Story submited by Kirsten
Laura Rigez started her new hobby of silversmithing and jewelry making soon after restationing to Washington DC with her husband. This hobby quickly became her business, LRigezSilver. The process of metalsmithing is a fascinating one involving cutting and soldering of sheets of metal together with bezel strips or wire. Once completed it can hold beautiful stones.
Name: Laura Rigez
Hometown: Nanticoke, Pennsylvania
Current Duty Station: Washington DC
Q: What made you choose this type of business?
A. I’ve always been interested in how jewelry is made. I also love natural stones and needed to find a way to take the loose stones I love and set them into jewelry.
Q: What motivated you to start your business?
A. I started posting pictures of the jewelry I made for myself on social media. My friends started asking if they were for sale and where they could purchase, then I knew I needed to create jewelry for sale.
Q: How do you manage the work/life balance as a submarine spouse?
A. Right now it’s easy, shore tour is the best! I also make sure to keep normal daytime hours.
Q: Any advice for submarine spouses who want to start their own business?
A. Don’t be afraid to try!! There are so many people to support you, you’ll be amazing!
Q: Where can we support and learn more about your business?
A. You can find me on Instagram, LRigezSilver and on Etsy.
Do you know of any sub spouse small businesses? Email us to be featured at thesubmergedlife@gmail.com.