I am a stay-at-home mother of three wonderful children. My oldest will be 8 in June, her name is Grace, my middle little girl will be 5 next month, her name is Lilli, and our littlest is Leo, who turned two just after Christmas.
I was an elementary school teacher who taught kindergarten then third grade. once I had Grace, I wanted to be home more & chose to do private tutoring sessions in people's homes.
I enjoyed working with the children, seeing their confidence grow & becoming a part of their families. The driving & lesson planning started to take up more & more time as my clientele grew. By the time Lilli came along, I was also teaching individual & small reading groups at a charter school as well as the home sessions; this continued until late in my pregnancy with Leo.
I knew once the third baby arrived, I would have too much going on at home to give both tutoring & mothering my all. Grace was in kindergarten at this point, having playdates, school activities, & I wanted to volunteer in her class on a regular basis.
Being home more, I was getting a chance to work on more of my projects. I have always loved making & giving handmade gifts & I often search around to find new things to make. A while back I started to make earrings, necklaces, & bracelets for myself; many of these pieces were inspired by jewelry I would see on celebrities. I often received compliments on my creations; friends often said I should try to sell some of my various hobby creations. Since I have always been ultra-realistic & insecure, never thinking anyone would pay for something I made, I was reluctant to try.
Finally, in the fall of 2006, I decided it couldn't hurt to try & I started making a lot of jewelry. I threw a party at my house for some friends & neighbors to see what would happen. I figured worst case scenerio, I would have a fun gathering with people I enjoy; it turned out people bought things! Not only that but neighbors were stopping by to 'shop' at my house; looking at jewelry, key chains, & bookmarks to give as gifts to their friends & family.
I’m almost always wearing a piece of jewelry that celebrates my family; it’s become a sort of talisman for me, as well as many other moms I know. I realize everyone wants options; both so we don’t get bored & so our “talisman pieces” can mesh well with other jewelry we wear. This is why I work to create simple but distinctive sterling silver pieces at reasonable prices. I don’t want you to have to settle for just the mother’s necklace… you can spring for earrings or a bracelet too. I love working with a mom (or dad) to find inspiration; custom pieces are a special joy for me!
I love to create custom pieces for people that have special meaning & sentimental value. I make jewelry made from coins, stretched pennies, tokens, & I also have had people send or give me coins, pennies, or other souvenirs of theirs to create a one of a kind item they will treasure & pass on for years to come.
To read about my products that have been featured on some great parent and shopping sites recently, please click on the links below:
http://www.coolmompicks.com/2008/03/ohana_by_lea.php
http://www.theopinionatedparent.com/2008/04/28/ohanabylea/
http://www.wickedlychic.com/694/guest-quarters---lea-speake---april-24-2008
http://www.wickedlychic.com/696/indies-of-the-week-ohana-by-leajennifer-perez-designs---may-1-2008
Thank you for visiting and I invite you to take a look at my online shop on the BEST site ever, Etsy, where everything is handmade!
www.ohanabylea.etsy.com
