Daily Inspiration: Meet Sarah Kelsey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Kelsey.

Hi Sarah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

In the summer of 2014, fresh from a divorce and living with my parents, I was fairly strapped for cash but still wanted to make a statement on the weekends at the horse shows I was competing at. I had a rather nice barrel racing mare named Josie (East Bound Jet) who provided some residual income for me on the weekends by pulling checks, and I decided to use some of that money to start embellishing my own shirts with Swarovski stones at my mother’s kitchen table. Later that fall in October we were going to be competing at the All American Quarter Horse Congress, which was a pretty big deal- it’s the largest single breed horse show in the world. My mom had sewn me a custom shirt- red, complete with black fringe across the back and down the arms, and of course covered in Swarovski stones. While in the hotel room one night waiting for my boyfriend (now husband) to return from California, I decided I needed some accessories to match this awesome shirt- begin Rhinestone Lipgloss. I created a pair of earrings to match my outfit, and the next day I ran my pattern in them. Quite a few girls came up to me at the show and asked how I was running in earrings so big and heavy (never being a ‘Queen’ of any kind, I had no idea that heavy earrings were such an awful thing) I pulled them out and handed them over, commenting that they were not heavy at all- and they were shocked. A couple of them even asked to buy them right there! I said no, (I still have the very first pair I made lol) but that I would make them a pair.

After returning home from Congress, I had done some thinking, and clearly there was a market for these- what cowgirl doesn’t like bling, and even better, COMFORTABLE bling?! So, with $85 left over from a check that Josie had won for me, I began the paperwork needed to make RL official (NOTE: please pay attention to this part- $85. You do NOT need a business loan or a pile of money to finance your dream- I built this empire with $85; you can build yours too!). I had started a Facebook page a while earlier, but at that time, I thought that RL was going to be more of a ’boutique’ style page, reselling accessories, clothing etc. so, it was full of that. We set up a booth at a small local rodeo, but the main item of intrigue was my earrings. I had also learned to tool leather, and we had some custom leather pieces available as well, but the earrings, week after week, were becoming more and more popular.

An important piece of information here is that I have a degree in Mandarin Chinese- I graduated from The Ohio State University in 2011, and in the fall of 2014 when this whole adventure started, I was working as a translator in the Tool and Die industry. My now husband, after seeing how quickly this little hobby of mine had started to grow, watched me lose more and more of my sanity trying to keep up with Facebook orders and my 9-5. “You need to make a decision,” he encouraged.

WHAT KIND OF PERSON WALKS AWAY FROM A 9-5 WITH BENEFITS, RETIREMENT, all of the things you need to be “adulting” to attach rhinestones to things? A crazy kind. A brave kind. A kind that knows if she doesn’t take the leap, right this very moment, that she will never ever know what might have been.

So, after running some numbers, and seeing that we were just as busy after Christmas as we were before, I leapt. In February of 2015, just 6 months after making myself a pair of earrings to match the shirt my momma made me, I left my “big-girl job” that I had spent an entire college career preparing for, to do what I loved on a daily basis. Best. MOST TERRIFYING. Decision. Ever.

Now its all ancient history. Was it scary? Absolutely. Were there times I thought “Holy Smokes- what did I just do?” Of course. Was it worth it? Times a MILLION.

It’s important to be clear that I didn’t just do this on a whim- there were months of running numbers, exploring other market potentials, and being as sure as I could (nothing in life is guaranteed, right?!) that it would work. If you would have told me in 2014 that I would design jewelry that would ship all over the world- I would have laughed in your face. Fashion was NOT my forte – however I have learned to surround myself with people that I could learn from. Jewelry and accessories have become a second language (well, third, I still have the Chinese part lol!) to me- and I love it. I will still do custom leather pieces, especially belts (they are my favorite!) as a mental break from the earrings, but my clients have made it clear that the handmade, lightweight earrings are their main priority.

21 countries later, it’s still just myself, my mom, and a couple other ladies handling everything; answering messages, invoicing, order inventory, building custom pairs, website inventory, shipping and keeping our financials in order, as well as leading our amazing private consultation experiences (complete with bites and bubbles!). We are currently the owners of a 18k sq ft building in adorable and historic downtown Wapakoneta, which I am so grateful for, and i am SO excited to provide a place for our clients to EXPERIENCE our amazing brand. This company is my LIFE. I do not have children, and this is the closest thing to that I will ever have. RL is an obsession, a passion.

I truly believe that you can make a living off of whatever sets your soul on fire. For me, its making things shiny with the best, most high quality stones in the entire world. Here’s the secret- you can’t just like it. You have to LIVE it. Every single waking moment of every single day there is something in my head about one aspect or another of RL. I still ride, I’m a wife, a daughter, and a friend, but mostly, I’m an entrepreneur. RL is constantly changing. I don’t always know what the change is, but I’ve learned to listen to my clients and follow their lead. If I had made RL into what I wanted/thought it was going to be, I would still be working the same 9-5, setting up a little booth at horse shows and rodeos, making a little bit of extra money. But, because you (my clients) made it clear what you wanted from us, I have been able to mold this into a VERY successful company.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Ha! No.

We bought our giant building in the guts of covid… we started building ‘nurse boxes’ for people to send to friends in healthcare- it contained a small pair of earrings, chapstick, lotion, hair ties, candy… things we had polled our followers for on what they would like to have.

That November, (we bought the building in July 2020, so just a few months later) our contracted crystal supplier, Swarovski, closed all house accounts. We had 30 days to place final orders. After a night of tears and wine, I googled ‘how to make your own rhinestones’ and found a supplier who would work with my specs, so we were able to survive that.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
For over a decade, crystals have not just been a product I use. They have been part of my everyday life. I have spent six days a week, year after year, literally studying crystals with my own eyes and hands. I’ve apprenticed under some of the most iconic crystal artists in the industry. I’ve taken specialized classes from Swarovski focused on face cuts, materials, light refraction, and manufacturing processes. I’ve researched how stones are made, why certain coatings fail, why some cuts sparkle differently, and what separates a luxury crystal from an imitation.

When you spend that much time around something, you stop seeing it as “just rhinestones.”

You begin to understand the engineering behind it.
The chemistry.
The precision.
The craftsmanship.

And honestly, that’s part of why I love speaking at colleges about women in engineering and manufacturing. People often think engineering has to look like blueprints, factories, or computer labs. But crystal artistry is engineering too. It’s material science. It’s optics. It’s precision manufacturing. It’s understanding how tiny changes in angle, composition, or coating can completely change performance and appearance.

There is real science behind beauty. That knowledge is also why I can’t pretend all crystals are equal when they simply are not.

And I want to be very clear:
My insistence on premium quality does not come from ego or gatekeeping. It comes from respect. Respect for the customer who works hard for their money. Respect for the rodeo queens, horse show girls, performers, and professionals wearing these pieces under unforgiving lights and cameras. Respect for the artists and designers who genuinely care about craftsmanship.
And respect for the industry as a whole.

Most customers have never been taught what to look for. They may not know how inferior coatings yellow over time, how poor cuts create dull sparkle, how inconsistent materials affect durability, or how cheap stones lose brilliance almost immediately.

But just because a customer cannot immediately identify the difference does not mean they deserve lower standards.

In any industry, true professionals have a responsibility to educate, not exploit.

That is why I speak so openly about crystal quality.
Not to shame others.
Not to sound superior.
But because I believe our customers deserve transparency and excellence.

If we want the rhinestone and crystal industry to continue growing and being taken seriously, we have to stop normalizing shortcuts. We have to stop pretending “good enough” is the same thing as exceptional craftsmanship.

My goal has never been to create the cheapest product possible.
My goal has always been to create pieces that make people stop, stare, and feel proud to wear them years later.

After twelve years, I still believe details matter.
And I still believe customers deserve the absolute best we can give them.

Because when I tell you I’m obsesed- I am not joking.

What were you like growing up?
As a kid I was outgoing and definitely Horse obsessed, I also loved a good book, if I got in trouble my mom would threaten to not take me to the library lol! I was about as far away from girly and Fashion and one could get. In fact to this day I’ve still never been in a pageant, but I am a pretty big fan of Fashion. Especially western Fashion, I am notorious for wearing jackets normally reserved only for showing horses to dinner and speaking engagements as they are covered in crystal. I had the most wonderful set of parents you could ever ask for, my mom is still a huge part of this company, my dad passed away in 2025 from after living about 15 years longer than he was supposed to, while he was in hospice I remember finding a deserted conference room in the hospital so that I could present to the ladies attending the Miss Rodeo Texas Queen clinic as I had given them my word I would be there, I wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for those ladies and I was going to do everything I could to make sure they got what they needed from me. Show dogs and horses in 4H, but my youth looks a lot different than my adult life🤣

Contact Info:

• Website: https://RhinestoneLipgloss.com
• Instagram: @RhinestoneLipgloss
• Facebook: Rhinestone Lipgloss
• LinkedIn: Sarah Kelsey
• Youtube: @RealRhinestoneLipgloss