Meet Champagne Manley | Artist & Owner, POP! Shop Jewelry

We had the good fortune of connecting with Champagne Manley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Champagne, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I decided to pursue being a full time artist when I realized that I was finding myself lost and depressed at my traditional 9-5 jobs. Most of the time, this depression would result in me not being able to perform to company standards, and I would find myself being fired from job after job. I always knew deep down that one way or another that art would somehow be the way that I would eventually be able to provide for myself, but I also knew it would be a long hard road to get there. I decided to start POP! Shop in December 2019. I knew in order for this to become my dream job, that it would mean working it while I continued to work full time – which essentially meant that any and all free time would have to be dedicated to my craft. Eventually it paid off and big time. I was chosen as a winner of the first ever Minority Creatives Grant given out by Joann Craft Stores, and from there I gained even more of a platform than I had built before. Through hard work and a lot of literal blood, sweat, and tears, I was able to officially quit my full time job and commit myself to my business and my art in June of 2021.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
The tagline for my artwork and business is “intentionally obnoxious ear artistry”. I create earrings that are not only bright, funky, and whimsical, but intentional, fun, and functional. I love creating a moment with each and every design and style. Something that will provoke an emotional response out of the customer or person looking at them. Every artist or business person pours their heart and soul into their work – or at least they should if they don’t. What I believe sets me apart from the pack is that I truly refuse to put out or sell work that I am not truly 100% emotionally invested in. What do I mean by this? Simply put, if at the end of finishing a piece I can look at it and want to keep it for myself – then I know that it’s something that I should be putting out into the world. If I don’t get that feeling, then I don’t put it out.

Getting to where I am today was not easy at all. POP! Shop has always been a full time job, even when I had a full time job. I can’t tell you how many times I had to cancel plans with friends and family, even miss time with my husband to work on my craft. When I was out in the workforce and simultaneously working on building the POP! Shop brand, I would easily clock in between 80-95 hours a week. To be clear, I am not saying working so hard so much is healthy in any way haha but this is the path that I took because I was and still am just that invested in not only the success of my shop, but the continuing of perfecting my craft.

I have experienced many hard days and hard lessons along the way, and if anything is certain in life it is that I will continue to face them. I am not only an artist and small business owner, but I am a woman who struggles with ADHD, anxiety, depression, and I am also a woman with two years of sobriety from alcohol addiction. Whether it is business or personal, I started to look at losses, setbacks, and failures as nothing but lessons and opportunities for growth. One lesson that I learned and keep with me is that there are no shortcuts between where you are and where you want to be. In order to get to the other side, you will have to cross a bridge or two. Unless you are willing to look at your losses in a different light, then you will surely do nothing but disappoint yourself in the end and give yourself more of an excuse to become overwhelmed with defeat and eventually give up.

If there is anything I would like the world to know about my art and my brand, it is that is for everyone. No matter who you are and no matter where you are in life, you deserve to feel like the beautiful, special, one of a kind human being that you are. I feel at my best when I am able to create something that makes others feel good, and that’s all I aim to do with this little shop of mine – make you feel good. ‘Cause you deserve it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
So actually, my best friend did come to visit me in March! I wasn’t able to take her everywhere, but if I had unlimited time I absolutely would have taken her to Dogtown Hots to get a Garbage Plate. What is a “Garbage Plate” you ask? Its a meal that consists of two cheeseburgers or hot dogs, mac salad, home fries, mustard, hot sauce, onions, and basically whatever else you want to assault your insides with (in the best way of course). Garbage Plates are a Rochester thing, so you wont be able to find them anywhere else.

When you are in Rochester, you absolutely have to go to the best grocery store ever known to man – Wegmans, and maybe if you are here in the summertime during the weekend, you could hit a really dope makers market called The MATA, where other artists and small business owners set up booths outside and sell their work.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I honestly would have to dedicate this shoutout to my Husband, Jason. When I came to him with the idea of starting my jewelry business, he was so incredibly supportive. He didn’t try to get me to change my mind about in the form of worry-filled questions, he simply told me that if this was something I was passionate about that I should do it and do it to the best of my ability. I remember the very next week, he surprised me with a stand-up jewelry display case and mirror attachment to encourage me to start and show his support. Since then, he has been my biggest cheerleader throughout this entire experience. He helps me out with in person markets and shows, he helps me with marketing and promotions, and overall he’s always there through every major win and failure alike. Jason if you are reading this, none of this would have been possible without your love and support. Thank you for everything.

Website: www.popshopjewelry.com

Instagram: @popshopjewelry

Other: TikTok : @popshopjewelry

Image Credits
Headshot Image : Photographer, Jacob Hubbard