It all started the summer before freshman year, when Jordan Wade and her mom were looking for an art project to fill the day. They decided to head to Michaels, and after circling the store for a little bit, they found themselves in an aisle filled with small rounded beads. They decided to make necklaces with these beads, so they bought the beads and other materials necessary to do so. Little did Jordan know, but it was in that moment that her life would be changed forever.

Simple Strings, a jewelry business run by senior Jordan Wade, has grown in popularity over the past three years, within the Upper School and the larger Westchester community. You don’t have to look far to see some of her creations, whether it be a pair of earrings on the ears of upper school girls or the beaded choker-like necklaces she made for some of the girls at Irvington High School. She has been making these “Simple Strings”, since her freshman year and her passion has resulted in success.

Even though Jordan made necklaces before starting her business, the demand for her creations started during her sophomore year, when her friends started asking for them. After that, friends of friends started asking, indicating the opportunity to turn her hobby into a business. “I realized that a lot people wanted to buy it and it was so fun to make, that I couldn’t just keep these necklaces to myself,” Jordan said.

What started as a simple summer pass time turned into a business, showing how artists can take their creations and profit off them in a meaningful way. Even though Jordan has experienced a lot of success, she still stays true to the art by investing time in finding new creations to make. She spent this past summer in a jewelry studio working with metal jewelry, giving her the ability to refine her craft. She’s constantly finding new things to make in order to keep up the demand for product. Most of her advertising is done through social media.

Instagram plays a huge role in Jordan’s ability to make a profit. Her routine consists of posting photos of her products every so often, and then her followers see them and request products. Customers order jewelry through the Instagram Direct Message feature. She fills orders mostly on weekends but most of her work is done during the summer when she has more time. Jordan works to manage senior year stress with her business by not over-committing,

“I’m very honest with people who buy necklaces and tell them [if i have a lot of school work], I will make it over the weekend,” she explained.

Jordan believes Instagram plays a large role in the success of her business. She follows people from outside of the Hackley community and has the ability to take orders from people she doesn’t even know. Jordan anticipates continuing her business after graduation.

“I definitely want to do it through college and it’s a really easy way to show school spirit,” she said.

While the profit she makes off the jewelry is a plus, her passion comes down to her ability to create art and share it with others. She loves the idea of being able to spread her creations within her community and others. “It’s a really fun thing…[especially] seeing something that you made on a bunch of other girls at school… [it’s] a really proud moment for me,” Jordan said.