If you are looking for a statement accessory to enhance your outfit or a striking piece of jewelry to enliven your everyday style, Funky Fads may be just what you need. Fourth-year Commerce student Shelby Brachmann founded the handmade jewelry business as a way of helping others find the perfect piece to match their personality. Combining her business background with her passion for fashion and self-expression, Brachmann’s jewelry collection features items full of customizable options and character.
Growing up outside of Chicago, Brachmann brought her hometown hobby of making jewelry to Charlottesville. While she studies Information Technology and Marketing at the University, Brachmann has always had a longstanding love for adding an artistic touch to daily life. She said that her entrepreneurial journey started when she began selling jewelry with a friend in middle school and further developed when she was in high school.
“I’ve always loved fashion and I started making my own jewelry in 8th grade … There would be mornings before school where I was making a necklace to match my outfit,” Brachmann said. “In high school … I went my own direction with [the business] and sold to people I was friends with, random people, friends of friends … People would see their friend wearing something [I made] and be like ‘Oh, that’s cute, where’d you get it?’”
With years of jewelry design and beading under her belt, Brachmann offers a unique perspective and channels her expertise into providing others the same opportunity to express their individuality through jewelry.
Brachmann’s Instagram and Etsy site showcase a vast selection of beaded and wired jewelry, including earrings, necklaces, bracelets and rings in both silver and gold. The personal and customizable features of Funky Fads, however, truly set the brand apart. One of the most popular items, the charm jewelry, allows customers to pick from a variety of charms to add to a blank chain.
Brachmann says charm jewelry is so popular because it presents an interactive opportunity for customers to create their own unique pieces and connect the jewelry to important values and elements in their own lives.
“I’ve found that people love purchasing jewelry that has personal significance … It just makes it more meaningful,” Brachmann said.
With charms galore — including but not limited to hearts, seashells, celestial bodies and Greek letters — each customer can showcase elements close to their own heart in wearing a handcrafted and custom piece.
Third-year Batten student Madi Wangensteen said that Brachmann offered her in-person assistance in designing custom jewelry. In a written statement to the Cavalier Daily, she said she loves not only the product, but the process of watching it come together.
“Shelby was so helpful in helping me design the perfect bracelet, and it was awesome getting to see her make it right in front of me! I now wear it every day as a signature piece,” Wangensteen said.
Brachmann said she is looking for even more ways to reach a wider audience of customers and capitalize on the personalized atmosphere offered online and in pop-ups. One possibility Brachmann has considered is the launch of an interactive website feature.
“Something I was thinking about is making a customizable interface where people can design their own jewelry through a website, replicating the in-person process but online,” Brachmann said.
While Funky Fads jewelry is mostly sold on Etsy, it has also been accessible to students on Grounds in the form of pop-ups in collaboration with student-run organizations. Browsing in-person, customers can see firsthand how each item suits them, while also having the chance to meet the creator and chat about her favorite options.
For example, Brachmann has worked with the Futures in Fashion Association, an organization for students who like to express themselves through clothes, and Swap at U.Va., a group that hosts clothing swaps on Grounds, to help her products reach a broader group of fashion-interested students.
As a satisfied Funky Fads customer, fourth-year Commerce student Camryn Menninger said in a written statement to the Cavalier Daily that she enjoys the process of building a personalized piece because it allows her to express herself.
“I love the experience of getting to pick out every individual aspect of my necklace from the thickness of the chain to the different charms to make the necklace represent my individualism and unique style,” Menninger said.
Partnering with sororities and supporting their philanthropic efforts by returning a portion of sales to their respective causes of choice, has also helped Funky Fads reach students at the University. In her recent collaboration with the Alpha Phi Sorority, a percentage of sales went back to supporting the Alpha Phi Foundation, a philanthropic initiative of the sorority. According to Brachmann, selling her jewelry at events with Greek Life organizations is mutually beneficial for both Funky Fads and a sorority's philanthropic endeavors.
“[Partnering with Alpha Phi] was a win-win [situation]. I supported their philanthropy, the girls in the sorority got to shop and it was a fun experience for me making stuff on the spot for people,” Brachmann said.
While Brachmann said she is not entirely sure what the future holds for Funky Fads, her passion for the business and commitment to the brand leaves room for infinite opportunities down the road.
“I feel like a lot of times people turn what they’re passionate about into a profit and they lose the passion — but that hasn’t happened to me,” Brachmann said. “I still love it. I love how jewelry keeps evolving, and I am able to adapt to the trends and add my own twists.”
Carrying on childhood dreams and passions, Funky Fads has allowed Brachmann to not only access a creative outlet, but also carve out her own entrepreneurial space on Grounds. For students interested in browsing the collection, keep your eyes out for future popups, or check out @funkyfads on Instagram or Etsy.
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