How I started (the long version)

I sometimes get asked how I started and what goes through my mind is: how do I shorten my story? I have unlimited space so here is the long version! I think I was watching YouTube videos around 2020 of resin wire dip art, particularly the Korean and Japanese 3D flower hair pin videos. I really wanted to try but the particular resin I needed wasn’t easily accessible for purchase in Canada, so I just kept dreaming about it.

Something you might not know is that I was really into traditional art for many years. I even hosted a small art exhibit of some of my pieces in 2023. It was such a huge accomplishment and this exhibit had been something I was dreaming of since I was a child. My Instagram handle is still up, but I don’t post anymore (@_ricov). After that huge hurrah, I completely crashed and decided to stop - first, because I think I pushed too hard to make enough pieces for the exhibit, and second, because major wrist pain. After that, I found myself doing zero art, not even minor crafts, for a year.

I was telling my partner how I really wanted to try working with resin to make the 3D flower hair pins. After annoying myself with all my own yapping, I bought a resin kit, even though it wasn’t the resin I needed for the 3D flower hair pins. I made my first pair of pink flower earrings and gifted it to a friend! I then made a pair for myself, which is my current Instagram profile picture! I think I invested about $300 to just play around with it all. Mind you, I didn’t do any research about PPE, so please be better than me. I really enjoyed it and eventually came up with the origami resin crane idea/design and that’s when I think it really clicked that I could do this. I vended at my very first market with 613flea on July 6, 2024 and I was so proud of myself. I did some more and now I consider this my dream job. I didn’t imagine it could be a job so I never properly considered it. But I find myself working for hours and it doesn’t feel like work. I’m thinking up more ideas than I can realistically keep up with. I’m really having so much fun, so I cannot thank you all enough. I’ve probably thanked you on several different posts, and I really mean it every single time.

Funny story, when I decided on RicovJewelry as a handle in 2024, the name was already taken! I was like: “wtf, ricov already is not a word or a name and then that combined with jewelry is so niche. Who the heck took this instagram handle?” Turns out it was me! I made an account in 2022 called RicovJewelry and I completely forgot - LOL. I guess this idea had been percolating in my mind so I decided to claim the name. It’s funny that my mind independently decided on RicovJewelry as my business handle years apart.

As you can see, I did not have a clear vision. I don’t even make the 3D wire resin dip art that initially interested me. I kind of just followed where my interest led me and took many years, both consciously and subconsciously, to arrive here. This is definitely not sound business advice because having a plan is very important. There are a lot of factors to consider like financials, time, other commitments, whether you have the space to safely do your craft, where you live, and a million other things. This is just how it worked out for me. I’m a ‘let’s just try it out’ person rather than a planner of every detail, which comes with a lot more risk and difficulty setting boundaries or determining when things are no longer working out. I’m just very fortunate it did work out in my case. I’m very lucky I live in a place that is so supportive of small businesses and that there are avenues to make money in person because I SUCK at online marketing and online sales. I’m only making my website now in 2026 ahaha. I’m a huge advocate of sharing stories because maybe someone is out there considering if they should pursue X, Y, or Z and maybe a part of my experiences can give them insight, motivation, someone to relate to, or hope that they can make their dream a reality.