In January of 2019, Duluth local Mari Doffin watched an Instagram video that showed a friend working on a clay project.

After watching the video, Doffin decided she wanted to mess around with clay just for fun. She was working at Love Creamery at the time, so this was initially just going to be a hobby or something fun to do in her free time.

A few of Doffin’s earrings, packaged and ready to sell. Photo from Mari Doffin.

That video led Doffin to a Michaels store, where she bought some clay to take home with her. She made the earrings simply by baking them in the oven. She had some left over, so she decided to make an Instagram page for them and see what would happen.

Little did Doffin know that one small and random step would lead her to where she is today. That was the start of her small business with colorful clay earrings, Joya by Hand.

Doffin attends college at Southern New Hampshire University fully online, with a marketing major and a digital marketing focus.

After taking many Spanish classes in school and studying abroad in Peru, Doffin then moved to Peru for a year. She incorporates her love for Spanish into the business name, Joya by Hand, and into her work.

“Joya'' is the Spanish word for jewelry, and Doffin said she loves using Spanish when she can.

Doffin’s business kind of fell into her lap and she never expected it to become her only source of income. She calls it a “low-investment” business.

“By February, the business was making enough money to sustain itself,” Doffin said.

Then, by March when everything shut down due to COVID-19, Joya by Hand was well-established and Doffin had a stable income for herself. She said it has been that way since then.

“It’s crazy when people ask me about it, because I don't even know what I did,” Doffin said. “I wish I had something to share with people.”

For Doffin, remaining flexible and finding other ways to sell during the pandemic was the most important thing for her to navigate her business through COVID-19.

Doffin shared that the hardest thing was losing the personal touch she enjoyed when she first started her business. She would have people come pick up their earrings at her doorstep and now she has her customers just pick them up from her mailbox.

“Meeting people and seeing faces was a nice way to build a relationship with my customers, because I have had a lot of repeat customers,” Doffin said.

Doffin’s business flourished during the pandemic. She accredits this to customers who have stuck with her since she started in January. She noticed that amidst the pandemic many of her repeat customers were health care providers or nursing students who maintained job security.

“What made me continue to buy from Joya by Hand is the incredible quality of her earrings and knowing that each and every pair of earrings is made with love and joy,” Allison Duenow, a repeat customer, said.

During the pandemic, Doffin held pop-up events in the Two Harbors area, Duluth neighborhood of Lakeside and in her yard. She sells her work online through her Instagram account and at local shops in Duluth such as DLH clothing store, Duluth Studio Market, Huckleberry, Ivy Moon, Dovetail Cafe and even a salon in Two Harbors.

Joya by Hand is one of the top sellars at Duluth Studio Market. Photo from Mari Doffin.

Doffin has worked with Duluth Studio Market since July 2020 when they opened up their retail store in the Lakeside neighborhood. She is one of the 15 local vendors at Duluth Studio Market and she is one of their top sellers.

“We Initially found Mari through Instagram and we loved her work and authenticity,” Stacy Lacoursiere, owner of Duluth Studio Market, said.

Doffin said that Duluth Studio Market was very intentional about reaching out to her, and they are intentional with the small businesses they work with.

“I am impressed with how Mari has built her business from the ground up,” Lacoursiere said. “We love working with her. Every time she comes into our store, she is a ray of sunshine for us.”

Doffin had initially planned to move to California before COVID-19 presented itself, but with her move being delayed, it has given her time to better establish her business. She has plans to get a small apartment in Duluth, because her current workspace is on her parent’s kitchen table.

“It’s good I didn’t jump into California,” Doffin said. “Now this gives me achance to establish a customer base. If I continue to cater to Duluth, I hope that my business can follow me anywhere.”

Sometime in the next calendar year Doffin hopes to hire one or two people to help with the tasks that take away time from doing what she really loves — making earrings.

“I love the clay part, but there’s other things like accounting that kills me to do,” Doffin said.

Another goal for Joya by Hand is for Doffin to be able to expand her business outside of Duluth. She hopes to establish a customer base in the major cities, but she knows that the little steps count, so she wants to try the Twin Cities or someplace in Wisconsin first.

Joya by Hand will have holiday earring drops on the Instagram page available in the next couple of weeks, and Doffin plans to donate some or all of the proceeds to the local Safe Haven Shelter and Resource Center. She has previously donated profits to this organization and to CHUM Food Shelf.

You can follow Mari Doffin and see more of her earrings on her instagram @joya.byhand or you can find Joya by Hand at local shops in Duluth.

Joya for the holiday season