Meet Lori Brenneman | Jewelry Designer & Owner

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

Hi Lori, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I was a dental hygienist for 30 years up north and after moving to Florida because of my husband’s job transfer, I found that I couldn’t practice dental hygiene with the state licensing laws. I’ve made jewelry all my life as a hobby so I thought I’d bring on career #2!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve always loved jewelry … and people! My tagline is “treat yourself to magic” and that’s what I feel my shop is. I travel to gem shows and cool vacation spots to select unique and special gemstones, bring them home, and then create special pieces out of them. I always do special things with my pieces like put a larger loop on the clasps to make it easier to fasten and sneak a Swarovski crystal on the closures for a surprise sparkle… use a jewelers grade elastic for my stretch bracelets so they’re easy on and off and durable. Another thing that is unique to my shop is customizing fit and style. I have a work station in my shop so I can adjust the sizing so it’s perfect ~ often while you go grab a bite or drink at our attached wine bar next door!

I love people and I love making them happy. I am passionate about my jewelry designs and my customers share that passion with me. We create bracelet stacks together, match jewelry to outfits, choose the perfect gifts for special friends … anything to put smiles on my client’s faces. I also have a jewelry subscription club, TFC + ME, where I’ll send my subscribers a piece of exclusive jewelry once a month that is only available to them at a price much less than it would be at retail. We call it “Happy Mail” and it’s a way for them to treat themselves once a month. We love it and always have fun. My shop is always a happy place for everyone.

I really loved being a dental hygienist for 30 years and I love creating magic in my shop now! It wasn’t easy making the transition, mainly because at age 48, when I realized I couldn’t continue my career as a hygienist, I was scared! It’s the only thing I thought I knew how to do! But, as it turned out , I knew how to do lots of other things, and just had to step outside of my comfort zone and give it a whirl! (here’s a secret … even the most successful people have all the same thoughts we all do!)

My advice is that no matter what age you are, or how many obstacles you think might be in front of you, if you are passionate about something, surround yourself with supportive people that are positive and have your back and go for it! I am so thankful that I have my sparkly little shop! I love it every day!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Rent a boat from the Mount Dora Marina and go through the Dora Canal… stop for lunch at Hurricanes!

Do a guided Segway tour of our Town

Lunch at The Goblin Market

Shopping at Papilio … visit PurgARTory for skin care, makeup and Fragrance and visit with Lynne

Grab a crepe at Claire’s Creperie

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I have always had an unbelievably supportive family and a network of amazing friends who have encouraged me and given me confidence to pursue anything I wanted. When we first moved to Mount Dora, the owners of Papilio, Henry Ollendick and Joel Maas, were there for me with friendship and business advice and eventually, invited me and Jewelry by TFC to build a “shop within a shop” inside their beautiful store in historic downtown Mount Dora. I would love to give a shout out to both of them for helping me and looking out for me in my adventure as an entrepreneur.

Website: www.jewelrybytfc.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jewelrybytfc/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JewelrybyTFC