We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Polizzano and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind my business and brand is my daughter. When I started my business, it was a hobby. I had to resign from my job during the first few weeks of the pandemic in order to take care of my daughter who was now going to be home from school. I have always been a creative person, and making custom tumblers has been a way for me to really express my creativity. My daughter has always been an inspiration to me, simply for the fact that she walks to the beat of her own drum. She doesn’t ever try to “fit in” or keep up with trends, and one day it dawned on me that I didn’t have to either with my business. I was able to pave my way in the tumbler community by simply walking to the beat of my own drum. I find something so pleasing about being able to help a fellow crafter think “ I would have never thought of that” or “you inspired me to create this”. I factor my daughter to being behind my success, because without her, I would have never taken the leap to start a business doing what brings me so much happiness.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am known for my horror designs in the tumbler world. I have been able to find my niche and stick with it. I can take a “trend” that is happening with tumbler designs and turn it into something horror related, and show people that Halloween isn’t just once a year. I have been able to really utilize my social media accounts to gain momentum. Being a content creator on top of a tumbler maker is not easy! I always laught that I make the worst edited videos, but I have the most sweetest and loyal followers who would never tell me they stink! I’ve been really working on my editing skills to make it more pleasing for my audience. I have used my social media accounts to gain such a following and created interest in people learning from me. I have created a private mentorship group where I go live and teach my members how to create my designs and have a safe place to share and get creative together! I am also in the process of launching my own brand of alcohol inks, which are inks we use to create some of our designs. They are also used widely thru out the art world, so I am excited to be a part of some ones creations!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in New Jersey, right outside of NYC and there is so much to do here! I love hosting and entertaining, and the first stop would be my favorite restaurants near me! We would spend time seeing so many great landmarks, if it was summertime I would take them to the infamous Jersey Shore! Night time in Times Square is definitely a must as well! There so much culture and life in the NJ/NY area that we would be able to have a week filled with excitement and great food. Every morning we would start it off with a Taylor Ham and Cheese on and everything bagel!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I was able to make some amazing friends in this community and am so grateful for them. When I first started, Facebook support groups for Tumbler Makers were sometimes a little intimidating. I was able to find a small group, that basically taught me all the basics I needed to know. From there, some of my best friendships have blossomed. I have the best group of friends, and without them, I would have definitely given up so many times! We are able to show that we are the Community over Competition, and if one is thriving, we are all thriving! For them, I am forever grateful.

Website: Www.jennscraftedgems.com

Instagram: Jennscraftedgems

Other: Tim Tok – Jennscraftedgems (highest amount of followers)

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutDFW is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.