We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristin Hardin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristin, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process for Mended was providing a service for where I grew up and surrounding counties and where we currently call home, to make permanent jewelry or custom jewelry affordable so everyone can enjoy it. I also needed the flexibility to make my own schedule due to being diagnosed with Menieres Disease and needed a way to afford treatment options. They do not know the cause of Menieres so insurance wont cover all treatments or even my medication I take 3x a day to prevent debilitating vertigo. Mended has far surpassed my expectations and I am now taking metalsmithing courses to learn even more about jewelry and offering so many options for my guests!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Growing up my Grammy wore the most beautiful jewelry. For special occasions she would gift my sisters and I with earrings, a bracelet and that’s where jewelry first became a thing for me. My friend in elementary wore these gold bangles, she would tell me all the girls in her family wore them and how special they were and I needed special bangles as well! I always associated my good days, bad days with what piece of jewelry I wore and on what hand etc.. or I would wear the jewelry until it fell off or got misplaced. When I came across permanent jewelry I was hooked, jewelry you can wear and don’t have to remove?! It was exactly what I needed. At the time the only place I could find offering permanent jewelry was in Austin and people were waiting 3+ hours in line for a bracelet. It wasn’t a option for me at the time due to my vestibular disorder and Austin being 4+ hours away. A few months went by and I came across a boutique having a pop up in another state and thats when it hit me, I needed to start my own jewelry business and within 15 minutes the name came to me and I started researching everything I could find about welding, jewelry making, materials etc. I told my husband about it the next day and he said “Now dont go jumping into anything” but I knew in my gut this was the pivot I needed in my life in order to provide for myself and my family. I was transitioning from cleaning houses that was making my condition worse to ordering supplies any chance I could. I saw a local brewery post about a Market opportunity and immediately emailed them about joining and I was booked for my first pop up (after a few pop ups practicing on family). I hit the ground running and never looked back! It hasn’t always been easy, sometimes you can have 3 people show up to a pop-up or 40, you never know what to expect but I’ve found that being consistent and providing the best materials and environment for my guests while supporting other local businesses, always evolving is what works for me! I want my guests to know it isn’t just permanent jewelry, everyone has a story, a unique size, when you have low-maintanence jewelry it is a unique way to express yourself, feel put together without worrying about where you put your favorite bracelet or having to get it polished. Your jewelry is picked how you want it, where you want it, easy to cut off if you need to remove it and I offer free repairs, replacements and re-welds. Everyone with all price points should be able to adorn themselves and treat themselves without having to make a huge investment. Jewelry for everyone!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If I have a friend visiting for a week we would have to visit some of our favorite East Texas spots like True Vine Brewing Company in Tyler, Tx followed by lunch at Sola Bread Co. next door. We would also do some swimming in our backyard on Lake Amanda followed by a few trips to Southeast Texas to stock up on our favorite soaps and treasures at Down to Earth and Letters To Zoe in Beaumont and grabbing a bite at Chaba Thai Bistro. It’s mandatory to balance the salty with a delicious sweet treat from Cat at Sachi’s like her flan-donut, banana pudding, ube cupcake or if your lucky, gamja! While were in the area a Montucky Cold Snack at Neches Brewing Co in Port Neches will cool you down so you can head for shopping on Boston Ave at SassyTrendz and Blanc on Boston! You can always find something for you or a friend. You will be hungry after and dinner next door at Buckstin Brewing for the best cauliflower crust pizza that will leave you craving it for days! To polish off the trip with our friends we would scoot down to Galveston, Tx! On the way we have to stop in at Pluckers in Houston for the best spicy garlic-parmessan all flat extra wet wings.. non-negotiable! With a full belly you’re ready to head to the beach for a bit! When everyone is finished with beach time, a cool down and shared-eats at Katies, followed by a cheers with a fine mock-tail or cocktail from Daiquiri Time-Out for all the wonderful times we shared wraps up the best-time-ever!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to thank my dear friend Maryjo for mentioning me to The Shoutout series! Mended Tx would not exist without the support of my partner Wes, my sweet Daddy-o, and my 3 absolutely spectacular kids Graham, Trudy and Bertie! I would also love to thank each and every guest that has supported me since the creation of Mended Tx in April 2022! When I started, there wasn’t a permanent jewelry community, the way I found out about permanent jewelry was through social media, I messaged the person I saw doing jewelry in Utah and she left it on read and has since been notoriously awful to anyone else interested in doing permanent jewelry.. it wasn’t a good start but shortly after that I met my friend Shar from Flash Fused Jewelry in Utah, and we would share ideas, suppliers and things that were and were not working for us and it changed everything for me. You can support other people in the same industry as you, in fact! it may even help you to enjoy your craft even more! The permanent jewelry community has since grown massively! I see more support now than ever before and I hope that continues!

Website: https://www.threads.com/@mendedtx

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mendedtx

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

Image Credits
Photos Ni Maryjo, Bee Photography, D & Rachel, Sarita Hardin

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutHTX is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.