Exploring Life & Business with Vontrelle McFarland of CharmedByVonnie

Today we’d like to introduce you to Vontrelle McFarland.

Hi Vontrelle, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My love for jewelry started at a young age. My grandmother was known for having a jewelry box full of beautiful pearls and diamonds. I loved the way she would style her accessories to match her outfits. She always told me before I leave the house to make sure I at least have on earrings or a necklace. As I grew older, that stuck with me and now at the age of 23, I live by that. Throughout Highschool, I began to develop my sense of style, and jewelry became a big deal to me. Forever21 was my go to place. I purchased their rings, bracelets, earrings and so much more… however I could only wear the jewelry for about two weeks before it began to fade and tarnish. In 2018, I gave birth to my son at the age of 20. Three months later, I found out I was expecting again… this time a baby girl. I gave birth in May of 2019, and something inside of me began to change… I wanted to set my children up for success, I was young but I was confident that I could accomplish anything even with two babies on my hip. I remember researching how to start a business and trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to sell. Not long after that, I realized that I wanted to start a jewelry business. I sat on the idea for a year before I made any decisions. In 2020 the pandemic hit. My children and I were doing great financially, but seeing others lose their job due to COVID-19 began to worry me. For four months, I played a game of trial and error trying to find vendors with great quality. I finally found a few vendors that I could trust, and June 8th, 2020 I started my business… with a goal to help my customers achieve that “celebrity look” at an affordable price. All CharmedByVonnie jewelry is Gold Plated/Silver Plated and fades resistant. CharmedByVonnie has shipped orders to San Antonio, Houston, Florida, Mississippi, Chicago, Georgia, and Arkansas. June of 2021 made one whole year since I started my business and I’m very proud of how things have went thus far.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Things started out smooth but I began to hit a few bumps in the road. Being that I am a mom of two small children, I faced my challenges… I offered Local Pick-up/Delivery for my customers who were in the Austin area and shipping for anyone who lives outside of Austin. During that summer, I had to bring my children on the road with me while I made deliveries to my customers. I also worked 12 hour shifts at a healthcare facility, so it was difficult to manage motherhood, work-life and being an entrepreneur… After a while, I remained consistent and learned boundaries… and soon enough, I was able to balance it all out.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
CharmedByVonnie is a small jewelry business in the Austin, Texas area. Our goal is to provide our customers with the latest jewelry at an affordable price. Most of our jewelry is inspired by the looks of Celebrity’s. We want our customers to still be able to achieve that “Celebrity Look” without burning a hole in their pockets. Some of the ways we do that is by offering our customers Gold Plated/Silver Plated Jewelry. Our Jewelry is made of stainless steel material. Gold Plated/Silver Plated means that our items are coated in a thin layer of real Gold or real Sterling Silver. What sets our jewelry apart from others is our customers are able to wear their jewelry up to 1 year without worrying about it changing colors… Our jewelry will last one year+ with proper care. I’m very proud of my business because even through the pandemic, we have shipped orders to Houston, Florida, Mississippi, Chicago, Georgia and Arkansas. We followed all CDC Guidelines during our local pickup and practiced safe social distancing. Jewelry has always added that fancy to look and I want everyone to feel beautiful.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
My customers may not know that five years from now, I would love to open a big jewelry store here in Austin, I think it would make things easier for my customers to be able to walk in and shop.

Contact Info:

• Email: charmedbyvonnie@gmail.com
• Website: charmedbyvonnie.com
• Instagram: charmedbyvonnie
• Facebook: Charmed By Vonnie

Image Credits
CharmedByVonnie