This three-part series profiles three Syracuse University student entrepreneurs — part 1 of 3.

When Brittney Rutigliano walks into Starbucks, she’s glittering.

A shimmering pendant bounces just above her belly button, swinging from a sparkling chain no more slight than unspooled piece of thread. The jagged surface of the pendant’s jewel catches in the light. Each spike gleams like a mineral-studded stalagmite. Her wrists are armored in gold – three shining bracelets stacked on each arm. Gold beads line up on each stretchy thread. Big, flat stones anchor some of the bracelets.

“This is amethyst,” says the senior selected studies in education major, pulling the chain of her necklace up and catching the pendant between her fingers. The sleeve of her sweater slips down. Her right arm is adorned with jasper and quartz stones and edged with gold beads.

She waves her left wrist. “And this is 18-karat gold,” she says of its ring of beads. The centerpieces, she says, are made up of sandstone and pyrite stones.

Though the jewelry looks like it could have been plucked from the glass cases of a boutique or department store, the pieces are actually Rutigliano’s own creation. For more than a year and a half, she’s been making and selling her own line of jewelry called The Alyse Collection.

Rutigliano said she had always been creative. As a child, she made a hobby of stringing beads onto wire necklaces. But it wasn’t until she was older and frustrated with department store jewelry prices that Rutigliano chose to pursue jewelry-making as more than just a hobby.

“My sister, one day, was like, ‘You can make the same stuff. You can probably just do it and sell it for a fraction of the cost,’” Rutigliano said. “After that, I just started making them, and my friends loved them, and it started from there. I started my own business.”

Rutigliano’s parents own a floral shop. Although she started her venture with little knowledge of entrepreneurship — she hopes to become a school counselor — she gathered advice of her mother, who offered insight on everything from finances to a business plan. Rutigliano’s sister, who works in public relations, gave her marketing tips, such as establishing a strong social media presence on websites like Pinterest.

With a small wince, Rutigliano plunged two years’ worth of savings into her project and began her business.

Two winters ago, she started using Etsy — an online boutique where artists sell their handmade items — then launched her own website. Her sales began to climb. Next, Rutigliano expanded her client base from online sales by maneuvering her products into stores.

After bringing a small box of her pieces to the owner of J Michael on Marshall Street, she landed a spot in the store. Her collection is also sold in a boutique back home on Long Island. Additionally, she hosts trunk shows for friends and others interested in her products.

Part of why she thinks her business works is her approach to quality and pricing.

“Semi-precious stones are very important to me,” she said.

And they can be affordable, too. Most of Rutigliano’s jewelry is priced between $20-$35, with higher-end bracelets costing $150 for a set of three. This, she said, is a college budget-friendly way to own valuable stones. She donates 15 percent of sales to charity, usually St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Rutigliano won’t disclose from where she gets her shipments of stones, but her business is flourishing. Along the way, she has managed to pay herself back for her original investment, and then some. Just the other week, she made her first sale outside of the country to a customer from Northern Ireland.

She’s certainly working for success. Typically, Rutigliano spends four hours a night putting her jewelry together. She stations herself on the floor of her room, shuffling through seasons of “Mad Men” with beads in her lap.

“She sits on the floor with all of her stuff out — beads, nail polish to bind it, all her clippers and scissors and all that,” said Ciarra Lee, Rutigliano’s roommate and senior broadcast and digital journalism major. “She’ll do that for hours.”

When business is slow, Rutigliano works only once or twice a week. But when she receives a new shipment or preps for a trunk show, Rutigliano works seven nights a week. In that time, she can make 100 bracelets. But sometimes, she’ll spend four hours making one beaded necklace.

“I’m a workaholic. I really am,” she said. “I go to sleep at 5 o’clock in the morning. I’ll spend time making jewelry from 12 [a.m.] until 5 [a.m.] and I’ll go to school the next day and go to work at Urban [Outfitters]. I don’t have a life.”

For Rutigliano, motivation is a must when it comes to running a business. People close to her count her as one of the most self-motivated people they know.

“She’s really taken it upon herself to do it on her own,” Lee said. “She has her own website and she set up shop at J Michael. It wasn’t like she asked anyone to help her do anything.”

Though Rutigliano isn’t sure if she’ll pursue her business as a full-time venture after graduation, she doesn’t want to give it up. For Rutigliano, her business is her love.

Said Rutigliano: “It’s a nice way to relieve some stress and escape once in a while. Some people exercise … Some people sing. This is a good way for me to relieve my stress. This is my passion.”

Published on September 23, 2013 at 11:57 pm

Contact Gabriela: ggriccar@syr.edu