Kate Freeman of Encirkled Jewelry

1: What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage it?

I think my greatest fear is not seeing things through and not living to my full potential, whether that’s as a mom, as a wife, or as a business owner. I’ve always set big goals for myself and I’m afraid of failure. But I manage that fear by turning it into motivation.

I’m always asking myself how I can innovate and what is the next big thing I want to do? I use that fear of failure to fuel my creative energy, and then I put that energy and effort back into my business.

I’m always asking myself how I can innovate and what is the next big thing I want to do? I use that fear of failure to fuel my creative energy, and then I put that energy and effort back into my business. I always try to channel my fear into something positive.

2: How do you define success?

I’m definitely someone who is economically motivated. I like to make money, and I think a lot of women have a problem saying that. I love selling, I love marketing, and I love getting our product out into the world. It feels very taboo for women to talk about money as motivation, and I think that’s a problem. There's no qualms with men talking about making money, and as women I think we downplay that part of our success stories. But ultimately I think every business needs to be about economics to some degree, because if it's not at least self-sustaining or growing, a business can’t exist.

Of course, success isn’t just about money for me. I love creating something that I'm proud of and that our team is proud of. But I think both of those go hand in hand. I don't want to shy away from the fact that I am focused on economics because it's a business and I'm investing a lot of my time into something that I want to be sustainable and continue to grow.

3: Who are your real-life heroes?

My number one is my husband who is so supportive of everything that I want to do, including my business. He's also shown me what it is to stay committed to a marriage - we've been married almost 16 years. My team also, they’re my heroes because they really have embraced this business as their own. That’s not something you can teach, and it’s honestly rare to find, so I’m so appreciative of that. I guess you could say my heroes are my support system in general, they motivate me and success wouldn’t be the same without them.

4: What is the best gift you've given yourself?

I would say the best gift I've given myself is the permission to change. I’ve definitely made mistakes. I started out life as one kind of mother, then evolved into another kind of mother. I started out my career as a lawyer and then became a small business owner. You know, it took me a while to even embrace saying jewelry designer. And I think that's very emblematic of the hesitation that we as women feel in defining our roles in life.

We're not only wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters, but we're also our own person and we can create these other paths and roles for ourselves. So that permission to change and grow was a big step for me.

We're not only wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters, but we're also our own person and we can create these other paths and roles for ourselves. So that permission to change and grow was a big step for me.

The best material, and certainly most expensive gift I ever got myself was a diamond solitaire necklace. I got it when Encirkled was doing really well, and it means a lot to me. When I wear it, I feel very empowered as a person. Jewelry is another form of self expression. But the best thing about jewelry is that it doesn’t matter what clothing you’re wearing, whether it’s a t-shirt or a ball gown, jewelry just makes you feel more elevated, and more put together.

5: What was the last win you celebrated?

The biggest win I’ve had fairly recently is setting boundaries between my personal life and my professional life. When I first started my business I was working around the clock and I had to work really hard to not ignore my personal life. On the one hand I would worry that I was missing out on sales but on the other hand I knew I had to create something sustainable, not just economically, but for myself as a human. This required implementing new ways to stay organized in business and my personal life, and those things didn’t come naturally to me. Even simple things like color coded calendars. It also required putting trust in my team and having more faith in my husband - allowing them to support me.

Celebrating, especially as women, feels like bragging, and bragging isn’t something women were raised to do.... I know I'm speaking in very broad generalizations, but I do think it's hard for women to brag, like it feels wrong. And it shouldn’t feel that way. 

I will admit though, it's really hard for me to celebrate the wins, which is something I've been working on. Celebrating, especially as women, feels like bragging, and bragging isn’t something women were raised to do. It doesn’t feel like something we’re supposed to do, and I hate that. Where men are celebrated often for their financial successes and when they get promotions. I know I'm speaking in very broad generalizations, but I do think it's hard for women to brag, like it feels wrong. And it shouldn’t feel that way. We should be able to say “yes, my business is financially successful” without feeling like we're going to alienate other people by saying it.

About Encirkled Jewelry:

Born from a bracelet-making kit and an influx of custom requests, Encirkled Jewelry was started by former corporate lawyer Kate Freeman during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the team handcrafts bold stackable jewelry pieces using colorful semi-precious gemstones, and vintage 14-karat gold in their Connecticut-based studio. Encirkled Jewelry collections combine modern shapes, materials, and textures, ensuring each necklace is unique–just like its wearer.

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