Violet Ko is crafting accessories for a cause.
The fourth-year psychobiology student said she found a creative and philanthropic outlet in her Etsy shop Tolevi, where she sells handmade jewelry and donates all of her profits to charity. In the midst of the pandemic, Ko said she started her business by making and selling earrings in support of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Not only was it an opportunity to give back, but it was also a way for Ko to follow her artistic impulses, she said.
“Even drawing as a kid or making ceramics was a really huge hobby of mine,” Ko said. “It gives me a lot of peace and comfort. It’s a way for me to find a stress relief outlet.”
Throughout her life, Ko said she has been interested in arts and crafts, especially ceramics. Her favorite jewelry pieces to make are earrings, which she said involve cutting, coating and adhering polymer clay to resemble a quartz stone. Fall graduate and Ko’s roommate Joy Liu said Ko started Tolevi by making earrings but has since expanded to beaded rings and necklaces as the business has grown. As both a friend of Ko’s and an admirer of her creativity, Liu said she has supported Tolevi by purchasing and promoting products.
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Aesthetically, Ko said she draws inspiration for new designs by looking at pieces that she might enjoy accessorizing. Erin Kwak, a fourth-year applied linguistics student and another roommate of Ko, said they also play a role in her creative process by providing stylistic guidance. Namely, Kwak said they recently made suggestions on necklace length and bead colors. By remaining true to her own taste while also taking Kwak’s advice, Ko said she is able to fashion new designs that appeal to a wide range of people.
“They are my style, in a sense, because I don’t think I would sell something that I wouldn’t personally wear myself,” Ko said.
To craft her products, Ko said she sources materials like custom molds and metal supplies from other Etsy shops. She said she also frequents Beads Beads, a small jewelry store in her hometown of Orange County. Owning a small business encouraged Ko to support other entrepreneurs like herself, she said. By reinvesting in her community, Ko said she was also sourcing from shops with one-of-a-kind jewelry supplies.
As for her philanthropic work, Ko said her Etsy store first began donating 50% of profits to charity, whereas now, she is donating 100%. Moreover, as a pre-med student pursuing a career in community medicine, Ko said she wanted to use her small business to support a cause personal to her. In the past, Ko said she volunteered to provide underserved communities with medical assistance. Now, Ko is donating her jewelry-making profits to the National Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, she said.
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Furthermore, Ko also supports organizations based on their relation to certain products. For instance, Ko said she donates the profits from her seashell earrings to Oceana, a nonprofit dedicated to ocean conservation. Additionally, Ko has sold plants with her mother to raise money for the Rainforest Alliance, she said.
Throughout her journey with Tolevi, Ko said she has gained relevant experience with social outreach, public relations and advertisement. Understanding which items sell and which don’t, learning how to be resourceful and investing in professional packaging are each essential to building her nonprofit, she said. Ko added that she has also attracted a larger clientele by posting videos of her jewelry with popular audios on Instagram. A three-second clip showcasing her seashell earrings as the song “Dancing in the Moonlight” by Darcy Stokes plays became Ko’s most circulated video, amassing 60,000 views.
In the future, Ko said she looks forward to dedicating more time to Tolevi and honing her philanthropic mission. Creating a separate website, building a larger social media platform and increasing content output are each goals Ko intends to achieve once she graduates, she said. She also plans on holding a charity event in which people receive an item from Tolevi in exchange for a donation to an organization of their choice, she said. In the same way she chose to support the NAFC because of her individual interest in community health care, Ko said she wants to provide others with the opportunity to raise money for a cause they are passionate about.
“I wanted to … give people the chance to donate to charity and go forward with that kind of activism,” Ko said. “I know that other people have various interests and causes that they might want to donate to.”
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