Throwback Thursday: Old Interviews

Recently, tall and gorgeous Monica Stephenson of jewelry blog iDazzle reminded me of an interview she did with me in 2010. We agreed it held up pretty well, though it was amusing to see that I was just embarking on my post-swear-ring ring sets: LOL, OMG and NYC ring. Those ring sets were the first designs in my WENDYB by Wendy Brandes silver diffusion line, pre-dating all the emoji stud earrings and word necklaces. A lot has been added to the line since then!

Monica’s interview inspired me to look up some other old interviews for Throwback Thursday.

In 2007, Jennine Jacob of Independent Fashion Bloggers interviewed me just a few months after I started blogging. She asked how I’d gained a lot of followers in a short period of time. I answered:

“I’ve reached out to people by reading their blogs and leaving comments to let them know that their efforts are appreciated. My insomnia helps provide the many hours of free time needed to do this. I knew that sleeplessness would come in handy someday! Anyway, those bloggers tend to reciprocate. I’ve encountered a couple of bloggers who have complained that they were blogging furiously but getting no reaction. I’ve told them that they need to interact with other people to get readers. There’s nothing like starting your own business to make you realize that you can’t sit around and wait for an audience to come to you. You have to hunt people down and drag them back to your lair.”

I still say that interaction is everything no matter what you’re selling, but these days it goes down on Twitter and Instagram rather than blog comments.

In 2008, Mademoiselle Robot asked me which of my creations or accomplishments I was most proud of. I said:

“I’m proud that I continued my jewelry business on my own after my business partner died. She kept the information on our manufacturers secret from me, so I really had to start from scratch. The whole story is here. It took me about a year to rebuild, which I managed to do right on time for the global economy to go to hell in a handbasket. I plan to persevere once again. That’s all one can do, right?”

Still true!

And in 2011, You’re a Tulle asked me if the jewelry industry was as competitive as the clothing industry. My answer was:

“Yep! Every industry is competitive. And if you’re lucky enough to stumble upon an entirely new field where you have no competitors, you’re still going to encounter challenges. People might think they don’t need your new product.  It’s never smooth sailing. Remember, even Apple Computer was once on the verge of bankruptcy.”

Also still true.

You can read more of my online-only interviews here, though I really have to go through that page and delete links to defunct blogs. I keep procrastinating on that because it makes me miss all my old blogging buddies!