Meet Shelba Malone

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelba Malone.

Hi Shelba, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My story officially began in 2017 when I opened a shop on Esty in Yuma, Arizona. However, the lead-up to opening my shop was years in the making. As a child, I loved to make jewelry. At the age of 11, I learned how to macrame in an art class. For a few years, I stopped making jewelry as my family and I dealt with family issues.

My mom, who is my biggest supporter, had a drug addiction that resulted her spending time in rehab periodically. My mom forged good relationships with the staff at Crossroads Mission in Yuma, Arizona as a result of her rehabilitation. She is now clean and in the process of being diagnosed with Autism.

When I opened my shop in 2017, I had been strongly encouraged to by my mom and coworkers at the dog grooming shop I worked at. I had no idea what I was getting into and just dived right in. My coworkers were amazing and even were my first customers. I learned that in Yuma, Arizona, the Crossroads Mission would have a farmer’s market every winter in the parking lot of the Yuma Palms shopping center. At the time, I was working full time and taking college classes online but decided to see if I could participate in the farmer’s market. My mom, having established a good relationship with the staff at Crossroads Mission, went down and spoke to the Community Affairs Director, Barbara.

Not only was I able to attend the farmer’s market, Barbara invited me to go onto a local radio station and talk about my participation within the farmer’s market. To this day, I am grateful for that opportunity. However, as I took on more classes, I was unable to attend the farmer’s market as often in the following years and just tried to do as much online marketing as I could for my shop. I’ve now had nearly 100 online sales and many 5-star reviews that I am incredibly proud and thankful for.

In the summer before the pandemic hit, I had gotten my bracelets featured in a gift store in downtown Yuma. It was a very exciting time as I was still very busy with school and work and business online had not been as successful. At that time, I had considered closing my shop on Etsy, however, my mother encouraged me to give it more time. During this time, my dad found out he lost his house while he was trying to refinance so that he could have started paying on the principal instead of interest which was a deal he made when he had been on unemployment back in 2014. Through questionable practices, we were told to leave. My dad then contacted the CPA that was supposed to represent him and learned the house was auctioned off without anyone knowing. He then requested a day in court with the mortgage company.

At that time, my dad lost his job, found a new job, got into a severe car accident and lost his new job as a result of the car accident that wasn’t his fault. In the next couple of months, the pandemic hit and my dad worked several odd jobs. We lost my grandpa to covid-19 and a week later, the house was auctioned again. Despite the moratorium on evictions and court cases against the mortgage company that sold the house underneath everyone, the new owner was aggressively pushing us out. Luckily my dad found a job here in Phoenix. I made the decision to move up here as well since Yuma has an unemployment rate of 13% and the job I worked at didn’t pay enough to support myself on my own.

I am nowhere in Phoenix, continuing my education and trying to integrate my business Miss M’s Macrame, into the community. So far, I’ve only attended one event, which was at the La Gattara Cat Café which was an amazing experience with equally amazing people. I hope to become more active within the community as I get settled in. I keep mostly working online with my Etsy store but I am hoping to expand as time goes on.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road. The biggest challenge, despite the setbacks in my home life, has been motivation. It’s very easy to get discouraged when sales don’t roll in like you’d want. I’d start questioning myself and jewelry. I’d ask myself if it was good enough, pretty enough. Quality enough, and generally questioning where I’ve wrong? I’ve even questioned if I want to even keep trying.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I run an Esty shop called Miss M’s Macrame. I make mostly macrame jewelry such as necklaces and bracelets. However, I’ve also included some of my clay work and clay pendants, along with some gorgeous stretchy beaded bracelets. I am probably known for making durable yet beautiful macrame bracelets. I am most proud of the opportunities that I’ve been given or found related to my jewelry, such as having gotten the chance to talk about my jewelry on the radio in Yuma. Along with having my jewelry featured in a gift store in downtown Yuma. I’m also incredibly proud and thankful for the amazing 5-star reviews I’ve received on my Etsy shop. I believe what sets me apart from others if the fact that even though I’ve questioned myself and my jewelry, I keep going and have some really supportive friends and family that encourage me.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I’ve recently started collaborating with my grandma. I’ve inspired her to make jewelry again, along with her pottery. I will be featuring my grandma’s pieces of jewelry on my Etsy store. I am always open to what people have to say or think about jewelry. I love getting feedback and love people giving me ideas. I am open to anything regarding my jewelry.

Contact Info:

• Email: missmsmacrame@gmail.com
• Website: missmsmacrame.etsy.com
• Instagram: @missmsmacrame
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Shopping—Retail/Miss-Ms-Macrame-2101817569947015/