Jul 28, 2021
My guest today is Haley Jaeger, founder and designer of Atonement Design. Haley has been a designer since she was a child and is a dear friend of mine.
Whether it was clothing, jewelry, or decor, Haley was engulfed in creativity. As her skills evolved, she gravitated towards pairing an artistic eye with partnerships with talented artisans across the globe, and the concept for Atonement Design was born.
3:43 – Haley 101
- She’s a northern California girl and lives in wine country. She and her husband are very passionate about sustainability.
- She has an online boutique.
6:01 – Her journey to sustainability
- Haley says she was naïve in high school and thought it would be easy to have a boutique that focused on fair trade and artisan made items.
- She fell in love with the concept of fair trade and enjoyed partnering with artisans.
- Designing clothes and jewelry has always been her creative outlet and helped her after her dad died.
11:04 – Atonement Design
- Haley was trying to figure out what direction she wanted to go and thought about being a full-time missionary or working in ministry.
- She felt like the Lord was encouraging her to be a light to people in the design industry.
- While reading the Bible, the word “atonement” kept coming up, so she decided to name her company after that.
17:01 – Growing her company
- She started making jewelry and selling it to friends, but she wanted to grow even more.
- Education, delegating and therapy have been crucial to her success.
25:20 – Pivoting in a pandemic
- Despite the pandemic, Haley has been able to grow her business online, and she learned how to market to her customers.
- She started selling her jewelry in a Facebook group and hired her first assistant to help pack orders.
30:49 – Get to know you
- Favorite song to sing? Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together”
- Favorite meal? Gyro tacos
FEATURED QUOTES
I think that’s how my business has grown – is just going to counseling and figuring out my stuff and figuring out all the barriers. – Haley
How I’ve grown has just been little steps. – Haley
I was doing a lot of in-person events and not as many online sales. When COVID shut things down … I had to do all online and discovered that I do have customers there.
CONNECT:
ABOUT HALEY:
Haley Jaeger is the founder and designer of the socially conscious lifestyle brand, Atonement Design. She has been a designer since she was a child- whether it was clothing, jewelry, or decor, she was engulfed in creativity. As her skills evolved, she gravitated towards pairing an artistic eye with partnerships with talented artisans across the globe, and the concept for Atonement Design was born.
After receiving her B.S. in Business Management with a focus on non-profit organizations and entrepreneurship, she worked in sales, marketing, and accounting before taking the leap into full-time entrepreneurship and focusing fully on Atonement Design in 2020
Haley loves bulldogs, french fries, and crafts. When she's not working, you can usually find her wine tasting around her Sonoma County home, playing cribbage with her husband at their favorite brewery, or at game night with her girlfriends.
THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS:
Ready to ditch the bleach forever but can't find a bleach alternative that actually works? You've got to meet this Extra Strength Oxygen Powder by MamaSuds. It launches July 15th and I've had the chance to try it out early and I love it so much! It really tackles the dirt and odor in our clothes. And as usual there are multiple uses for this new product. Not only is it a laundry booster and stain remover, but it's a great scouring agent on any non-porous surface. If you head to their website and sign up for their email list you'll get an email with an early bird special coupon when oxygen powder launches PLUS use discount code MOLLY and get an EXTRA 15% off! www.mamasuds.com
----
Speaking of stories behind brands that change the world, I’d like to introduce you to Deux Mains. In French, Deux Mains means two hands. Why ‘two-hands’? Because everything they create is made by trained artisans who use their two hands to make their life better while crafting beautiful products.
Truly, this is a company that set out to change lives and make a positive impact in the world. It started when the founder, Julie, wanted to create dignified jobs in Haiti, a place she was growing to love, and that was exploding with creativity. She wanted to share this talent with the world.
Julie set up an educational program to train people with artisan skills and then went on to build a factory that operates on 100% solar energy. Deux Mains now employs more than 40 artisans that handcraft premium leather goods, jewelry and sandals. Their lives are forever changed by their craft.
What’s also cool is their products incorporate an eco-friendly twist, working with responsibly sourced materials and repurposed inner-tube and tires in their designs.
When you buy from Deux Mains, you get to be part of a movement that is making a difference in the world, while adding an incredibly well-made piece to your closet that supports conscious living!
You can discover their products online at deuxmains.com and use code MOLLY for 15% off!