El Paso Mother Turns Passion For Jewelry Into Business

El Paso Times:

A childhood interest has blossomed into an international business for Dora Barragan, 30, owner of Wicked Gems, a thriving jewelry business.

“I’ve always dabbled with jewelry making,” Barragan said. “I started in Girl Scouts when I was a little girl, and from there it’s kind of been a love of mine.”

Barragan, a self-taught artist, was further encouraged to begin her business by a friend’s enthusiasm after Barragan handcrafted earrings for her birthday.

Since then she has used the Internet to increase her business and hosts several Web sites to market Wicked Gems. Barragan said that in addition to shipping products in the U.S., she sends items to Australia, France, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

“That’s really cool, especially when I do something overseas because my stuff is getting out there,” Barragan said. “At some points, it’s like, ‘Wow, this is really kind of crazy that I’m doing this.’ ”

Barragan markets her jewelry locally at art shows with help from her business associate Imelda Correa, who she said has been a “very valuable asset.” Barragan also uses self-promotion.

“When I leave my house, I always make sure that I wear at least one piece of my jewelry,” she said. “People are very interested in things that are different or unique, so I do have a lot of people asking me on a pretty regular basis, ‘Ooh, where did you get that,’ or ‘Aah, that’s really neat.’ At that point, I’ll be like, ‘Oh, here’s my card. I actually made this myself.’ ”

Those oohs and aahs may be well-founded when a closer look at Barragan’s pieces — inspired by her personal interests — reveals hand-sculpted pieces created with materials such as Swarovski crystals, Czech glass beads, mica pigment powder, 24-karat gold leafing, semiprecious stones and polymer clay.