Meet Heydy Merino & Adrian Caldera | Jewelry Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heydy Merino & Adrian Caldera and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heydy / Adrian, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
What was your thought process behind starting your own business?

(Heydy) It began with me making polymer clay earrings that I would gift to my close family. I began making them for Adrian during the early part of her transition. They were really special gifts to her because they allowed her to express herself for the first time. We thought about it together how cool it would be to find a shop that’s inclusive where everyone can feel comfortable and safe and we figured why not just create that space ourselves. The name, Moments for Her, was already an active Instagram account where I would post poetry paired with photographs that were meant to capture a moment in time. Adrian believed it only seemed fitting that we should name the business after the account, Moments for Her. The name is special to us because when we’re creating pieces that capture our moment, it’s later shared for others to create their own.

What’s one thing about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?

Most people probably aren’t aware how much time it can take to hand make jewelry. From designing, molding and baking our clay pieces, drying, sanding, crimping, glossing.. the list goes on. Crafting can take days to perfect a new collection. We put love and time into our jewelry 🙂

Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?

We felt that in a worse case scenario we would learn from the experience. So even if our business fails, trying and failing is better than not trying at all. When we did our first market we hardly made any sales, countless people walked by our booth without batting an eye. We kind of expected this though and as we did more and more markets we would continue to tweak and modify our craft and make changes to the way we presented our work. It’s still a work in progress and still very much a risk but we have to continue to take ourselves seriously, because if we don’t, no one will.
Other than deciding to work for yourself, what was the single most important decision you made that contributed to your success?
(Adrian)This may seem counterintuitive but I think the biggest reason we’re still doing this is because we just like to have fun, get along with people and we’re not thinking about the numbers so much. I think once a business begins to focus only on profits it loses touch with the community. We also try not to feel discouraged when a market doesn’t turn out well.

What is the most important factor behind your success / the success of your brand?

(Heydy)The key to our success lies in creating a community where individuals can proudly showcase our unique creations and truly express themselves. When someone from the LGBTQ community buys our products and shares their joy in feeling seen and heard, it motivates us to continue our mission.

What’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?

Definitely coming out! We had to do that in order to pursue our small business because we knew we wanted to create an inclusive space for others so we felt we needed to represent that. Having our business exposes us a queer trans bisexual Latina couple so there’s always going to be that fear that not everyone is going to like us. Coming to terms with that has been one of the hardest but greatest accomplishments we’ve had to face as a business.

Work life balance: how has your balance changed over time? How do you think about the balance?

The trick to handling a small business plus a full time demanding job is that we don’t think of our shop as work at all. We genuinely love to get crafty on our nights together after work. In many ways it’s relaxing to create and put on some music or a good movie while we’re designing new pieces in our home. On weekends when we’re both off, we love vending at markets where we can interact with our community as a queer couple. We tend to find markets where we feel most ourselves. We love it so much in fact we’ve begun to create and run our own markets, our next Cosmic Cutie Market is just around the corner! I can’t think of many other places I’d rather be on my days off.

Do you have a favorite quote or affirmation? What does it mean to you / what do you like about it?

(Adrian) There’s a really simple quote by Oscar Wilde that I think is fitting. “All art is quite useless”. What he meant by this is that art on its own has no value or meaning until we give it meaning. I love this because you can apply it to everything. Once I give value and meaning to the world around me, things can begin to feel beautiful

(Heydy) “My favorite quote, ‘Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional,’ holds a special place in my heart because it serves as a constant source of motivation for me, especially when I’m faced with the challenges of pursuing creativity. Being a creative person can be incredibly rewarding, but it also comes with its share of difficulties and setbacks.

This quote reminds me that encountering obstacles and moments of frustration is a natural part of the creative process. It’s inevitable that I’ll face difficulties along the way. However, what I truly appreciate about this quote is how it encourages me to persevere. It reminds me that while I can’t always avoid the creative ‘pain’ that comes with the territory, I have the power to control how I respond to it.

When things get tough and inspiration seems elusive, I remember that I have a choice. I can choose not to let the challenges and setbacks define my creative journey. I can choose not to prolong my suffering by dwelling on the difficulties but instead focus on finding solutions, learning from my experiences, and pushing forward.

Why did you pursue an artistic or creative career?

(Adrian) I’ve always had a creative side since I can remember but I was never encouraged to follow an artistic path. I was constantly reminded growing up that I could not make it in this world as an artist. I was raised to be a practical person who should follow a clear path to secure a good paying career with job security and benefits. I followed a major in Geology and while I loved my classes it ultimately landed me a career doing work I find unfulfilling. These days I think having that mindset is a pretty boring way to live. When I began going through my transition as an adult I went through a heap of self discovery and I learned, with the help of my partner, that I’m willing to do things that are artistic and creative, even if at a loss, because I am happiest when I can see my imagination come to life.

(Heydy) I pursued an artistic creative career because it’s a way for me to bring joy and laughter to others. Together with my partner, we founded “Moments for Her,” a small business focused on crafting jewelry that allows people to express themselves unapologetically. The journey began with a private photography account called “Moments for Her,” where I shared poignant moments alongside poetry. It served as a safe outlet to connect with those close to me.

From a young age, I’ve had a deep passion for creativity, taking various creative classes while growing up. I derive immense satisfaction from crafting items that people can share with the world. During a break from photography and poetry, I found solace in working with polymer clay, a medium that felt poetic in its own right. It allowed me to immerse myself in a creative space where I could shape and mold the clay into any form.

Initially, the clay pieces bore imperfections, marked by my fingerprints, reminiscent of capturing a unique in moment in time. I was drawn to this concept and continued working with clay, incorporating earring findings, and gifting these creations to my loved ones. What made it special was that the moments I created were not just for me but were also shared with the world. The name “Moments for Her” encapsulates the essence of these jewelry pieces – moments crafted for ourselves but meant to be shared with everyone, allowing each person to experience their own unique moment.

What do you want your legacy to be, what do you want people to remember about you?

We want people to know that it’s okay to be who you are and it’s okay to express yourself authentically.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Heydy) It began with me making polymer clay earrings that I would gift to my close family. I began making them for Adrian during the early part of her transition. They were really special gifts to her because they allowed her to express herself for the first time. We thought about it together how cool it would be to find a shop that’s inclusive where everyone can feel comfortable and safe and we figured why not just create that space ourselves. The name, Moments for Her, was already an active Instagram account where I would post poetry paired with photographs that were meant to capture a moment in time. Adrian believed it only seemed fitting that we should name the business after the account, Moments for Her. The name is special to us because when we’re creating pieces that capture our moment, it’s later shared for others to create their own. Most people probably aren’t aware how much time it can take to hand make jewelry. From designing, molding and baking our clay pieces, drying, sanding, crimping, glossing.. the list goes on. Crafting can take days to perfect a new collection. We put love and time into our jewelry 🙂

We felt that in a worse case scenario we would learn from the experience. So even if our business fails, trying and failing is better than not trying at all. When we did our first market we hardly made any sales, countless people walked by our booth without batting an eye. We kind of expected this though and as we did more and more markets we would continue to tweak and modify our craft and make changes to the way we presented our work. It’s still a work in progress and still very much a risk but we have to continue to take ourselves seriously, because if we don’t, no one will.
The key to our success lies in creating a community where individuals can proudly showcase our unique creations and truly express themselves. When someone from the LGBTQ community buys our products and shares their joy in feeling seen and heard, it motivates us to continue our mission.
Definitely coming out! We had to do that in order to pursue our small business because we knew we wanted to create an inclusive space for others so we felt we needed to represent that. Having our business exposes us a queer trans bisexual Latina couple so there’s always going to be that fear that not everyone is going to like us. Coming to terms with that has been one of the hardest but greatest accomplishments we’ve had to face as a business.

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?
If our best friend was in town our idea of a good time would be to take them to the meadow at the Silverlake Reservoir, have a cutie picnic, watch the sunset, head down to sunset to get drinks at The Black Cat and order some fries and their drink The Hell Cat it’s a must ! We would end the night by heading over to Atwater for some of the best Cuban food in the city of Los Angeles called Baracoa Cuban Cafe for their traditional dish called ropa vieja and a plate of rice with beans and their delicious maduros.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We’d like to give a shout-out to our supportive and loving family along with our manager aka our cat Nebs for always being there. We’d like to say thank you to Heidi Cubillos she is a queer bisexual Latina owned beauty brand named HMB (Heidimary Beauty) her Instagram is @shophmb. She gave us so much support and encouragement throughout Moments for Her early process.

Website: www.momentsforher.com

Instagram: @moments.for.her

Other: TikTok: @MomentsforHer

Image Credits
Photography credits to Ig: @nubbiiaaa Nubia Rojas