Today we’d like to introduce you to Janine Jones.
Hi Janine, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Southern Sky Jewelry & Hats as a brick and mortar store opened in September 2025 but the origin of the business began long before that. As a jeweler, I began learning the craft and making jewelry at 17 years of age. I fell in love with the process of designing and creating and soon had requests from friends and family for me to make jewelry for them. My journey over the years had me experience many modes of selling my pieces, and with many business names over the years. I sold on Etsy, participated in vendor shows and had my collections in boutiques. When I became a Mom and started raising my children, I put the business on the back burner and it fizzled out. Later in life as my kids grew and I had more time and flexibility, I began dreaming of picking the craft back up. I knew that If I were to put my hands back to jewelry making again, I would do it will all I have and go all in on it. It was during the pandemic that I was really brainstorming the whole possibility- and the business name came to me. Jeff ( my husband ) discovered that the web domain for that business name was available and so we purchased the website domain and sat on it for 4 years before doing anything. In 2024 I rebranded my previous jewelry business from “Jewelry by Bean” to “Southern Sky”. I remember making the announcement on my Facebook page to my followers that have been with me for so long and thinking to myself, “This is going to happen.” For all of 2024 and part of 2025 I sold my jewelry at vendor shows in Austin and Buda and also got the Southern Sky website up and running. The feedback from customers was incredible. My designs were truly resonating with people and the concept was taking off. Southern Sky Jewelry as a brand is rooted in Texas Spirit. My inspiration as a creator is drawn directly from the beauty of the Texas Skies- the biggest and most colorful I have ever seen. I quickly realized the next step was to open my own store and so we began searching for the perfect space and we found it! As Jeff and I (who is also my business partner) began writing our business plan, we dreamed for more than just my jewelry. We wanted to bring to life a shopping experience that was a beautiful representation of the Texas Spirit. To us, that was Hats and Boots. The Boots got cut from the business plan due to space restrictions in our building but we were thrilled when Stetson Hats bought into our vision and signed a vendor agreement with us! When you are dreaming and planning a concept- every detail is important from the sights to the smells and the vibes. I always wanted the aroma of leather in the store and when we had to cut boots from the plan, I was a little disappointed. However, when customers walk in our front door the first thing they say is “It smells so good in here” although its not from boots- we do carry a leather hat from Stetson called the Roxbury and the leather aroma fills the air. The sight of steam wafting in the air from the hat steamer, the good ol’ country music playing- it all enlivens your senses when you walk in the door of Southern Sky. But the biggest impression from visiting our store is the hospitality. When you visit us, it’s like visiting family. True Texas Spirit. We are thrilled to be on Main Street in Buda’s Historic Downtown District- where you can experience a myriad of shopping experiences and so many great choices for bites to eat and cold drinks. We hope that Southern Sky becomes a destination. Where you come for a fun day of getting professionally fitted for your perfect hat- belly up to the Hat bar and see the magic come to life with customizing a hat to make it yours from branding and feathers to gorgeous fabrics and ribbons. In addition to the Hats and Jewelry, we carry other western inspired items such as Belts and buckles, Bolos, Wild rags and scarf slides and an impressive collection of Western outerwear. For us, being part of our Buda community is everything because this is where we live and are raising our family. We are already invested in this community and so opening Southern Sky has been so well received by so many people that we already know in Buda. The town is growing like crazy and we are truly excited for what the future holds.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ya know, for the most part we have had green lights the whole way through the process. There were some struggles along the way mainly with the building out of our store space- but I think that is very common. It’s never going to be 100% a smooth road. Bumpy roads are normal. Road Blocks are different. We never experiences road blocks- we truly had green lights.
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?
Our business is built on hospitality and helping you discover what looks great on you. Buying a hat from Southern Sky is not just grabbing a hat from the shelf to purchase. It’s an experience of fitting the hat to your individuality. Making sure the size is right and the shape is right all for your personal uniqueness. Then the fun part is custom styling it with hat bands, feathers or branding. Truly making it yours. When you purchase a hat from Southern Sky you also receive a lifelong partner for caring for your hat. If at anytime you want to have your hat re-shaped we are happy to do so. I think what sets us apart from others is we offer our services of hat shaping to anyone. If you have a hat that you didn’t buy from us- we will still service the hat for you at no cost. It’s just a service to the hat wearing community that we are happy and proud to offer. We have had many customers come in with hats that they wanted to give a new face to- with hat bands or custom styling and we are happy to give that service as well. We are proud to carry the top leading hat brands of Stetson, Resistol and Charlie 1 Horse. These brands are top quality hats that are known for longevity and stylish legendary designs. Our jewelry line is top quality, making use of Sterling Silver and 14k Gold filled chains, earrings, rings and bracelets. A lot of what you will see is designed with a southwestern inspiration. I love turquoise and source genuine real turquoise gemstones from mines in the United States. Southern Sky also offers simple jewelry repairs. It’s a case by case situation- some things we can repair and some we can’t but we are happy to take a look and see .
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
We took a huge risk in opening Southern Sky as a brick and mortar. We opened at a time of economic uncertainty and a time when we see many businesses closing. We questioned our decision to go forward with it. It seemed safe to just have a website and continue to sell my jewelry at vendor shows. Walking into the unknowns of opening a physical store and considering the what if scenarios definitely caused us to pause for a moment. In the end though, playing it safe would never allow us to see our dream come to fruition. The dream of Southern Sky not only coming to fruition but also of it being successful was too strong for us to not take the risk. So yes- t’s a financial risk, I would also say an emotional risk. You put everything on the line for a dream in hopes that it succeeds. The process of getting to a place of being successful takes an emotional tole as well. You have to be strong to ride the waves and that is not easy at times. To do anything great takes a risk. For us it was worth it for the possibilities and hopes we have for our future. Working to build your own dreams and have something to pass to our children is such meaningful work to us.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://southernskybuda.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southernskyjewelryandhats/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SouthernSkyJewelry.TX
