Meet Jacquelyn Tugwell and Elizabeth White | sisters, owners and designers at Twine & Twig

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jacquelyn Tugwell and Elizabeth White and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jacquelyn Tugwell, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Elizabeth and I have now been in business for over a decade. For at least the first 5 years we had our hand in everything, which meant round the clock hours, ups and downs, hard lessons learned and periods of burn out. It took coaching, wise words, podcast and other valuable opinions for us to slowly step back and let others help more and more. Learning to delegate is a powerful tool for entrepreneurs and finding the right people to surround yourself with is even more important. As you take things off your plate, it gives more room and time to find a better work life balance. More carpools. More uninterrupted family dinners. More snuggles with the kids. More reading for pleasure. More yoga. Just more! Learning that you do not have to do it all!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Twine & Twig is a story of an organic beginning, a sister duo with growth and giving back. As with a lot of small businesses, we started by accident, had no experience in jewelry making or business and have grown this company year after year learning so much as we go.The story behind our start is a sweet one, my daughter Banks was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was 2. During that time, my sister kept me distracted by stringing beads and creating. What we designed was something completely unique and original, which is what we credit to the quick demand that followed. We both loved the idea of a statement piece, but found that what was available on the market usually involved shiny, metal, rhinestone, costumey jewelry. We wanted a raw, organic, natural feeling piece that we could throw on with jeans and a t-shirt or a dress and have it still be the wow piece that could transform your style. We tied our strung beads onto a suede strap for comfort and this became the recognizable trademark of Twine & Twig.

The ball started rolling fast, we had stores reaching out and had to google how to create a “line sheet”. We hosted one trunk show where we invited friends, who invited friends and before we knew it we had sold out of 200 necklaces in 2 hours. The demand was literally bigger than the rate at which we could make the necklaces. We were two mothers (7 kids between us) who were designing and creating while our husbands watched the kids and our mom did coffee runs.

Fast forward 8 years and we are in over 100+ stores across the US but our main driver is our website. We have had some pinch me press moments including Garden + Gun, Vogue, Southern Living and many others seen here https://www.twineandtwigstyle.com/pages/press.

We hand craft everything in our Charlotte, NC studio alongside our team of 7 amazing women. We cut down and stitch our suede straps, we string every bead onto thread and we burn our brand into every strap – it is a labor of LOVE.

After being in business for 10 years there are so many things we have learned along the way…but one of the biggest ones is that you have to have passion for what you are doing. Passion is the driving force behind a small business!

To our followers and fans: all we want is to create something that makes you feel special. That is the highlight of the job for us, being told by customers that wherever they go people comment on their jewelry. We have worked hard to create a product that is unlike anything on the market, it is like a true work of art!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Favorite Restaurants: SoulGastrolounge (reopening soon), Stagioni, Custom Shop, Puerta, Supperland, Menya + Omakase in the back Favorite spot to check out: Whitewater Center, Camp Northend, concerts at the uptown amphitheater, E Bike on the Greenway, check out a Charlotte FC soccer game
Favorite spot to grab a drink: Resident Culture, Humbug, The Crunkleton, Bar a Vins

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?
Our family and friends deserve the shout out. For 10 years we have been surrounded by a village of people willing to step up and help in so many ways. In the beginning, coffee runs for all nighters. Picking up the kids from daycare. Help stringing beads. Listening ears and helpful advice. It is amazing what you can accomplish when you know that someone has your back!

Website: https://www.twineandtwigstyle.com/

Instagram: @twineandtwigstyle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twineandtwig