Welcome to the Contagious Victory's podcast. Each week, we talk inspiration, explore possibilities, and share insights from creative perspectives. I'm Tori Blackmon and I'm here to remind you that your purpose in life is to celebrate the victories because victories are contagious. Are you someone who craves individuality and uniqueness in every aspect of your life? My guest today understands that we all were designed to stand out.

Sydney Tanner is the owner and creator behind Darling and Divine. Her sole focus is to create jewelry that is uniquely designed like you. Her business helps women find pieces that truly reflect their personality and style. When not hustling on her business, she is hanging out at the coffee shop, going to the gym, or enjoying the outdoors. In today's episode, Sydney takes us behind her brand and shares her victory story from the very beginning.

Are you ready to hear how she built the business of her dreams? Let's hear from Sydney Tanner. Sydney, thank you so much for jumping on today. I know that the Contagious Victory's audience is gonna really enjoy your victory story. Can you tell us a little bit about Darling and Divine?

Yes. Hello, Tori and everyone listening. It's so great to be on, and I'm so excited to share my victory story. So a little bit about me. My name is Sydney Tanner.

I currently live in Dallas, Texas with my husband. We recently got married, and it's just been so fun learning to navigate life in a new season, in a new city because we're originally from Minnesota. And I started my jewelry business 6 years ago, and I've learned a lot through it, and pivoted along the way in different areas. We've offered different things throughout this whole 6 years, but I'm most passionate about where we're at now, obviously, through the growth and the hurdles and all the things. And so I guess the short and sweet is that I started it just for fun.

You know? I feel like a lot of people start their businesses for fun out of a passion, and I started going into college, and I joined a sorority. I went to Colorado State. And there, I just grew a big big network of people, and I did a bunch of events. And people were like, you have really something going here.

And so it just kinda grew from word-of-mouth. I remember walking on campus and seeing my jewelry on a bunch of girls I'd never met, and I was like, this is crazy. And so truly from, like, sorority networking, my business grew a lot in college. And then from there, it's just kind of catalyst us into 60 events a year, and we have an online presence. And, yeah, it's busy.

It's really fun.

Wow. Well, I knew you were a business babe, but 60 events a year, that is that's something. And then to say that it started from something that was just a hobby at first, but then has grown into into a business, and the impact that you've made on your friends from college all the way to women in multiple states.

Yeah.

So that's really neat that you, you know, have been doing this for 6 years, and I wanna take it back to the very beginning.

Okay.

So I know you told me you started this from college. What really inspired you to, I guess, get serious about making jewelry? What was that first day like when you're like, alright. I'm gonna actually pursue this.

Yeah.

Tell us a little bit from the very beginning.

For sure. So I remember I was walking to one of my college of business classes with my roommate, and at the time, I was on Etsy, again, just for fun. Like, I it was a lot acclimating to college as many know. Like, it's just you're freshman, the dorms, like, meeting new friends. You're in a new place, new city usually. And so I kinda put it on the back burner, and my roommate, when we were walking to class, was like, I really think you have something going here. I think you should pursue it more. And so I was like, okay. Like, I should, you know, start posting on social media more. I should start, like, prioritizing this.

And I I started to look at it as, like, okay. This is a great project to, like, implement what I'm learning in class, in college to my business.

Okay.

so it was kind of like the passion project through college, you know, which is really, really fun. And so that was kind of the catalyst was I got a nudge from my roommate, and she was like, I think you could really do something with this. And then from there, yeah, just worked hard and tried to grow it as much as I could.

So your victory story from the very beginning started with that support from a friend who really urged you to take that leap. Did she help you come up with the name, Darling and Divine? How did you come up with that name?

Yeah. When I realized this past year that I wanted to pivot and grow the business and make it more mature, I started praying over what do I want the name to be. And I was working out, and the name divine came in my mind, and I was like, that's so random. Like, I'm literally lifting weights. How I was like, Lord, like, speak to me, like, how like, what do you want this business to be named? And I heard the word divine. And I was like, okay. Like, are we trying to do, like, a fitness business now? Like, what, you know, what is his plan in this? And then I just started thinking about it more and praying, and I was like, you know, is there a word to accompany it?

And I was like, you know, playing around with things and praying more, and the word darling came to mind. I was driving up to meet a friend that came to mind, and I was like, okay. Like, darling, divine. Like, those were just 2 words in my head playing around. And the meaning behind it is, like, we have a divine King, and we're children, daughters of a divine King, but we are also His little darling. And He's our Father.

AWW!

And so it's like the, you know, like, the sweet moments of, like, we have like, we are divine, but then we're also, like, someone's little darling. And the name actually, like, formally came to be, Tori, when we were at the Heart Conference, The Heart University Conference.

Yes.

And I was chatting with some gals about, like, I'm, you know, pivoting, renaming my business. Like, this is, you know, I have these two words. And 1 girl was like, well, what if you, you know, put the end, like, the ampersand symbol between them and do darling and divine? And I was like, I think that's it. And the more I was praying on it, I was like, yeah, this is perfect. Like, it's like the evolution of a name I needed. And so that's kinda how the name came to be.

Oh, that is such a good story. And you are so right. The darling does come through. It's just this precious, but also very feminine, you know, like a daughter of of Christ. And I loved the name before, but now that you've explained it, that just makes me really appreciate it. And the story behind it is really, really so interesting and so precious.

Thanks.

And you sell jewelry. Your business is a jewelry business. Yes. So that darling really does lean into that jewelry of having these precious pieces that you're passionate about creating, but people are passionate about wearing too because they wanna show off just a unique side of them. I love the the simple but also very creative and unique designs that you have. What words do would you use to describe your jewelry for some people who haven't seen it before?

Yeah. I think you hit it right nail on the head. Our motto is uniquely designed like you because as children of Christ, as daughters of Christ, we're each uniquely designed, and our jewelry should be just as unique as us, you know, and help emulate that beauty, that natural beauty we all have, but it shouldn't take away. And so that's our mission at Darling in Divine is to create jewelry pieces that just help every woman glow. They're very dainty and delicate, but they each have a story, which I think is the really fun part.

Okay. And that that is really fun. Have you always been a fan of accessories? or is this something that sprung up when you were in college?

I think, you know.. for many jewelry can be a fun hobby for many to make. You know, you can look up, like, how to make jewelry, and that's kinda how it started. Me and my friend in high school started making it, and then going into college, I kinda carried it on. And so I wouldn't say that I, like, was, like, obsessed with accessorizing. I think it was more so I had fun being creative, and I love to DIY things. And so it just kind of grew from there naturally.

And now, obviously, I'm obsessed with layering and accessorizing and finding ways to, like, wear jewelry when you're swimming or working out or just all of life's moments. So all of our jewelry is non tarnished, hypoallergenic, waterproof, and that's something I really value is because I personally love working out, and so I wanna, you know, look cute in the gym. Who doesn't? And so that's a big value of mine.

Well, I'm looking at you now. We're video recording, and this episode's gonna be on the YouTube channel, so be sure to look look out for it. Now I personally did not put any jewelry on because I was worried about it with the podcast. Sometimes I have headphones in and stuff like that, but you've got some in, and they're not messing with anything. So I love that you described your jewelry as something that you can layer, you can wear at the gym, you can wear, you know, out in the water and even on a podcast, as I see.

No matter what you do.

Yeah. And that just makes your brand stand out even more because you're showing by example how easy it is to look cute, to wear accessories, and to show and express yourself as the unique person that you are, but also in a very practical and simple way that is very pretty and feminine. And so I'm gonna have to get some earrings, and in that way, I don't have an excuse next time for not having any in.

Yes. There you go.

Yeah. Well, so I want you to tell me a little bit about your favorite pieces. I know you said you like to layer. Yeah. Do you wear a lot of necklaces? Like, when you wake up and you go to your jewelry, do you put on the same stuff every day? Like, tell me tell me about your favorite pieces.

Yeah. Currently, I mean, it's always changing. I feel like everyone's favorite things are always changing. So, currently, my favorite combo because they match is our pearl foundation Huggies, which is what I'm wearing right now. They're super lightweight.

They are a pearl middle, and then on the outside, they have a little ribbing. And then the chain is like a huggy, which is really fun. And then the necklace, which I usually am wearing, but I'm not wearing right now, is it complements it. So it's a satellite chain. So it's a chain with little gold balls on it.

So if you go on our website, you'll see what I'm talking about. So this is just incentive. You should go on the website, check it out, and I'm doing 15% off with code victory for the listeners. So definitely check it out. But the

That is so generous, Sydney. Thank you so much. That's really sweet. Y'all should go yes. Victory. Make sure you cash in on that. That's good. Okay.

You're good. And so then the pearl foundation necklace complements the earrings. So they're like, they go together. When I designed them and sketched them out, I was like, I want something that they're each unique on their own, but together, like, you can tell that they're a set. So the necklace, the charm is the same exact charm as the Huggies, and it's stunning.

So everyone that gets them and wears them is just obsessed, and so I can guarantee you'll be obsessed too.

Well, don't laugh, but what's a Huggie? Describe that. I've never heard of jewelry described like that. Yeah.

Yeah. Great great question. So a Huggie is an earring that has a lever back on it, and so it, like, closes.

Okay.

So, if you're watching on YouTube, you can kinda see what I'm demonstrating here. But the back half, like, bent, like, comes back and then connects and clicks together at the top. So it's like a seamless hoop. You know?

Yes. I do have one pair of earrings that are like that. I did not know that's what it was called, but those are, like, my favorite earrings. And so to hear that yours are the Huggies, now I know what to shop for when I use that victory code. That's really good to know. Thank you, Sydney, for explaining that.

Of course, Yeah. Huggies are really popular right now because I think women are wanting to wear their jewelry out being active or just doing life. You know, like, we shouldn't have to stress about, like, our earrings not being fit for our day to day activities. And so Huggies are awesome because they're seamless, and so they don't snag on anything. And so it's just a seamless pair of earrings that, again, you can wear for anything, which is really nice.

Yeah. And as I'm looking at the ones that you have on, they're moving a little bit, but they're really not moving too much. It's very elegant the way that they're hanging, so very cool. Hopefully, listeners, you have a visual idea just by the way that Sydney described her earrings of what she has on. But, yes, if you're at a place where you can go and check out our video, check out her website, we're gonna have all of the links for her Instagram and shop on the show note, but you've gotta go and check it out and see all of the beautiful jewelry that she has. So, yes, incentive to go and check that out right now. Well, I know that you have been creating more as a individual, as a, you know, woman. So outside of the business, you've been doing some things like working out and spending time in the gym. You create for your YouTube channel. Is that right?

Yep.

Can you talk a little bit about that? how's that been going?

Yeah. It's been so fun. So I got into, like, consistently working out. I feel like right after college, I started dating this guy. He was super into fitness. He's now my husband. So that helps.

ThGood story.

Yeah. Yeah!

Yeah. That's a victory story.

That is a victory story. And so, yeah, we work out. We actually just bought a house and moved in this past weekend, which is so fun.

What! That is so exciting.

Yeah.

And then what a great little memory too is, like, a new chapter

I know.

Weekend. That's a another victory story.

It really is. And

I love that for you.

Thank you. And so the play the town we moved into doesn't have, like, a gym, really. And so we're like, well, we're just gonna turn our garage into, like, the best home gym ever. So this weekend, we spent time, like, making it aesthetic, and we painted it all black and making it really sleek and moody and all the things. But, yeah, it was a great Memorial Day weekend.

So basically, got into working out and being more consistent. Obviously, having accountability is super helpful, and I started at F45. Have you heard of F45, Tori?

I haven't. No. You wanna tell me about it?

Yeah. So it's a 45 minute class, hence 45. It stands for functional 45. So it's IT style workout. So Monday, Wednesday, Friday, it's cardio based, and then Tuesday, Thursday is strength.

And so it's really easy to just get consistent with it because it's fun. You show up. You can have, like, 2 brain cells going, and, like, you have a workout plan, which I feel like is half the battle is figuring out what the heck you're gonna do at the gym.

Right.

So I got really consistent doing that, and then I actually started coaching at a F45.

And then from there, I started coaching in Dallas once we moved here and a bunch of different gyms. And, yeah, it's just been so fun. I love honoring my body through working out, and I think, like, that's something I'm really passionate about is, like, physical movement, like, to honor Christ and bear a cross that way. And so I think working out is just a great outlet.

It is. I bet you meet a lot of new people too. It's going to the gym, and it's something I feel like and on a social level that people love to do as well. And so I have stepped away from that, but you're inspiring me right now to get back to it just because...

yes girl

You know all the different reasons that you listed are really good reasons. Well, you talked about painting your garage this weekend and turning that into a home gym. Is that something that you have been sharing about, like, the process online, creating content around it? Because it seems like when I...

Yeah.

Yeah. It seems like when I saw your YouTube channel, I remember I've seen a couple of your videos. But one of them had more of a workout fitness, and then some of them were, like, you know, talking to the camera, like, just lifestyle stuff. So I was just curious to hear if that's a part of your online presence.

Yeah. Great question. So I've I'm filming and currently editing a reel for, like, our garage transformation. And so on my Instagram, which is at @Sydney.Tanner which I know Tori's putting in the show notes, but there'll be, like, a transformation reel I'll be posting, I think, sometime this week. But with YouTube, I love YouTube, and I started out strong.

I was like, I'm gonna post every week, and I'm sure you feel this with a podcast, but it's so much work. And I was thinking about what outlets in my life, like, do I wanna keep pouring into, and I'm not, like, completely stepped away from YouTube. But at the moment, I'm funneling, like, a lot of my energy towards my business because, like, Lord willing, one day, I pray that we can be full time and, like, that would be so awesome. And so I think it was a challenging decision to be like, okay. I'm gonna pause right now, but it doesn't mean I can't come back to it in the future, obviously. So

Oh, yeah. Well, I guess the algorithm was just doing you right because I didn't look at the time stamps. I just know that I kept seeing more videos pop up over here.

So I wanted to let you know that your content is still reaching people. So even if you have stepped away from it, your message, you know, is still affecting and inspiring people online.

AW Thanks Tori.

And I can't wait to see that real.

Yes

Listeners, another thing you're gonna have to check out because the way that you talked about how you painted it

Mhmm.

Everything, I'm just excited to see how that transformation comes along.

Thanks, girl.

That's really cool.

Yeah.

I don't know if you I think it was the Armchair Expert podcast. I don't know if you've ever heard of that one. The host was talking about how he got, like, this big sign to put in his garage And named his home gym, like, a real gym. So there's some inspiration if you're interested in naming it, haha.

Yeah. We might have to. We talked about putting... Have you heard of the man in the arena quote?

Yeah. that's a good quote.

Yeah. So my husband loves that quote. And so we talk about maybe putting, like, a piece of art that has that quote in it just because it's so good. But I don't know. I'm all about the aesthetics.

So I was on Pinterest looking at inspo and trying to pull from it. Right now, the garage is black, which is pretty crazy. Like, we walked our neighborhood. Everyone's garage is white, and then there's ours. It's just the novelty.

Well, it's gonna come together, and just let it unfold as, you know, time goes on. We've done a good job of, like, unpacking and everything, but there's still weekends where we'll do a little project and stuff. So just leave, you know, space and room for it to just fall altogether. It'll come come together.

Yeah.

Well, as a business owner, creative, as a woman, do you have any recommendations of things that are really interesting to you right now, like podcast or books, anything like that?

I would say if I guess speaking to some like, my previous self. Right? Like, 10 years ago, what would be resources that would be beneficial for me? Right now, I am loving the Product Boss podcast. I've been listening to them for a couple years. Have you heard of them, Tori?

No. I haven't, but I love a good podcast recommendation. So okay.

They are phenomenal.

The Product Boss. Got it. Okay.

The Product boss.

So it used to be 2 girls, Jacqueline and Mina, but Mina, I believe, stepped away, and she's doing her own thing now. But they both have grown very successful multi figure product based businesses, and they just really break down and give, like, a bunch of application steps to how to implement things and get the wheel moving forward. So that's really great. And then I feel like everyone knows who she is, but Jenna Kutcher, the Gold Digger podcast, she is phenomenal.

I do like hers. I've been listening to hers for years and love the re-branding she's been doing lately.

Yeah. Yeah. So she's great. And then I guess any other things I'm loving? I feel like lately, there's been so many Amazon dupes that have been so good, for, like, free people.

I love free people. So Amazon dupes are always great.

Do you share your recommendations on like to know it, or do you have, like, a page where you link some of your favorite products?

I have an Amazon storefront, but I'm trying to get more into, like like to know it linking everything. But I also feel like, how how much energy am I trying to put into, like, every single platform? I know you know how it is.

I definitely know how it is.

So I don't have a like to know it, but I link all my Amazon things in my storefront.

Okay. I'm gonna have to check out the dupes you've been sharing.

Like Yeah. There's good ones. It's just crazy to me, like, how there can be, like, like, literally identical clothing. You know?

So funny story. I do know. Dylan, my husband, heard me order a dupe once, and so it's it was like a jumpsuit. I think it was a Free People dupe. Mhmm. And he didn't realize, like, what dupe meant as in, like, another version of it, you know, that's more affordable. And so he just thought that the item itself, like, the design of the garment was a dupe. And so every time, like, we're folding it or I'm doing laundry and stuff, he's like, oh, this is your dupe. And I'm like, Dylan, the dupe is the idea of it, not the actual, you know, one suit.

Yeah.

And so we always laugh at that word, just dupe, in general too.

That's so funny. I love that story.

Funny random, yeah, tangent.

Yeah. What would you say is something you're loving right now?

Oh, that's a good question. Let's see. I recently got into some new podcasts that are not self help, like More fiction, like science fiction, which I've never really been in. But I love to listen to things while I work, and music is great.

But sometimes I find myself getting into a habit between, like, listening to certain artists and then just listening to, like, my favorite podcast. So I have reached out in a different genre and have found that it's been really helpful to kinda have something a little bit interesting going on in the background.

So Which ones have you been listening to?

I'm glad you asked. Yeah. So The Midnight Burger Oh. Is 1. It's about a diner, which I grew up working in a diner, so that way it kinda had a little bit of nostalgia for me.

Mhmm. Oh.

Yeah. Check out check out some fiction. It gets you kinda thinking differently.

Yeah. I love that.

Yeah. Well, I'm so glad you got to come on and share your victory story. Is there anything else that we may have not covered that you wanna share with the Contagious Victory's audience?

I don't think so. I appreciate you having me on. And, again, use code victory for 15% off of darlinganddivine.co. And, yeah, orders ship same day. So you'll get it quick.

It's it's great for gifts, which is awesome. So, yeah, super stoked to have been on this episode.

I was gonna circle back to the victory promo code that you shared. Sydney is so gracious to share this promo code. So, yes, 15% off your order, and you can go to darlinganddivine.co to shop all of the pieces that she talked about, like the earrings that she has in and the beautiful necklace that she described and then so much more. I was on her website earlier today, and I've been following for a little bit. I've sent it to my husband, hint, hint, Dylan.

I'm gonna go and use that victory code and pick out something that I like, But

Oh, so sweet.

You can also do the same, listeners. And yeah. Also, go ahead and follow Sydney on Instagram at sydney.tanner. Correct?

Yep. That is correct.

Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Sydney, for coming on. Thanks for joining us for this week's episode of the contagious victories podcast. If the show inspired you to hear your own victory story, I'm here to tell you the world deserves to hear it. Submit it to me online at toriblackmon.com.

Review and subscribe if that feels right. Telling your friends about the show helps Containus victories to grow. Plus, we all appreciate a little sunshine. I'm Tori B. Thanks for listening, I'll catch you soon!