St. Charles North freshman's jewelry line is thriving
Ali Broshar has a bit of a dilemma.
Her days typically are spent filling orders for her custom bottle-cap jewelry, creating new inventory for the boutiques that carry her line and going through the process of getting it all trademarked - but only, of course, if she's finished her homework.
What's a 14-year-old entrepreneur to do?
Broshar, a freshman at St. Charles North High School, began making necklaces and rings out of bottle caps three years ago.
Her unique pieces caught the eye of Megan Hernandez, the owner of the St. Charles boutique Eliza Jane, who was shocked to learn Broshar had made the jewelry herself.
Broshar was only in seventh grade when she came into Eliza Jane one day wearing some of her bottle cap creations, and Hernandez asked to see more. The next day Broshar came in with more jewelry - and a business card. Eliza Jane now has an entire section devoted to Broshar's line, which has sold more than 330 units since January 2008.
"Making jewelry with bottle caps was just something I was experimenting with," Broshar said. "It was just something fun to do. If I had all the time in the world, I would just sit and draw designs for my line."
Eliza Jane has the largest inventory of Broshar's work, which has expanded to include items such as magnets and earrings. Prices range from $22 for a bottle-cap charm bracelet to $3 for bottle-cap magnets. The Denim Loft in Geneva also carries some of Broshar's creations.
"(Broshar's jewelry) is one of the best-selling lines we have in the store," Hernandez said. "We've moved her stuff to the front and center of the store."
Broshar, a self-described perfectionist, works out of a craft room in her house producing her cap creations. She orders the caps from an online supplier and usually scours the Internet for the images to scale down and affix to the inside of the caps.
Many of Broshar's pieces feature pictures of popular movies, singers and actors. Her work is particularly popular with the tween set, most likely because Broshar is one herself.
"If you look to see what's trendy today, Ali has got her finger on the pulse of it all," said Broshar's mother, Lori.
So what's hot? Well, according to Broshar, the teen pop group The Jonas Brothers is on its way out. The "Twilight" movie and book franchise are still going strong, and new singer Justin Bieber is on the rise.
Broshar also is working on a line of specialty caps called "Peace Popz" that feature her own artwork. Currently, she and her family are in the process of getting the "Peace Popz" line trademarked.
In addition to her business, Broshar plays tennis for her high school team and participates in community theater performances at the Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles. Broshar usually makes custom bottle-cap items for each show, donating the proceeds from sales back to the theater.
She does not have a Web site but accepts orders through her e-mail at aliscapcreations@gmail.com.
Though Broshar admits that sometimes the life of an enterprising jewelry maker can get a bit hectic, she doesn't want to stop working.
"I'd really like to do more, if I could," she said. "I've learned so much from working on my line, like how to manage my time. This has really been a fun experience."