Cindi Bernioehr ' s sea glass jewelry designs commissioned for the new Loews Sapphire
Falls Resort that opened this past July 14th at Universal Orlando Resort .
about new materials for my designs .” She already had attained corporate enhancement skills . She is Toastmaster Certified , has had training in Dale Carnegie Public Speaking , earned Six Sigma Greenbelt Certification , and gone through the Linkage Leadership Development Program . She also has taken Diversity in the Workplace training , and holds ARDA Certification .
Cindi ’ s mid-life career-change jewelry business path originally started when her neighbor and friend , Dana Fetters , liked her designs and offered to host a jewelry party in her Windermere home . The home jewelry party was a huge success , so she looked into doing arts and craft shows . “ I got a tent , or a booth as it is called . I went through many upgrades to my booth to have the vintage store feel I wanted . I took booth locations week after week at the Winter Garden Farmers Market , and at the Windermere Farmers Market , and the Lake Eola City Market in downtown Orlando .”
In 2013 , Cindi and her family moved from Windermere to Winter Garden . Now , after working these recent years in growing her business , Cindi ’ s original creativity has landed her a contract with a major hotel chain to make custom-designed jewelry as part of the costuming for its staff . “ I truly can ' t explain how it felt when I got that first phone call . I was proud and excited but also a little scared to be a part of such a big new direction for my business ,” she admitted . “ I was impressed that Loews Hotels really wants to have ‘ local ’ in their uniforms and I was to be a part of this project .”
“ This new project started in a very casual way ,” Cindi revealed . “ One Saturday , a neighbor and his wife , stopped by my WoodStone Jewelry shop in the Plant Street Market . They live just across the street from me and my husband Bernie in the Oakland Park community . I said hi , and he asked if this was my shop and I told him yes and that I make most of my jewelry , they looked around a bit and continued on with their morning .” A couple of weeks later , “ I received a call from him , saying : ‘ this is a business call ’ and proceeded to tell me that he was opening a new hotel - the Sapphire Falls for the Loews brand and he believed my sea glass jewelry would be a great part of their uniform concept for the front desk and wait staff . I was completely surprised and blown away but also very excited ,” Cindi said .
Later that week , “ he sent me the uniform concept drawings and said they are looking for a Caribbean / Puerto Rico feel with colors in blues , tans , and coral . I was then put in contact with the design staff that makes all the uniform decisions . They sent me their original ideas which are beautiful . But , I was not able to duplicate them due to materials and technique .” Cindi then sent the design staff pictures of the sea glass jewelry she had done . “ They really liked the colors and feel . After several e-mails with pictures , we agreed on three designs , which feature recycled free-form sea glass and silver .” At the personal meeting later , Cindi showed the design staff her actual jewelry pieces . “ Everyone agreed on the final design after some modifications . I began creating the jewelry for the hotel ’ s opening in July .”
Support from her family helped her make the life-changing transition “ from being a wife and empty-nest mother into creating beautiful jewelry by ultimately making my ‘ passion ’ into my own small business ,” she said . “ My husband and daughter both supported me . Bernie and I have been married since 1989 . We have one daughter , Amy . Bernie is the retired
Director of Corporate Facilities for Wyndham Resorts . He is dedicated now to being a video game expert . Amy is the Band Director for Southwest Middle School in Dr . Phillips .”
Cindi said of her mid-life career change : “ I made the right decision for me in realizing my personal long-held inner goals .” Cindi is proud also that her WoodStone Jewelry and scarves now are available for sale in another Orlando location — the new District At Mills 50 , located in the 1200 block of Mills Avenue , north of Highway 50 . “ I am happy that I have this new venue for my So Sari Scarf collection and leather wrap bracelets .” See her work on her website : WoodStoneJewelry . com . “ The scarves are arm-knitted with 100 % silk ribbon yarn created by women in India who take remnants from machine-made saris and rip them into strips . These are then hand sewed into ribbons which I use in my creations .”
The Mills Avenue sales venue opened to her when she met the two men who started the District At Mills 50 while they were creating and building many of the shops / restaurants in the Plant Street Market . They wanted to create a venue that allows artists the opportunity to be seen and sell without breaking the bank .
She celebrated her first anniversary at her WoodStone Jewelry shop location in the Plant Street Market in May of this year . With this one-year anniversary , Cindi was realizing a personal goal for her young business in downtown Winter Garden . Launching her new jewelry design career in her 50s has proven to be fun . “ My life is filled with joy and I don ’ t look back because looking forward is so exciting ,” Cindi said .
24 | WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER 2016