These days, Sara and Josh Radginski’s dining room isn’t just a place to share a meal—it’s also the headquarters of their small business, Drops of Joy Jewelry.
The jewelry, designed and hand-stamped by Sara, incorporates the use of essential oils—plant extract used for aromatherapy and perfume. Leather dots included with each piece (inside the diffuser locket, at the back of the neck, etc.) draw in an oil of the buyer’s choice or the sample oil included with the purchase.
Sara says customers shop for the stylish use of essential oils, but many shop just for the unique, customizable jewelry. “We want to inspire them,” Sarah says. Each piece can be tailored to the customer’s preference, from the length of the chain to the words stamped on the pendant.
The husband-wife team officially launched Drops of Joy in November of 2014. The pair, who met in their high school marching band, eventually turned a brainstorming session and their interest in essential oils into a full-blown business.
“We started talking and realized we could do it all ourselves and have control over it,” Sara says. “We just took off with it.”
Josh, a computer programmer, hand-coded the Drops of Joy website while Sara, previously a high school math teacher, took on the creative duties. The rest they learned on the job.
A few Drops of Joy products are available in one store in Ellisville, and Sara says many nutrition and health stores have expressed interest. They’re also announcing their new fall collection next week.
Sara says the new collection has “a little bit of everything.” She lists more beadwork, more gold, lava beads, and leather wrap bracelets as items to look out for. They’ve also revamped current items, which include locket necklaces and beaded bracelets.
“We have big plans for the future,” Sara says. “But we’re taking it slow.”
And they have to. Sara and Josh are doing everything out of their dining room, from punching the non-toxic leather dots to stamping the buyer’s customized word or phrase onto the jewelry. But they might have a few tiny-handed helpers along the way.
“My son, Luke, likes to sit down with me,” Sara says with a laugh. “The other day I was teaching him how to thread the beads into elastic.”
Along with their four-year-old, Sara and Josh also have two-year-old twin girls, Emma and Carly. Their daughters were a part of the inspiration to donate $2 of every Drops of Joy purchase to St. Jude’s Hospital. The girls were born two months early and placed in the NICU at Mercy Hospital.
“We wanted to touch on something bigger,” Sara says of their charity work. “It’s a great hospital, and they do a lot of good work.”
Throughout their time running Drops of Joy, Sara says it’s been a worthwhile learning experience. With essential oils becoming more mainstream, Sara and Josh hope to grow Drops of Joy. A future storefront isn’t out of the question. But for now, she says an office space would be just fine.
“It would be nice to have our dining room back.”
