Courtesy of Agnes
Accessories designer Elizabeth Wahyu is a shining example of how success comes to those who work with passion and persistence.
Eight years ago Elizabeth - or Eliz - quit her position as director of her family-owned company to start a business from her hobby.
"At that time I was married and had one child, Emily," she says. "But I did not have time for my family because every day I had to go to and from the office, which was far away. I felt very tired and I didn't enjoy my life. I also didn't feel able to develop my potential to its fullest."
So Eliz, a marketing graduate from California's Loyola Marymount University school of international business, went back to her old hobby of making knickknacks.
Together with four friends, in 2001 she established Blueberry in Kemang, South Jakarta, offering courses making handicrafts from polymers, clay, patchwork, crochet and embroidery.
She loved teaching, and cut back on her office work, until she quit the company to manage Blueberry full-time.
"My decision was actually a bit of a desperate move," says Eliz, now 35. "My income from Blueberry was much smaller than my salary. But I knew it was the path I should take. I believe that if you follow the urgings of your soul the result is certain to be good."
With more time on her hands, Eliz starting learning how to make accessories, driven by her difficulty in finding the sort of jewelry she wanted. What started as a fun pastime became an obsession, and she added lessons in accessories design to Blueberry's program.
"To attract potential applicants' interest, I displayed samples of my accessories next to the cashier's counter. But instead of enrolling in the course, they just bought my accessories until they sold out," says Eliz. "Finally I thought: Why not just make and sell accessories? After all, I am happy doing this."
So 2002 saw the birth of Elizabeth Wahyu Accessories, a small boutique next to Blueberry. As word spread, the orders came pouring in. Overwhelmed, Eliz relinquished ownership of Blueberry the following year.
Of course, it was not all smooth sailing - one Jakarta department store rejected her pieces on the grounds they did not follow market tastes - but her distinctive designs became the foundation of her success. Her pieces, characterized by their use of semiprecious stones, crystals and pearls linked using complex wire ties, came to be considered exclusive and sophisticated - and in demand. Jakarta's socialites came in crowds to buy jewelry.
By 2004, Eliz's reputation had grown to the point that Swarovski, the famous Austrian crystal company, took an interest, and commissioned Eliz to design accessories using Swarovski crystals. The result was a cuff and vest set themed "Batik Glam".
Impressed, Swarovski invited her to join them at the Hong Kong Jewellery Exhibition in 2004; a year later, she was appointed a partner in Crystallized Components by Swarovski.
"For me, that appointment went far beyond any other form of promotion. To be a partner means that we're not just an ordinary business but we are backed by the guaranteed quality of Swarovski," says Eliz, who buys stones from Thailand and China to get unusual shapes and colors.
Eliz's confidence, and business, grew. Her husband, Ricky Leon, got involved to handle the company's finances, and in 2006, they decided to target the overseas markets.
"Paying our own expenses, we went to America, Japan, Korea and Dubai to stage exhibitions," Eliz says.
At an exhibition in Las Vegas, Eliz's work attracted a buyer from Japan, resulting in large orders. She has since sent more than 2,000 pieces every season (approximately once every three months).
"My buyer said that the Japanese were delighted with our designs," she says. "I don't know why exactly. Maybe because the shapes and colors match."
She was later selected as one of 40 designers in the world to donate work for a do-it-yourself book about designs using crystals. The book, translated into 20 languages, confirmed her position as a respected accessories designer.
She succeeded in penetrating the US market, for which she had to appoint a quality control and certification officer from the buyer's company to oversee the work.
Eliz now has 10 permanent assistants and 60 part-time assistants, all of who are women. But the designs are one thing Eliz always does herself, as many of her customers know when a design has not come directly from her hand, something she finds surprising.
In addition to the Kemang boutique, Eliz has opened a boutique in Palembang, South Sumatra. Shoppers can also buy online at www.elizabethwahyu.com.
"We have deliberately not opened many outlets, because we are more focused on exports," she says. "For the domestic market we have the online shop."
The online shop saves customers time, she says, and "people no longer find it difficult to visualize themselves wearing something when they look at the accessories on a computer screen."
Selling online also reduces costs meaning "we can sell the accessories at a reasonable price". Prices range from Rp 50,000 (US$5.00) for simple earrings, to millions of rupiah for more elaborate pieces.
As she uses hard-to-get materials, and puts out more than 2,000 designs a year, Eliz is not concerned about people copying her designs.
But how is she so productive?
"I am very disciplined in using my time and I never depend on my mood," she says. "There are times when I've been saturated with work when I'm working on designs that will not come together, so then I do something else, and then go back to the other tasks.
"Music also has a role in helping me to control my mood. When I'm working I like to listen to soft instrumental music," she says, and adds with a chuckle, "Imagine how from that feeling of calm my concentration is suddenly shattered when my daughter comes in and puts on the Changcuters!"
