‘I am following my dream’: CEO of jewelry maker Bryan Anthonys spent her final dollars making her dream come true

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - One of the top female entrepreneur CEOs in the state of Texas is sharing her story of spending her last dollar to chase a dream of creating meaningful jewelry, and her dream has resonated with people around the world as Bryan Anthonys reached $22 million dollars in sales last year without taking a single outside investment.

Amber Glassman, 33, says she didn’t realize, at the time, how crazy it was for her and her husband to quit their jobs, cash in their pensions and 401k plans, and move from New Jersey to Austin.

“When it was happening, I was like ‘absolutely not. I am following my dream,’” Amber said. “Now, when I look back on it, I see what my family was talking about like, ‘what are you doing? You quit your job. You’re going to Texas. What are you doing?’ I see why they were worried, but at the time, I was just following my dream and I’m so glad I did.”

Her dream has turned into a multi-million-dollar business, and an operation with more than 50 employees.

“There are days when I’m like ‘is this real? Is this real? Please be real.’”

Amber had no previous fashion industry experience, and was entering an already saturated market of jewelry design, but she knew her idea was different, especially, when she began to put messages with her pieces.

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The entrepreneur was down to her last $1,000 when she crafted a necklace named “Soul Sisters” and wrote a meaningful message to accompany it.

The necklace sold out in days.

Since then, Amber has written a meaningful message with every design.

She has jewelry about friendships, mother and daughter relationships, and happy times.

But she also has plenty about heartache and broken moments in people’s lives.

Amber thinks it’s that celebrating of the good with the bad that makes customers feel connected.

“I think the thing about us is that we are honoring all parts of your journey,” Amber said. “While it’s important to honor the highs of life, you also have to think about the lows of life.”

It’s something she knows about firsthand. Amber lost her brother, Bryan, to bacterial meningitis when he was young. She named her company after him.

“When I was in those moments, I felt like If I only had someone who understood me, and I felt like I wasn’t alone, that maybe I would feel better,” she said.

Amber said no matter how much her business has evolved over the years, she’s continued to move the desk she first began writing on with her, to remind her the dream is still the same.

“It’s been an incredible journey of mistakes and learning as I go,” she said. “I started in my studio apartment, and I still bring that one desk where I started to every place that I move, every office, every warehouse. It just reminds me of where I started and every time I think I can’t figure it out, I think about those days.”

Bryan Anthonys now offers, not just jewelry, but canvases, prints and candles.

They hopes to expand into retail space in the coming years.

You can shop their collections at www.bryananthonys.com.

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