COLORADO SPRINGS — A young entrepreneur in the Colorado Springs community has turned her hobby of making jewelry into a small business. A recent health diagnosis isn't stopping her from growing her business either.
Her name is Mattison Leva and she's 11 years old. She began making jewelry in January when she had more free time on her hands at home because of remote learning. She's since turned into a business woman and now her jewelry is being sold at local shops.
Her business is called Made by Matti, and at least a few times a week she's making earrings and necklaces. The jewelry is nickel-free and allergen-friendly.
Matti has sold about 250 pieces of jewelry so far. A lot of her sales have come from the ten local craft fairs she's been to.
"Usually when people come up to buy all my earrings or a necklace and sometimes ill talk to them a lot. And that's usually how I meet a lot of people," said Matti. "Meeting new people is my favorite part."
While at a Craft Fair, she also met Jeremy Nosbush. He's the co-owner of MatchBox Candle Co. in Monument.
"She really came up and was telling me how she can create all of her own jewelry, and how she bends all those wires and chooses all of her own designs," said Nosbush, who now has three displays of Matti's jewelry in his shop. "I just thought it was really cool that she's a young entrepreneur who's making these items."
Nosbush says he has an exclusive Colorado collection in the store, which features hiking-related jewelry, and other jewelry with animals or flowers.
"I just really think that it was cool that she was actually creating the jewelry herself and putting all of those components to come up with a final product," said Nosbush.
The growth in her business kept her going, but even more inspiration came from a recent diagnosis with Type 1 diabetes.
"Usually whenever I'm doing this (making jewelry). Usually I do sometimes forget about it when I'm having a lot of fun," said Matti.
Her diagnosis also inspired her new collection called 'It's cool to be kind.' The collection is a chance to advocate for others with the disease but also remind people that you can do anything you put your mind to.
"It's to remind people to be kind to themselves and kind to others. I hope they always remember that when they wear these necklaces," said Matti.
Nobush also invited Matti to teach a workshop on how to make jewelry. It was for a birthday party for another girl her age.
Matti's jewelry cost anywhere from $7 to $14. She also sells her jewelry at The FestiviTea Company and Revolution Dance Academy, which is the dance studio she dances at.
Click here to visit Matti's FaceBook page.
