Thriving in Chaos: Lori Steenhoek is Breaking the Jewelry Mold
It’s time to meet our seventh featured entrepreneur in the Thriving in Chaos: A Feature on Women in Small Business series!
Get ready to meet Lori Steenhoek of Love Lori Michelle Jewelry. She’s an American jewelry designer who recently moved from California to London. I hope you love her story as much as I did!
Lori Steenhoek of Love Lori Michelle Jewelry
An Architect Turned Designer
Before Lori fell in love with jewelry design, she was an architect. After graduating from the University of Maryland, she spent years working for a small design firm before going out on her own as a consultant.
She spent ten years as a consultant, creating 3D renderings for other architects. While she enjoyed translating other people’s design work into something tangible, she still felt sort of stuck.
She went to school to be an architect, and even though she was good at it, it wasn’t lighting her up like she thought it would. In her quest to find fulfillment in her work, she started designing jewelry in CAD for her friends and family.
A New Normal Forces Some Changes
Suddenly, 2020 hit, and, like everyone else, Lori found herself thrown into a new normal – working from home with two young kids in tow.
Anyone who was trying to work from home, especially with kids, during that time knows how impossible it was. No matter how hard you tried, it was an incredibly stressful period, especially for working mothers.
While Lori made the most of the situation for a while, after a few years, she had enough. In 2022, faced with the mounting unfulfillment in her consulting work, the unwanted pressure from tight deadlines, and the stress of navigating a seemingly unending pandemic, she finally decided she had had enough. It was time to take the jewelry business full-time.
Approaching Jewelry Design Differently
One thing that makes Love Lori Michelle Jewelry different is how Lori approaches the design process. Relying on her architectural mind and years of consulting experience, she designs everything first in CAD.
Roundrel Earrings from Love Lori Michelle
Once the design is completed, she 3D prints the mold. Then, she works with her supplier to turn those molds into high-quality jewelry. Since the design process is done on a much smaller scale, she can provide truly customized pieces that her customers love.
This shift from a service-based business to a product-based one has been a successful change for Lori. Now, she embraces the creativity in her work that she missed so much while working from home without the crushing deadlines of the architectural world.
Even though they may seem like two completely different industries, Lori says that there are a lot of parallels between the process of designing buildings and designing jewelry. Even though she is doing something completely different than originally planned, she still relies on a lot of the skills and techniques she learned in school.
Making a Move from California to London
Smiles Necklace from Love Lori Michelle Jewelry
Launching Love Lori Michelle Jewelry opened up space in Lori’s life for more than just professional creativity and freedom. It also allowed her and her husband to take advantage of an opportunity to move abroad.
When we chatted in the spring, she was preparing for their big move from California to Londo. Her family is now happily settled in their new home and making the most of city living. The shop reopened in September, and I can’t wait to see what incredible designs she will come up with after some British inspiration!
A Q&A with Lori Steenhoek
Q: What is your favorite part about owning a small business?
There are so many things about it that it would be hard to choose just one. I thrive on the fact that everything is truly mine. I own all of the designs and all of the successes. It’s my baby to celebrate. But the failures are also all your own. I get to see the whole process through and love collaborating when necessary.
I think that’s what it comes down to. This business is all mine. It’s all me. I’m at the helm. I choose what I’m doing and where the business is going. It’s a situation unique to entrepreneurship.
Q: How did you know it was time to step into your new role and returning to corporate was not an option?
The pandemic was sort of the driver, but a lot of it is financially driven. People don’t like to talk about the money side of it, but it’s important, even though it’s so different for everyone.
When I decided to step away, I was 15ish years into my career and felt financially secure thanks to my long-time employment and my husband’s employment. Even if the business wasn’t successful for a while, we could still float by until it was.
This is not always the case for people who don’t have the funding. I’m lucky to have a partner who has a solid, steady income and job. We had a plan in place for me to succeed, but it’s a whole different type of hustle when you’re the breadwinner.
It’s easy to look at the Internet and see other people’s lives and think it looks so easy. However, it's not an overnight success, and spending time to put those plans in place isn’t always glamorous but it’s an important part of starting a small business.
Q: What sets your business apart from other design businesses in your area?
Medusa Earrings from Love Lori Michelle Jewelry
The uniqueness of the designs sets me apart. I draw inspiration from my travels and my background in architecture. I don’t use the same suppliers all the time, so it’s always something different. Everything is accessible but elevated. You could wear it every day but also for important occasions. I love to deliver something that’s classic but with a modern, elevated look.
Q: If another woman came to you about starting a business in your industry, what would you tell them?
Just keep going. Get started. See what makes you happy and what works, and just keep doing that. There’s a notion that people become overnight successes in social media, but that isn’t always the truth. The most successful small business owners that I know have been in it for years. It’s all about the long haul and building up a base of customers who appreciate your work. It just takes time. Find your people and keep pushing. Always push.
Q: If you could go back in time to 2004, what would you tell yourself about your life now?
In 2004, I was graduating college. I was so unsure of what I was going to do and where I was going to land. I knew I wanted to work in the design field, but I had no idea I would end up going out on my own. I didn’t even know that was a possibility. I think I would keep it simple and just say… “Damn! You’re gonna be awesome eventually. Keep your eyes open.”
One thing I do think is that we don’t talk about entrepreneurship a lot. There are so many more possibilities for creatives than what is traditionally presented. I wish we talked about that more.
Q: Why did you want to be featured on this blog?
I’ve been on Threads a lot more lately, and I just love making authentic connections there. One of my goals this year is to tell my story. One of the pitfalls of working for yourself is that you can start to operate in a little bit of a bubble. I love to reach out to other people just to see what they’re doing. Telling my story and connecting with other women small business owners gets me out of my own personal bubble. You never know where those connections could take you.
My Take on Lori’s Story
I met Lori on Threads back in the spring, and I have been dying to tell her story! Interestingly, she is the second entrepreneur I’ve interviewed who took their architectural background and transformed it into a career that delivered more creativity and fulfillment.
I also loved how Lori sees so much value in the small connections between things. In fact, when talking about why she wanted to be featured and how much she values the connections she builds online with customers and other business owners, I found out that we had a small, unknown connection, too. Even though she was currently living in California, she went to school in Maryland, and her husband is from Delaware – where I live! Talk about full circle!
If you’re interested in following along with Lori’s journey, seeing what new pieces she creates, or seeing what it’s like living as an American in London, I highly recommend following her on Threads!
You can also find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok. You can also explore all that her beautiful shop has to offer on her website.
