Heard It On Main St. with Melissa Panszi Riebe, Owner of A D’Zine

We got The 411 from Melissa of Dobbs Ferry’s A D’Zine Jewelry on building a one-of-a-kind statement jewelry business, the importance of community building, and her hype song.

Melissa Panszi Riebe

Owner of A D’Zine Jewelry, Make Your Mark[et] NY Pop-up, and Make Your Mark[et] NY Podcast

Thanks so much for giving us the 411, Melissa! Let’s start with learning a bit about the history of A D’Zine Jewelry. How long have you been in the game?

Melissa: So, I make one-of-a-kind statement jewelry, and as most entrepreneurs know, it gets mushy trying to define the actual start date because this started as a hobby and eventually turned into a business. I tend to say 2018, 2019 is when I started to take it seriously and said to myself, “ok, let’s see what happens here.” I got my DBA during that time, set up my [social] accounts, things like that.

MSBS started similarly, first as freelance work and after a little bit, developed formally into a business.

Knowing A D’Zine began as a hobby, when did you first start creating jewelry, was it a lifelong interest, had you taken classes or are you self-taught?

Melissa: I’m a self-taught Artist. I’ve always had a creative streak in me, I created my prom dress back in the day, so it was natural. When I was a Social Worker, the Psychiatrist I worked with made jewelry. Her work was stunning. Then when I moved to Minneapolis, I had a friend who made jewelry, and one day when I went to her house, she suggested we make jewelry together. I loved creating something with individual beads, and other pieces, that, when put all together, become something attention-grabbing.

I started by taking some of my own pieces and my mom’s pieces apart - ones that were dated, but still had a piece that would work well in a new way. My Grandma passed away when I was 32 and she had a bunch of costume jewelry that wasn’t quite my style, so I started playing around with those pieces. Because of my background as a Social Worker, it was a hard switch, especially having gone to grad school for it, to say, I’m not a Social Worker, I’m a Jewelry Maker. Because of being self-taught, there was a lot of self-doubt about that in the beginning. Over time I’ve had to build up that confidence and feel secure in sharing that I’m a Jewelry Maker full stop.

I give back 10% of my sales to a featured non-profit. So there’s still a tie to my social work background.

So while navigating that career pivot, what did the day-to-day look like? Who did you have on speed dial?

Melissa: As a Maker, as an Entrepreneur, it is very lonely. Going from a work environment and having a team to then not was a big transition, so you have to create your own community. I have made really good friends with other makers who will get together, and brainstorm ideas.

But then I also had to build my “office,” and take online courses. The main person I eventually made even more connections because of was Sabina Hichen, owner of Press for Success PR. I didn't realize entrepreneurs had to do their own media outreach, introduce themselves, and get that coverage we so often see on the news. She was huge in teaching me how to get press, how to brand myself, and how to present myself on social media.

There’s also a social media person that I follow and took courses from. Branding is about storytelling - why you do what you do. I believe everything has a story, so that’s why I love vintage pieces, and in the same way, that’s why I love branding. No one really cares that you’re selling jewelry, they care why, and who owned the piece previously. People care to know the makers behind a product, if they didn’t, they’d go to a big box retailer.

Melissa’s first show at Pelham Country Club

What was unexpected about starting your business?

Melissa: Having a creative business, you start it because you love making things, but when you really turn it into a full-time business, it only ends up being 20% of what you're doing. The other 80% is foundation, structure, PR, marketing, finance. That was a switch for me, because to get into my studio, I love it, but I’m like oh my gosh two hours went by because I was doing social media, or prepping my newsletter. That’s been a big hurdle in the sense of not losing that creativity.

Finding your people is very key, you go to markets and not everyone is happy that you’re there, that was something I learned. Also, not taking things personally and being able to hear no. People are funny, you have to be able to take the comments. That’s taken a lot of time to learn.

That’s such a big learning curve for so many business owners. Not everyone works the same way as you do.

On the topic of connecting with clients and people at markets, what strategies have worked well in bringing customers, and audiences through your front door?

Melissa: The biggest turn for me was in 2020 and George Floyd’s murder. Because beforehand I was compartmentalizing my business, I was only talking about jewelry and the process. At that point, I had to merge my personal beliefs and brand with my business brand and values. Coming from a social justice background, I just had to comment and share my thoughts on what was happening. People will get to know who I am and what I make and in turn build trust, especially for the brands and customers of Make Your Market NY Pop-ups.

I had to show my face, my values, and what I stand for, and it's built a connection with people. If you don’t start putting your face out there, your business is going to be forgotten.

Having gone through the business development process, what's been the most gratifying aspect of it all? Transitioning careers is a pretty tough journey, but there are lights at the end of the tunnel and windows along the way, so I’m curious what those were for you?

Melissa: The community has been the best. And there are two community buckets for me. The first would be my maker and business community. I would never have met half the people I now consider friends if I hadn’t started my business. Even HudCo [where A D’Zine is based] has been an amazing environment for me and I wouldn’t have had a reason to seek them out if I wasn’t a Maker.

And then the other community bucket is my customer community. I mean, getting to know people, whether they’re coming to the pop-up or my booth at another market, we end up chatting, they put something on, they say how great it feels. That positive reinforcement from clients is great. Jewelry is such a great vehicle for positive words. It’s a great conversation starter.

We got a glimpse of this at the start, but what’s the best advice you'd give to someone just starting their business?

Melissa: I’d say, don’t let mistakes freeze you. It’s easy to go down the road of self-doubt, but mistakes will happen, and in the words of Cher in Moonstruck, “snap out of it!”. Also, I’d say that a “no” is not always a no, it’s a pivot.

To help you get through those difficult moments, what’s your ultimate hype song?

Sugarcubes’ Hit

Listen to Melissa’s and all previous interviewees’ hype songs on the Heard It On Main St. playlist on Spotify

Follow A D’Zine on social and the web

• Social: @adzineny on Instagram & Facebook

• Web: adzineny.com

• Email: melissa@adzineny.com