Photo courtesy of Erin Quigley
MALACHI WHITE | STAFF REPORTER | mrwhite1@butler.edu
This is the latest installment of our Bulldog of Butler series, which is a short interview with someone to get to know more about them. We hope to highlight more and more people on this campus. Go to our website to read more stories about your fellow Dawgs.
Erin Quigley is a senior dance pedagogy major at Butler. She is the founder of her jewelry business DecaDesign, and offers free shipping for all current Butler students. Follow her on Instagram @decadesignco, email her at decadesignco@gmail.com, or visit her page on Etsy.
The Butler Collegian: What is DecaDesign?
Erin Quigley: It’s a jewelry business that I started over the summer. I was making jewelry for myself and wearing it in ballet class and just around campus, and people had started asking me about it. And over the summer I had posted a number of things I was making on my Snapchat, and people started asking me how they could buy it. So, I was like, “Well I might as well make an Etsy and start selling it.”
TBC: How did you get into making jewelry and starting this business?
EQ: My mom makes jewelry so when I was really little she taught me and my siblings how to do the basics: putting the beads on a little stretchy string. When I was older and in high school, she taught me how to do more complicated things with the wire, and then I taught myself how to do the rest. You can a learn a lot from YouTube and tutorials on Pinterest. We’ve played around a lot, with trial and error and experimentation with new things.
TBC: What kind of jewelry and other products do you sell?
EQ: I do mostly earrings. I have some rings, too. I haven’t done a lot of necklaces, but the majority of my products are earrings, rings and bracelets. I’m working on branching out into making bracelets and making some rings for guys. A couple of guys have bought some of my tiny triangle earrings.”
TBC: How has Butler helped build your brand and product?
EQ: Actually, the dancers from Butler Ballet have been some of my biggest customers. Everyone has been super supportive, and people would just stop by my house sometimes to look at my jewelry. Definitely having so many people my age around me, and so many girls around me. It’s easy to build a customer base because of all the students. Everyone is so excited to help their peers. It’s been a lot of fun.
