Opaque beads and translucent wire merge together as Markayla Bridges (9) completes yet another of her original bracelets. Bridges is an up-and-coming entrepreneur beginning to run her jewelry business, Sincerely Yours.

Bridges has had a fascination with bracelets for years. During the summer of YEAR, she became inspired to make her own bracelets so that she could design them whatever way she liked, which led to her making bracelets for her friends as well.

“She’s always loved jewelry, loved bracelets and stuff,” Destiny Davenport (9) said. “Like, even in middle school when she had bracelets she would give them to me because she had so many, so eventually she just didn’t want to keep buying bracelets and so she started making her own, and the bracelets she makes now are made the same way as the ones she used to wear in middle school.”

Bridges was in Kingston Davidson’s first period class, and after his passing she began making bracelets of his two favorite colors, blue and green, to gift to her classmates. 

“Her bracelets in particular, they were crafted a certain way, the colors were evened out,” Davenport said. “They remind me of him. Anytime I see those colors they remind me of him because they were his favorites … for her to actually look at me and think, ‘Hey I’m going to make these for Destiny, I know she’s having a hard time right now’, it meant a lot.”

Since Bridges jump-started her business during the summer, she has expanded her products. Though she primarily focuses on bracelets, she has started to make prototypes for earrings and other accessories. Bridges receives feedback from her mother and her little sister on how to improve her work.

“It was cool seeing her start something that she’s passionate about and something that she loves to do when she can make cute things and accessorize herself and her friends and family,” Lia Turner (9) said. 

Bridges has used her passions and opportunities to grow as an entrepreneur and become more comfortable communicating with others on the means of business. Though friends of Bridges may describe her as introverted, she has been able to break out of her shell through her involvement with Sincerely Yours.

“She’s told me that it’s new for her, but she really likes it,” Davenport said. “So it’s like, watching someone start their own business, it’s really cool. Because I have a lot of friends and family members who are entrepreneurs, but watching her it’s like she was kind of nervous at first — [Bridges] is very introverted — but watching her kind of open up to make these and try to sell them and stuff is being really eye-opening.”

As Bridges becomes more familiar with the process of making her new products like waist beads and earrings, she hopes to continue to grow as a businesswoman and as an artisan. Bridges encourages many of her friends to help with promotion through her Instagram: @sincerelyyours.1.

“I hope to get bigger and make sure everybody knows my name,” Bridges said.