MEET THE JEWELRY DESIGNER WITH BOUNDLESS AMBITION TO MAKE THE WORLD BRIGHTER!
Elise Park’s personality is as vibrant as her jewelry. At just 11 years old, the Buckhead based bracelet designer has already built a business from the ground up, one seed bead at a time. What started as a hobby when she was 6 has blossomed into a thriving venture, complete with a soon-to-launch website, a signature style she describes as “fun and colorful,” and a philanthropic mission she takes seriously.
Park didn’t set out to build a business, but it’s no surprise that it came as a natural transition. Her mom, Alice, is an accomplished photographer and entrepreneur behind Creativity Camp, a summer program that uses hands-on classes to build confidence, courage and a do-it-yourself spirit in kids. After watching and participating in one of her mom’s week-long camps, something clicked for Park. She went home, got more beads and started stringing.
Over time, her designs grew more intricate, graduating from basic strands to creations made with tiny seed beads and metallic accents. “My bracelets got more advanced and had more detail on them,” Park says. By age 8, she was ready to sell. Her first shot came at one of her mom’s events, and it went well enough to convince her to keep at it. Now she’s armed with a bead spinner that lets her finish a bracelet in just about five minutes, which is ideal for a kid like Park who bounces between school, social time with friends and nightly practice for competitive gymnastics.
Her creative process is simple because she sees inspiration everywhere. She remembers walking through the mall with her mom, looking around and thinking, “I want to build a brand like Tory Burch or Chanel. That’s so cool.” She finds spending time on Pinterest especially helpful, but she rarely ends there. She’ll spot something she likes, then rework it in her own colors and aesthetic or skip the reference altogether. “Most of the time I just think about it, and then I just do it,” she says. It’s a philosophy that should take her far and well beyond jewelry.
From the beginning, Park decided her business would do more than just sell bracelets, so a portion of every sale goes to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “I chose St. Jude because I feel like the people who are there need money, and I want to help them,” she says. At 11 years old, she’s committed to doing good for others and making it an integral part of doing business without any expectations of praise, power or personal gain.
Ask Park where she sees her business in a year, and she doesn’t hesitate. She envisions more sales, more production time and more bracelets. But her thinking doesn’t stop there. Long-term, she’s already considering what it would look like to scale her production, potentially moving away from handmaking every piece to manufacturing once demand grows. “I hope it gets really, really big,” Park says. For a kid balancing academics, extracurriculars and a growing business, that kind of forward thinking feels less like a dream and more like a plan.
@misselisepark
PHOTO: Erik Meadows
