our community that's around us.
Speaker: Yeah, I think that's the one thing that we like try to keep at the center.
Speaker: The one thing that pushed our growth when we couldn't, you know, pay for advertising or pay for a PR person that introduced us to you.
Speaker: So that that, you know, that really gave us a launching pad.
Speaker: And then our greatest challenge was
Speaker: I feel like our greatest challenge has been that we really started as like a two person team and it's been the most rewarding and the most challenging to grow.
Speaker: And it's like hard to let go and like let the reins loose a little bit on other people and let them come in and do their thing.
Speaker: And it's sometimes it can be really challenging to like find the right people in the right roles and
Speaker: It's just a whole new dynamic.
Speaker: Like, it's really a lot of people to care for.
Speaker: And I think we care a lot about all of our employees.
Speaker: And so I think in general, the people part is actually probably
Speaker: the more challenging part.
Speaker: And like you were talking about energy earlier, just again, like being this, we started our whole operation in 250 square feet and now we're in 4,000 square feet.
Speaker: We have a retail store, we h ave a production room, we have all these moving parts and because we keep it all in house, that means like we have to organize it all.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And like,
Speaker: find matching energies the right energy because we all work under you know the same roof to run this company which is super fun but also entrepreneurship is not rainbows and butterflies all the time so we're in a growth skirt right now yes so I mean I want to say congratulations to that thank you thank you that beat to four thousand like damn okay you guys are moving always right
Speaker: Progress equals happiness.
Speaker: But I wanted you guys to say the challenging part because I think sometimes outside looking in, even for me and what I do, I just think it's sunshine and rainbows.
Speaker: It's tough being an entrepreneur.
Speaker: It's tough working for yourself.
Speaker: It's tough managing business, sales, taxes on top of your personal life, your mental, your health, your body, your family.
Speaker: And I don't want people to take what you guys do for granted and say, oh, I can start a jewelry business.
Speaker: I was just like, no, it's not that simple.
Speaker: It's not that easy.
Speaker: It takes passion for one.
Speaker: You have to know what you're doing and you have to want to do it.
Speaker: And I think your brand represents that.
Speaker: It comes through you guys' energy when you're speaking.
Speaker: And I can tell you guys are into what you're doing.
Speaker: Not just doing it because you can, you're doing it because you're passionate about it and this is part of your purpose.
Speaker: And I think to have more business owners and founders like that, like I see you two on a page doing panel discussions talking about your brand.
Speaker: You know, more people in your position speaking on the ins and outs of running a business, having success, maintaining momentum and building a community.
Speaker: Like I think that's the biggest thing that people forget.
Speaker: The community drives everything.
Speaker: You don't have the audience, you don't have the people that believe in it.
Speaker: It's hard to keep going.
Speaker: I did want to tell you guys have any athletes attached to your brand?
Speaker: I mean, you should say you got like some ambassadors, you have like any athletes.
Speaker: I'm actually, I don't know if y'all watch basketball, but I'm a basketball guy.
Speaker: Will Barton is on another one.
Speaker: He's younger than me, but he was on my basketball team.
Speaker: He was like in the 19th and 12th.
Speaker: And he's in Denver.
Speaker: But I was just curious if you guys had any athletes like on your side or any people who were on the ground.
Speaker: Well, send them this way.
Speaker: We're currently making Oaks be more gender neutral.
Speaker: We've lengthened all of our chains.
Speaker: We've brought more men on board.
Speaker: So we're really working towards a more gender neutral brand because jewelry is not just for women.
Speaker: It is also for men.
Speaker: I mean, are you asking us to name drop our athletes right now?
Speaker: No, no, I'm saying.
Speaker: You don't have to name drop.
Speaker: I'm saying we work with professional athletes.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Oh, we do.
Speaker: Yes, we do.
Speaker: Oh, okay, okay.
Speaker: Yeah, totally.
Speaker: We have, you know, just a few Olympians.
Speaker: Yeah, that was cool.
Speaker: Oh, okay, cool.
Speaker: Cool, we'll keep it.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Who found us organically, which is even cooler.
Speaker: Oh, really?
Speaker: Yeah, yes.
Speaker: That's always what I want to take you back to your model.
Speaker: I want to read this out loud if I can find it.
Speaker: So your model that I read on the website says, don't let perfect stand in the way of good.
Speaker: Keep going.
Speaker: And I want to say something about that because I can sometimes be a perfectionist.
Speaker: And I have a story where I was learning how to swim last summer, right, for the first time.
Speaker: And my dad was actually there and he said something.
Speaker: He said, son, how are you trying to perfect something you haven't learned?
Speaker: Oh.
Speaker: You know what I'm saying?
Speaker: So he's like, let go, right?
Speaker: Let it go.
Speaker: Let it be what it's supposed to be.
Speaker: Keep going and eventually I got it like my 11th.
Speaker: lesson, I got in the deep end, it was like, oh, I can swim.
Speaker: It's amazing.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: But my challenge was I couldn't tread water, but from your guys' perspective, how did you come up with that motto and slogan, and what did that derive from?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Where did that come from?
Speaker: I like it.
Speaker: I'm actually connected.
Speaker: It was something it was from a conversation with my dad.
Speaker: So it's interesting.
Speaker: And kind of when everything started to shut down.
Speaker: Last year, and we were sort of we were really floundering of terms like, where do we want to go?
Speaker: We were in the midst of a super important civil rights movement, all of these things.
Speaker: And we felt a little paralyzed.
Speaker: And we're like, I don't you know, what is the most important thing to work on right now?
Speaker: Is it like making jewelry?
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: But maybe we could
Speaker: use jewelry to like make this other thing, right?
Speaker: This community, this organization.
Speaker: And he was just saying like, exactly, don't let this perfect vision of how you can help whatever stand in the way of you doing good things in the meantime.
Speaker: which I think is really important because analysis paralysis is so real.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: The fear of being perfect to stop you from moving forward.
Speaker: So, like you said, really, the keep going motto really has stuck with us the entire time we made a keep going necklace last summer and
Speaker: It's just putting one foot in front of the other, not worrying about if it's perfect, but like that we're keeping centered and like what we like believe in first.
Speaker: And just knowing that like it's not gonna be a wrong step.
Speaker: It's just a step.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And if you have to pivot, you will.
Speaker: And we did.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Again.
Speaker: We don't live in a perfect world or like sometimes I like to think like you create your own rules.
Speaker: If you follow everything that's given, you won't have a vision because then you're letting somebody else's opinion based on what they believe stop you from going.
Speaker: Right?
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: You said, I think you should sell a business, the pandemic, I think you should just give it up.
Speaker: You're like, hold up.
Speaker: Hold on.
Speaker: We're over here.
Speaker: We're going to go back.
Speaker: It's energy.
Speaker: We don't stop.
Speaker: We keep moving in flow.
Speaker: Even when they say yoga, even when it's uncomfortable, just breathe through.
Speaker: And so for Laura, were you a cycling instructor like you were on the bike, like as in SoulCycle, like teaching class?
Speaker: Jamie Tworkowski Exactly.
Speaker: Jamie Tworkowski Tell me a little bit about that from you because you know I'm in a fitness industry.
Speaker: Where did that start and how did you get into like because I'm pretty sure that gives you a different type of drive and energy right because you you on a bike motivating people like keep going and you show up anyway.
Speaker: Jamie Tworkowski She's infectious it's like yeah it's amazing.
Speaker: Yeah, it started like 10 years ago in San Francisco.
Speaker: I taught, I actually just walked up to a spin studio and asked if I could teach with like very little experience.
Speaker: And that's how I got my start in the spin industry seriously.
Speaker: And then I worked for Flywheel in San Francisco.
Speaker: I moved across the world.
Speaker: I worked for a studio here.
Speaker: And that's where I met Maggie.
Speaker: But like more than the job itself of like leading fitness classes, it,
Speaker: I think that's Maggie and I share and that like fitness classes bring you the community and the connection.
Speaker: Like I've met all of my favorite people through fitness.
Speaker: I met my amazing business partner, turned best friend through fitness.
Speaker: So I'm very grateful for the fitness industry for that because I think it gave us a good source of like how we want to run our brand.
Speaker: And this community, like it brings people together.
Speaker: That's why I like fitness.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I discovered that when training people, especially in boot camps, people do better in groups than they do alone.
Speaker: Definitely.
Speaker: So if I see Maggie and Laura over there, but in cycling, I know I don't really like cycling, I'm like,
Speaker: I feel like the instructor is also so important, right?
Speaker: Like there's something so special about the person that like, gets you up at five in the morning to go in a dark room on a stationary bike where they like yell at you and you're like, I want to go, you know, like, and so she's, she's so talented.
Speaker: It's like really hard to
Speaker: put into words how it makes you feel.
Speaker: Yeah, it's a feeling, it's a vibe.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: What are you ladies signs and prodigy-wise?
Speaker: Horse poker?
Speaker: Oh, guess.
Speaker: Oh, I'd be so curious.
Speaker: You got a hard to be.
Speaker: You're so poker-faced businesswomen.
Speaker: I want to say, I don't know.
Speaker: I want to say Laura is even a Gemini.
Speaker: or a Virgo and Maggie is uh Aquarius and maybe a Libra I don't know I think nailed her nailed mine I'm definitely a Gemini oh got it I am an Aries but I'm a cuss baby so I'm a Pisces Aries
Speaker: Oh, what's your moon and your rising, you know?
Speaker: Oh, I have no idea what you know.
Speaker: I'm always fascinated about, you know, why like I used to be out in LA when I first moved here and I'd be out in the club and I'm like, yo, why do I like this girl so much?
Speaker: That's consistent.
Speaker: I keep running to you.
Speaker: Oh, wow.
Speaker: I dig deeper because I was doing so much work on myself and I'm like, cause I'm a Pisces, you know, my moon sign is a Sagittarius, but my rising is a Libra.
Speaker: I have like all these different qualities but it just makes sense when people in Aries and Geminis get along.
Speaker: Some of them because some like no I hate Geminis because what happens is Geminis is like their sons right.
Speaker: So they like to have fun, witty, they're good at communicating.
Speaker: And so they kind of loosen the fire and the Aries up.
Speaker: And Aries is just like, we got to do this.
Speaker: And, you know, they want to lead, like, take action.
Speaker: You know, they're the leaders, right?
Speaker: So it's kind of like that fire and the air, like, mix, right?
Speaker: Like a sage.
Speaker: You know, the sage is burning.
Speaker: It's like the Aries with the fire all at one time.
Speaker: We just throwing.
Speaker: That's exactly how it happened.
Speaker: That's beautiful.
Speaker: So what is, like someone asked a question, they said, what are your favorite workouts that you guys like to do?
Speaker: If y'all have one.
Speaker: Currently, I still cycle a lot.
Speaker: It's fun to be a student again.
Speaker: So our retail director is actually a SoulCycle instructor.
Speaker: So we go to her class every Wednesday morning.
Speaker: She's amazing.
Speaker: That and then also our garage at our studio is actually a personal training gym.
Speaker: So we kind of just like walk through the door and go to personal training.
Speaker: So it's nice.
Speaker: Maggie.
Speaker: We live in Colorado, obviously.
Speaker: I am a little more of like hiking, running,
Speaker: outdoor mountain biking, except for it's been a really long time because I can't break my hands.
Speaker: And yeah, she's probably going to agree.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Say it again.
Speaker: The altitude of it.
Speaker: How is it?
Speaker: High.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: In air.
Speaker: Hard training.
Speaker: I've never been there.
Speaker: I've been to the airport, but never in the city of Denver or Colorado.
Speaker: But you have a friend here, so you should probably come here.
Speaker: come visit.
Speaker: Oh, and then Blake, Blake's last name from all the bachelor people are here.
Speaker: Yeah, it was there.
Speaker: And so we were on that one time.
Speaker: He's like, people don't know that Colorado has the most sunny days in a year.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: They got like 300 days or something like what no way more than he's like yes.
Speaker: Why don't they talk about it?
Speaker: I think about cold mountains skiing.
Speaker: I don't think anything about the sun.
Speaker: But I was like, that's interesting.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: What do you ladies have going on?
Speaker: Like is there a new product you'll have that you're producing coming out soon or that your best seller that people should know about?
Speaker: Well, we have a fine jewelry line coming out in September.
Speaker: So it's all 14 karat gold.
Speaker: So Maggie's dreamt that up in her metalsmith magic brain.
Speaker: So look for that fine jewelry line where the return of the nameplate is coming soon.
Speaker: So we made sweat proof nameplate, you know, like very sex in the city, just Sarah Jessica Parker says your name.
Speaker: And then also,
Speaker: not a product, but we're doing a gigantic giveaway with free people right now.
Speaker: We're giving away $1,000 free people movement, our entire line of free people times OXB jewelry.
Speaker: And so people can go to our page and enter that too.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And then our other thing that we are launching is we currently have like a convertible chain.
Speaker: It's called our exercise chain.
Speaker: You can wear it three different ways as a necklace, anklet, or bracelet.
Speaker: So that's been super popular because it's like one super versatile piece.
Speaker: We are launching a custom one with three people this holiday season, which we're really excited about.
Speaker: But that one is a favorite.
Speaker: And we just launched a beautiful website that makes it much easier to customize your product.
Speaker: So that's been fun.
Speaker: Oh, you need to customize it.
Speaker: I like that.
Speaker: Yeah, you can customize anything pretty much.
Speaker: Yeah, except for just something.
Speaker: Can you elaborate on because when you said fine jewelry, I don't know what that means.
Speaker: Why is it fine jewelry?
Speaker: What does that mean?
Speaker: What's the meaning behind fine jewelry?
Speaker: Yeah, so it's just a category of a type of jewelry, right?
Speaker: So it'd be like, these are the, like, you're in the pants section now.
Speaker: But it's so fine jewelry is defined, like, by the materials it's made out of.
Speaker: And so this would be our finer metals, which just means it's, like, higher carat of gold or pure metals or whatever.
Speaker: Diana Vareseo- Diamonds, adding precious stones, semi precious stones.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So do you do like earrings and bracelets?
Speaker: Diana Vareseo- Oh, we do it all.
Speaker: We do everything but toe rings.
Speaker: Diana Vareseo- Yeah, we haven't branched into toe rings yet.
Speaker: You don't do watches though, no?
Speaker: Diana Vareseo- Do what?
Speaker: Watches?
Speaker: You don't do watches, no?
Speaker: Diana Vareseo- No watches, no.
Speaker: Got it.
Speaker: And so it's more like women based, correct?
Speaker: Well, not really.
Speaker: So it's actually designed for anybody to wear.
Speaker: And that was what Laura was touching on earlier is that we just finished a new brand photo shoot where same look is shot on four different body types, men, women, different movements.
Speaker: And that's really our hope and goal for this brand is that one of the awesome things about jewelry is it doesn't really matter.
Speaker: So like size doesn't matter quite as much.
Speaker: You don't have to worry like men,
Speaker: My fiance wears my jewelry all the time and I wear his and that's awesome.
Speaker: It's super interchangeable.
Speaker: We'd love for people to feel like it's all inclusive and make it accessible for anybody to find a style that they love.
Speaker: So with all that being said, what is the big vision for the brand?
Speaker: Is it like stores all over the borough?
Speaker: You got to bring more to the store.
Speaker: You want to do e-commerce.
Speaker: Big picture, five years.
Speaker: What would you ladies like the brand to represent to the people in the world?
Speaker: Wow, that's a five years.
Speaker: And that is so hard when you're in it.
Speaker: Oh, question.
Speaker: I think we're like in the midst of that zoom out right now.
Speaker: And like, what the future of this is, we've had our feet on the gas pedal so hard since COVID started in making this business work.
Speaker: I feel like right now we're trying to like at least take five seconds to pause and reflect when we can.
Speaker: And like really be intentional about how we're moving forward because we
Speaker: hit this huge growth spurt, but we want to make sure it's sustainable.
Speaker: You know, when you have a lot of employees, there's this added entrepreneurial pressure to make it work.
Speaker: So I think we're in the middle of that now, but I think we're just going to keep going.
Speaker: Again, like there's no perfect vision, but we'll just put one foot in front of the other and see what happens.
Speaker: Yeah, and that's a beautiful answer because you were so authentic about it.
Speaker: You was honest.
Speaker: I think sometimes people like to come out with this perfect state of how it should be, but you don't know.
Speaker: And that's fine.
Speaker: Like you're in the middle of it.
Speaker: And that's when people ask me, what's your five year plan?
Speaker: It's like, I really have a plan.
Speaker: I have to know where I want to be.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: I just know like being an entrepreneur and doing a brand.
Speaker: When I'm working with brands and I get deals, I'm always asking a company, what's the intentions of this product?
Speaker: Is it brand awareness?
Speaker: Is it ROI?
Speaker: what is it what are we really doing here because i know the product but what are we trying to sell to the audience what do we want them to know what do we feel and what's the big picture and sometimes they don't know sometimes they but it's because i look at it like this right i have like a business mind what if someone was on here a CEO company wanted to buy you out we're going to give you 30 million right now would you sell it i don't know right you might not know
Speaker: That seems like a pretty neat deal.
Speaker: Are you offering?
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Sometimes life works like that and I've spoken with people who are so attached to their idea or to their script or to their thing.
Speaker: No, I got to be in it.
Speaker: I'm like, you don't always have to be in it.
Speaker: Sell it.
Speaker: Go create your own show.
Speaker: Right?
Speaker: Because you know, putting out a lot of content on social media and I've been doing it for a while.
Speaker: right motivational and inspirational and i would my messages on other people's page it was them that was but i said it doesn't belong to me it belongs to the universe i'm not getting attached to that that's fine somewhere someone else i'm cool i have more in me to give so i don't get so caught up in
Speaker: having it that I don't allow myself to throw somewhere else.
Speaker: It's like Maggie you have other things you do that somebody might want you to open up a yoga store and be the interior decorator.
Speaker: You're like why do you want to take?
Speaker: They're gonna pay you.
Speaker: But that's how life works right?
Speaker: Right you never know.
Speaker: But now you're in business together.
Speaker: I know.
Speaker: It's crazy.
Speaker: I don't think we're super attached to any idea.
Speaker: I feel like we just
Speaker: know what kind of company we want to create so that's it right yeah and i just like how you guys like are you know together but more so like like it's like been on the ball team like y'all know your position like okay i'm gonna shoot the ball i'm gonna make sure you get the right place set up so we can score right love it and it's a team and i think for any business for any brand you got to have a
Speaker: a person not a perfect you gotta have a great partner when I say great a great to me is someone who's willing to fail with you who's honest who's authentic who's vulnerable and
Speaker: who can keep it real with you in tough moments.
Speaker: Not someone who can tell you what you want to hear because they don't upset you or hurt you.
Speaker: It's like, look, we're dropping the ball right here.
Speaker: You need to reconsider something.
Speaker: It's OK.
Speaker: Like, we can disagree.
Speaker: But I think sometimes people don't want to be wrong, but they don't want to just based on their perspective or their ego.
Speaker: And it's just good to see two people that know each other, that hear about each other, that love each other, have a business that's thriving.
Speaker: Y'all figuring things out as you go.
Speaker: And I think that's what it is.
Speaker: Entrepreneurship is all about.
Speaker: Not having the plan for three years written.
Speaker: It doesn't work like that.
Speaker: We need you as our everyday hype.
Speaker: I know.
Speaker: I was like, you're going to make me cry, I think.
Speaker: But I don't think I'm like, also, I don't know.
Speaker: We just come to the office every morning.
Speaker: Yeah, because I'm happy.
Speaker: process of dealing with my business transitioning from you know not training so much but more so coaching right right one coaching mindset coaching personal development right so it's been a different transition it's uncomfortable because sometimes everything started putting plays so i can't relate because it's it's not as easy as it looks it looks simple right
Speaker: You gotta do the worst, you gotta brainstorm, you gotta make decisions, you gotta spend money.
Speaker: I mean, people know who they're with.
Speaker: it's a struggle at times.
Speaker: I don't know what to do.
Speaker: I know.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And it ends with you like there isn't someone you're falling back on.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: It's just like, we don't have investors.
Speaker: It's literally us.
Speaker: We try and make the right decision.
Speaker: We're each other's mentors.
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And I think that's the beautiful part about being an entrepreneur because
Speaker: you can really scale your business so high because all you have is the faith you have.
Speaker: You don't have anything.
Speaker: You don't have capital like, yeah, you got 30 million or 20 million.
Speaker: It's just you, your mind.
Speaker: So I just want people who listen to this to understand what it takes to not only be a business owner and a founder of the brand, but the process it takes to keep going, right?
Speaker: At the bottom, keep going.
Speaker: Keep going.
Speaker: undervalued like you ladies are going after a pandemic.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: You know, it seems simple, right?
Speaker: But have you ever been on a stair climb or on a bike or running, but you don't want to run no more?
Speaker: A lot.
Speaker: Five more minutes.
Speaker: Five more minutes.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Oh, it's the tough part.
Speaker: But when you get through the tough part, it's like, oh,
Speaker: We did it.
Speaker: So I just want to say thank you, ladies, for being here.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: Being authentic, being real and genuine, and giving people what they need to hear about business, fitness, jewelry, sweat-proof jewelry, and our exercise brand.
Speaker: OXB, baby.
Speaker: Can I get an OXB somewhere?
Speaker: Hashtag?
Speaker: But yeah, this completes the interview.
Speaker: If there's anything from social media channels, website links or links or anything that people can follow or get more information, please go ahead and say it and tag it.
Speaker: However, the video will be up on my page.
Speaker: It'll be on the podcast.
Speaker: Yeah, our website is shopoxv.com.
Speaker: Our Instagram's at our exercise brand.
Speaker: If you're in Denver, come to our exercise store.
Speaker: It's in the middle of Rhino in Denver, which is right by downtown.
Speaker: What else?
Speaker: That's it.
Speaker: Give us some motivation.
Speaker: What's the motivation to the future business owners or the owners in a tough place right now?
Speaker: What can you give us?
Speaker: Keep going.
Speaker: Keep going.
Speaker: That's it.
Speaker: Just keep going.
Speaker: Keep going.
Speaker: That was amazing.
Speaker: Ladies, thank you.
Speaker: This was special.
Speaker: And now it's instilled in me.
Speaker: You got to keep going.
Speaker: Keep going.
Speaker: Thank you so much, Egg.
Speaker: Yes, no problem.
Speaker: You're welcome.
Speaker: Have a beautiful day, a powerful weekend.
Speaker: Be safe.
Speaker: And keep going.
Speaker: Bye.
Speaker: Bye.
Speaker: See you later.
