Meet Travis Alexander Walls | Creative Entrepreneur, Consultant, & Jewelry Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Travis Alexander Walls and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Travis Alexander, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve always been the creative type for as long as I can remember. I thrive in constantly having a project or assignment in the works. My father is probably been the biggest motivator & supporter in starting my own businesses, or pivoting towards a new direction. Finding passion, inspiration, and excitement to be something to follow. Some of his best advise that’s always stuck with me is “If you’re interested in something, do it, try it, see if its something you find fulfilling. If you don’t find that or it’s not working for you, then walk away and find something else that does.”. Something I often reflect on in work and in personal life. failure in creativity or work to me isn’t failure in myself or ability. Rather something to work off, understand, learn from, and grow from. Finding creative was in problem solving almost anything would defiantly be a vise of mine. When it comes to my businesses I’ve found trial and error to be some of the best ways in starting something on your own. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes or changing to adapt as you progress. With each endeavor in starting a new business I usually start with a rough category of interest. I look to my creative drive and try to focus on how my skills could be valuable. I have more note books than one ever should. Each dedicated to a business idea or venture that has peaked my interest. And every time I think of something new or an improvement I write it down. For my jewelry line I design and make almost everything for I have a large notebook that doesn’t even close anymore because I’ve glued so many different elements into it. Leathers, metals, fabric, rocks, gems, and anything else that’s caught my eye. I’m a very hands on creative, i like to feel, touch, or play around with objects and things of inspiration. And take that to figure out how to apply them to my designs and brand identity. I tend to follow my own rule of focusing on 5 key factors in building a business. Product or service, Brand Identity & market, name & platform presence, overhead & cost, and what can I offer in my own unique way that makes a business stand out in a oversaturated market. In the age of entrepreneurial ease with so many different platforms or markets to sell just about anything you want and so many who do. Creating a cohesive identity of a business is important. First thing I usually do in starting is buying the website, domain, setting up every social media account that’s relevant, and registering a new email for that. I’ve found that first step helps avoid building and putting time into something prematurely only to find out your business name and identity isn’t available or someone else already has it. A lot goes into a businesses name and recognition. Once I’ve established a core identity I can then focus on what I’m actually offering. With my jewelry and another business I’ve yet to publicly launch, the importance of quality and customer satisfaction is a core value to me. Every time I design and create a new piece of jewelry or updated design, I wear the piece for a least a month, in the shower, gym, pool, and everywhere to test drive it. As I’ve given pieces to friends to do the same before officially launching the new piece. I want to make sure I’ve created something I can stand behind, as well as getting feedback from others on how the design wears and holds up for them. I find this concept of test driving anything to be very valuable in better understanding the customer, finding improvements, what’s working, would they seek your business or buy your products again, and getting honest feedback. The biggest mistake I’ve come to learn of the years is trying to push a business too fast or unprepared causes a lot of issues quickly and can taint the brands identity in quality or service. Its harder to improve and gain loyalty in a business that’s already had poor review or customer dissatisfaction from day one in restoring confidence in the customer. Rather patiently putting the work into quality, strength, understanding, and customer service before launching. In a time where everything is instant and accessible it can be difficult to restrain from jumping the gun on it. A good metaphor I heard once sums this up pretty well. “would you rather light a match, or light a fire? you can alway add another log to a fire but not a match.”.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
While I own more than a handful of creative business, my main focus is on two of them. My jewelry line I design and make by hand Gathering Alexander (GA-Jewelry.com). Or my hand embroidery artwork “Embroidery by Travis” that is very much not your grandmothers embroidery, but rather erotic with a cult following (embroiderybytravis.com) think Tom of Finland.

Gathering Alexander is a handcrafted jewelry line designed to be worn, push the boundaries, and pieces to be loved for life. My philosophy is creating jewelry you can wear anywhere life may take you. As a designer I rarely take my jewelry off for anything, so I wanted to create a line that very much fit that. I spent most of my childhood and adolescence growing up on the beaches of Australia and as a California born person, the beaches or outdoor lifestyles have always been very much a part of me. So in creating my jewelry I wouldn’t make something I couldn’t wear in the ocean, surfing, to the gym, in a pool, or in any outdoor activity. I want to create something that is strong, comfortable in wear, and to stand the test of time. Which is why I prefer solid sterling silver as my material in designing. Sterling silver is strong, elegant, moldable, and can be polished or refinished for life. One of the biggest concerns I hear from customers abroad is the fear of jewelry tuning their skin green, fading, flaking off, or wearing poorly. Sterling silver (unless plated) will never have that problem. It is also hypoallergenic and won’t irritate skin on contact, making it the top choice in piercing with. Jewelry shouldn’t wear you, rather you wear the jewelry. it should feel effortless in wear. for every new design and create I wear it for a month or so day/night to test the durability & quality of the piece. Along with a few friends I do the same with to get their feedback and critic on. Customer satisfaction in quality and durability is very important and valuable in my businesses. I stand behind my designs and what I create, which is why I offer lifetime repair or replacements on all my pieces should anything happen. As things happen in life. I draw a lot of my inspirations from beach living, from classic Hollywood (especially Paul Newman), from summer in Europe, and mostly from just working with the raw materials. The way they flow and move. From mixing and matching elements or adding little details to something. I love to source vintage designer pieces like belts, jewelry, accessories and reengineer or redesign elements of them. One of my favorite piece I redesigned was the giant vintage sterling Theirry Mugler star from an old key chain and putting on this 24′ in large 925 custom curb chain. It looked stunning after spending 3 days polishing/buffing this giant heavy star, from the almost black oxidization color it started as from almost 30+ years sitting in someones attic. It sold instantly. Most recently I’ve been working with a lot of crocodile and stingray hides making bracelets, rings, and accessories out of them. and won’t lie a handful of custom ordered crocodile cock-rings which I’ve dubbed “Crocrings”. I really enjoy making one off pieces or custom designs when requested, as I tell my customers and clients that my doors always open if you’ve got an idea. Gathering Alexander when I was building it was very important to me that everything was unisex and it was for everyone. Values I stand behind today, while most pieces lean on the more masculine side it doesn’t define the design nor does it the wearer. I wanted this brand to be inclusive, fun, easy to wear, and quality. I make almost everything by hand, aside from certain elements or pieces I have cast from design. whether through handcrafted pieces, the packaging, or the experience in wearing or buying a design, I want every customer to feel valued and important. I spent many years in working with luxury designers and brands, that I wanted to bring elements of that into the core operations of the brands identity. capturing that experience of detail, care, and craftsmanship to GA. Brand Identity in a cohesive overall experience is defiantly a defining pillar. Every customer should expect the same care and passion put into their order every time. which is why every piece is wrapped in tissue paper and comes in a branded dust bag, with polishing cloth, and for larger orders all of that is put into a giant branded matchbox style recycled cardboard tan box. Whether someone is ordering a $16 pair of earrings or a $900 custom necklace, the care in packaging and presentation is the same for everyone. While shipped within 3 days, or same day for most ensuring speedy delivery. I have little patience for Prime 2 day delivery in ordering so it was important to implement that into the business. I’ve learned a lot in growing a jewelry brand. most of which are not having fingerprints on my right hand (my phone doesn’t even recognize touch half the time) or digging sterling wires or offcuts out of my skin. I’ve also finally come to the point of wearing glasses half the time to avoid yet another eye injury from getting the tiniest silver shards under my contacts or in my eyes. One of the most important things I’ve come to learn is defiantly having and relying on quality vendors for materials. Unfortunately there’s a lot of vendors out there trying to pass off Sterling Silver as something else or something thinly plated. you can always tell by cutting off a small piece or bending materials if they aren’t solid. Showing the layers in an off cut if not solid, or flaking and changing colors with bending, which is why I avoid anything plated for the most part. Gold Fill is about as far as I go if its 24k filled, but I solid sterling silver is the pinnacle of my designs for its longevity and wear. While its taken a few years and a lot of trial and error to get GA established and present as with any new business venture hasn’t been without evident in just designing and making each piece. and of course everyone is going to have a suggestion or think you should go in a certain direction or even look down on your endeavor. Its important to remain confident and stay true to your core values, operations, care, and engagement. And take the risks, make the mistakes, and use those lessons to drive you to adapt and strengthen yourself and your business. I know through all this too now, I am grateful to Chaille Odom and Jaded SB (jadedslo.com) for mentoring and pushing me to bring Gathering Alexander to life with such valuable advice and wisdom. With inspiration to go even further. I don’t think GA will ever stop evolving or creating new designs as inspiration in creativity and design is alway strong in just the creative process itself. I have great excitement for the future of it.

As for Embroidery by Travis is technically a business, Ive created it as more of an art form as an artist. Every pice is unique, hand stitched and embroidered, and never repeated as a design. My main background is in the fashion industry with fashion design being my major. So naturally sewing was in my blood. I believe it was actually my dad who taught me how to embroider when I was 4 or five when I discovered a pair of jeans he’d embroidered and repaired many times from his college years that inspired me first. But embroidery is something I’ve always dabbled in and out of across my life. but it defiantly became a huge passion and part of my life 5 or so years ago. I picked it back up as a way to relieve stress and anxiety while still be present. I’ve never been good at sitting still. Ever. When I started I was fairly focused on one continuous line style art in my embroidery. But soon found myself inspired to do more. Tom of Finland’s early art along with Any Warhols early sketches have been a big inspiration in my work. To the point I now own a few Warhol sketches and an extensive book collection both. I was drawn the allure and beauty in sexuality of their works. And the lines of their collections have made perfect templates to design off and turn into embroidery. Something that also taught me how to take photographs of iconic moments or friends or a few dogs I love, and turning them into lines I could use as a guid in embroidery. I learned to flip the subject matter or mirror it to print out pictures in black & white, then take a fine tip sharpie and trace over the outlines or lines I felt created the best design. Often tracing multiple photos over each out or altering shapes, muscles, outlines, or look of the subject to create a story. once I had finished tracing over everything I liked, i’d flip the paper over to have a perfect outline for embroidery to work off. and I’d start from there in creating a new piece of work. I’m not a traditional embroidery artist in that I don’t use embroidery floss which is the main medium of embroidery. Rather I prefer a thick cotton thread used for chain stitching machines, as I also sew using a chain stitch mainly but by hand. I found this to be much better at getting details, curves, and sharp edges in my sewing with ease. While not getting tangled or fraying with use like embroidery floss or other traditional embroider threads do. This also allowed me to with between weight and thickness of threads and to easily switch between double threaded or single threaded allowing for sharp details. As I progressed with my embroidery I found this choice in thread type to allow me to make works with depth, shadow, and contrast. For me that was very exciting and opening up more elaborate works and inspiration. Sewing in any capacity is kind of like riding a bike, you never forget how to but the more you do so the better skilled you become. in my early years once I started posting works on social media and getting a lot of attention and some commission requests. I also learned how expensive cotton canvas was, just as quick as I learned I could buy the same canvas as a painters drop cloth for 10 x 10 feet for $12 on amazon. I luckily am well versed in stretching canvas over a frame or building your own frame. But typically I use wooden embroidery hoops for creating and embroidering a piece, but I have had to build my own versions of embroidery hoops or frames for larger works. At a point I found myself at a crossroad suddenly. What do I want my work to be, or perceived as, or how its treated? It was actually the advice of Daniel J Brown that helped me understand how I wanted my work to be seen as. while both roads had their own pros & cons, ultimately I wanted my work to be understood as art. I wanted to be understood as an artist in what I do, because ultimately the foundations of this passion was artistic expression. I really had no desire to replicate or commercialize my art work as a whole. A quick search on Etsy will show you how embroidery is underrated, under priced, and often treated as a commodity. non of which I desired, especially when I piece can take you weeks or even a month to finish or create. And some of the best advice from fellow artists I’ve gotten is “an artist must have value in what they do, how much time they worked on it, its uniqueness, and confidence in conviction in definition of their artwork”. Something that I sought to be seen as. Like any new business idea or venture you do your market analysis and research. After putting a few small pieces on Etsy to test the waters with, the engagements and messages that came from the listings were rather uninspiring. to the tune of “are you really charging $25 for that?” or “can you make this (insert Johnathan Addler embroider pillow pic here) for under $10?” and so on helped me understand what a more commercial side of my work would be treated as or viewed. So I business 101’d it and bought the domain and setup social media accounts. Within the first few months I sold a couple of my works for $2,500+ and gained a slight cult following online. Respect in being and Artist as for the way others viewed it felt very supportive of my passion and choices in it. As well as commission request I took with gratitude. I never imagined a giant hand embroidered penis veins and all would have ever attracted the respect or enjoyment so much from others. its defiantly given me the motivation and drive to continue growing and making more elaborate pieces in my art work. That and the DM’s from 80 something year old grandmothers who embroidery bunnies and kittens for their grandchildren asking for bigger, veiner, throbbing, and exciting works in my future works. My ultimate goal in my work and art is to have an exhibition of some form. While I currently have roughly 70 pieces in progress to finish as I bounce between embroidery and my main income from jewelry. But I believe its always important to have a goal in mind to work towards with anything I do.

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.
Where to start. There’s so much diversity in the landscape and the city.

-Little ruby’s Cafe was one of my favorites. Guess I’d have to go to NYC for that now.

-Lunch at Urth Caffe for lunch just for the food.
-Craigs for dinner and drinks with Andrea Hwang anytime
-La Dolce Vita anytime with Andrea Hwang (@AMH.Events)
-Laurel Harware on the patio for shared bites and good drinks
-The Beverly Hilton for a full pool day & relaxation
-Soho Beach House for the sunset and a crafted drink
-Out of the Closet on Santa Monica for deep thrifting season (I’ve found and purchased Chanel, Mugler, Saint Laurent there many times) you find amazing pieces there, always in perfect condition. I’m obsessed with thrift stores.
-Secret Beach in Malibu, Point Dome for a bonfire with friends
-County Line beach Malibu for some surfing. the bay creates long steady waves you can surf til the end of.
-Neptunes Net for some fried seafood after surfing or to go and eat on the beach while surfing.
-Zinc Cafe followed by a Blue Bottle coffee to go and wonder around the arts district.
-Disneyland, because who doesn’t love feeling like a happy kid again.
-Club 33 in Disneyland if you can get a reservation. Its an Experience and the food is beyond expectation, as are the Manhattans.
-Adults Only, its a cute Hollywood speakeasy through a retro video rental store. Probation era styling, with amazing crafted cocktails.
-The Edition on Sunset to catch a Set by Zen Freeman on the weekend. @zenfreeman
-Abbot Kinney in Vience for leisurely shopping and a bite to eat.
-Any Evita party by Ollywood & Andres Rival. Revival of the NYC club kid era, entertainment, a chance to go all out with your outfit while you dance the night away. @evitaparty
-Jetrag’s Sunday sale. Just a tarp in a parking lot with piles of vintage clothes all under $5. I got an amazing leather bomber jacket there once for $3.
-The Getty & LACMA obviously
-Culture Edit. its a store and gallery run by the Tom of Finland Foundation. Amazing space with amazing things.
-Connie & Teds to carb load and love it
-Gracious Madre. When my Vegan dads in town just to confuse him because he can order anything off the menu and the foods amazing
-Beverly Hills Hotel for breakfast on Sunday at the pancake bar.
-XIV Karats in Beverly Hills for diamonds shopping & wholesale prices. Rihanna & Barbara Streisand’s go to jewelers. I have 6 piercings in one ear all diamonds because of this store. As a jewelry designer, when it comes to diamonds & custom fine jewelry, first recommendation. I have a handful of custom diamonds pieces from them excluding a diamond and emerald earring and matching pink ring. ignore the price tags, they will bargain with you. xivkarats.com
-Wondering around DTLA starting with the flower market.
-Alamo Drafthouse in DTLA for a movie. out of Austin its full service food and drink throughout the movie with a fun retro vibe.
-Santa Monica’s Farmers market for an early stroll and fresh produce
-Hot Pilates off Sunset or in Brentwood. Its seriously addictive, you’ll never sweat harder, or feel like a whole new person afterwards. I got a defined six-pack in a week. The founder Shannon Nadji is a goddess and makes every season a blast along with all her instructors. But get the app and book ahead. every class is under 14 people and books fast for good reason. @hotpilates @shannonnadj
-Bunda with Kate Lilly for full core and butt workout that is transformative and strengthening. Founder Kate Lilly is incredibly qualified as she is talented and kind. But its an addictively fun workout over all that will have you feeling like you could squat a car if you wanted to. @trainbunda

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?
Life is about learning and growth. Ive been very fortunate to have so many in my life that I’ve been able to gain so much valuable lessons from so many and so much. Art, music, expression inspire me everyday. Finding the allure in movement, color, and textures. I get inspire by intrigue in the world around me, or objects simple and obscure. I love to feel and connect with things that peak my interest and inspiration. My first and biggest mentor, supporter, and encouraged me to throw myself into inspirational creative ideas or passions would have to be my father Andrew. Teaching me from a young age to explore curiosity, find beauty and creativity in any and everything, taking me to every class or event I wanted to do, to think outside the box, ingenuity in problem solving, finding strength in failures, learning to adapt, find what makes me happy, pushing me to seek more, and supporting and encouraging me in every aspect of my creative endeavors. Both big and small. as he still does. Daniel J Brown who as a coach to high level executives and entrepreneurs for helping me establish core values, strengths, action plans, how to turn imagination into reality, how to monetize my art, think bigger and better, how to say no sometimes, confidence and for showing me the value in myself as well as feeling valuable for my creativity. Guidance that came genuinely and with respect that has allowed me to expand my perception and outlook on every aspect of life. Chaille Odom who started her own jewelry line with an unemployment check and has grown it into an incredibly successful brand. The person who mentored me, taught me skills, how to make sure every piece you make is quality, and the importance dedication to customer loyalty. Andrea Hwang for pushing me, encouraging me, promoting me, and her genuine loyal friendship. Artist and friend Chris Wrobleski for his rich colors and artistic visions in his work. Ramon Christian for his stunning photography. Jo Flack my high school teacher who never let me quit and fought for me. Helen Oleary and Eva Oleary for their art, expression, and work. Durand Guion for his mentorship & kindness. Lawrence Quijada for teaching me dedication, commitment, encouragement, and everything aspect of a successful retail presence. And so many more who I had the luck of learning from.

Website: www.GA-jewelry.com

Instagram: @TravisAlexWalls

Linkedin: Travis Alexander Walls

Facebook: Travis Alexander Walls

Other: other websites: www.GAJewelry.co www.embroiderybytravis.com Social: @gathering_alexander @embroidery_by_travis Direct: travis.a.walls@gmail.com

Image Credits
I took all photographs submitted