DAI XO: The Story So Far
"FROM ENGLAND TO GERMANY. I QUIT STUDYING AND STARTED DOING WHAT I LOVE"
Hey! I'm Dai ☻
An English girl living in northern Germany with a passion for bright colours, strawberry müllermilch + all things POSITIVE! I also happen to be the founder of DAI XO; an online store full of small happy things (that hopefully bring you all BIG smiles!)
The story begins in 2018, when 21 year old me, took the leap to leave my busy city life in Manchester (UK) behind and instead replace it for the lovely German city of Oldenburg. I was very lucky to be awarded a scholarship and began studying for a Masters Degree in Psychology. Although I loved studying, I felt like I was stuck in a scientific bubble and wasn't able to express creative side and this was a big struggle for me!
So, when the world was put on pause in 2020, I took the time and opportunity to work on some creative projects - one of them being making beaded jewelry. Through lots of trial and error + youtube videos; I eventually taught myself how to make some really cool beaded jewelry. After lots of encouragement from my loved ones, I eventually got the courage to create a shop on Etsy, so, that is exactly what I did + NOTHING could prepare me for what would happen next!
An English girl living in northern Germany with a passion for bright colours, strawberry müllermilch + all things POSITIVE! I also happen to be the founder of DAI XO; an online store full of small happy things (that hopefully bring you all BIG smiles!)
The story begins in 2018, when 21 year old me, took the leap to leave my busy city life in Manchester (UK) behind and instead replace it for the lovely German city of Oldenburg. I was very lucky to be awarded a scholarship and began studying for a Masters Degree in Psychology. Although I loved studying, I felt like I was stuck in a scientific bubble and wasn't able to express creative side and this was a big struggle for me!
So, when the world was put on pause in 2020, I took the time and opportunity to work on some creative projects - one of them being making beaded jewelry. Through lots of trial and error + youtube videos; I eventually taught myself how to make some really cool beaded jewelry. After lots of encouragement from my loved ones, I eventually got the courage to create a shop on Etsy, so, that is exactly what I did + NOTHING could prepare me for what would happen next!
DECEMBER 2020: After watching literally every single youtube video about Etsy, I opened the Etsy shop for 1 week before my Christmas vacation. I didn't expect to get any sales because all the research suggested that it would take a few weeks to get the first sale BUT to my surprise, I actually got 10 sales in this week (9 organic + 1 from my boyfriend haha!) I was so impressed and excited about this. After the week was over, I put the shop on holiday mode, feeling very motivated to come back and work on it in January.
JANUARY 2021: I reopened the Etsy shop with fresh energy, worked on the listings, watched more youtube videos and saw some more sales coming in. I set myself some personal goals for the year, of what I wanted to achieve by the end of 2021 with DAI BEADED IT.
FEBRUARY 2021 - AUGUST 2021: SO MUCH GROWTH. SO MUCH BURNOUT. This time was bitter sweet. I already achieved the goals that I set for the year by March 2021. I had no idea that the Etsy shop would go that way. Some of my products became bestsellers on Etsy which was also crazy because these same products are still some of our bestsellers today! For example, the colourful beaded necklace (with/without the pearl charm).
JANUARY 2021: I reopened the Etsy shop with fresh energy, worked on the listings, watched more youtube videos and saw some more sales coming in. I set myself some personal goals for the year, of what I wanted to achieve by the end of 2021 with DAI BEADED IT.
FEBRUARY 2021 - AUGUST 2021: SO MUCH GROWTH. SO MUCH BURNOUT. This time was bitter sweet. I already achieved the goals that I set for the year by March 2021. I had no idea that the Etsy shop would go that way. Some of my products became bestsellers on Etsy which was also crazy because these same products are still some of our bestsellers today! For example, the colourful beaded necklace (with/without the pearl charm).
I developed the quality of the beads, worked on educating myself on the best jewelry finishings to use, developed the packaging and the overall customer experience. During the summer months the shop was super busy and I was finding it very difficult to keep on top of the orders / running a business and also studying for my masters degree. In August 2021, I decided to put the shop on holiday mode for 3 weeks and enjoy a well deserved vacation because the pressure was a lot and I felt very burnt out!
SEPTEMBER 2021 - JANUARY 2022: After my vacation I felt refreshed again but I was still unsure what I wanted to do with the business or with university... I just knew that I wanted to create a life where I could confidently say that 'I LOVE WHAT I DO' when I wake up each and every morning! This is when I decided that I would no longer continue with my masters degree, instead I would reopen my Etsy shop and pursue DAI BEADED IT even though I was not 100% sure of the direction I wanted to go with it. By October, I had a talk with myself and decided that I would like to create my own website as well as run the Etsy Shop. I created this website via Shopify and it was a very big learning experience for me but as always, youtube was my best friend. During this time, I also started working at a Gymnasium, helping students with their English, this was something I really enjoyed and will continue to do until summer 2023.
FEBRUARY 2022: During this time I was dedicating a lot of time to developing the new online shop, trying to create a social media presence, gaining some focus on the direction of DAI BEADED IT. Meanwhile the Etsy shop was surpassing my expectations month by month which made so full of gratitude. Thank you everyone!
April 2022: this month was a great one. I was feeling very good about business and how everything was going. I finally launched the online store which was such a great achievement.
SEPTEMBER 2021 - JANUARY 2022: After my vacation I felt refreshed again but I was still unsure what I wanted to do with the business or with university... I just knew that I wanted to create a life where I could confidently say that 'I LOVE WHAT I DO' when I wake up each and every morning! This is when I decided that I would no longer continue with my masters degree, instead I would reopen my Etsy shop and pursue DAI BEADED IT even though I was not 100% sure of the direction I wanted to go with it. By October, I had a talk with myself and decided that I would like to create my own website as well as run the Etsy Shop. I created this website via Shopify and it was a very big learning experience for me but as always, youtube was my best friend. During this time, I also started working at a Gymnasium, helping students with their English, this was something I really enjoyed and will continue to do until summer 2023.
FEBRUARY 2022: During this time I was dedicating a lot of time to developing the new online shop, trying to create a social media presence, gaining some focus on the direction of DAI BEADED IT. Meanwhile the Etsy shop was surpassing my expectations month by month which made so full of gratitude. Thank you everyone!
April 2022: this month was a great one. I was feeling very good about business and how everything was going. I finally launched the online store which was such a great achievement.
SUMMER - EARLY AUTUMN 2022: Covid seemed like it was coming to an end and life was looking bright again for a lot of us. I changed the logo, into something more clear and concise and continued working on the online store and Etsy Shop. During this time I had an amazing request for an offline event. I always wanted to do offline events because it would give me the opportunity to integrate better into German society, meet new people and inspire people to create cool things with beads HOWEVER, I always let the fear that 'my spoken German wasn't good enough' get in the way, so I often turned these pop up / offline events down. But this one was too big to turn down and it was the chance to do a workshop collaboration with Pinterest for the VideoDays festival in Köln. It was such a nice feeling to be considered to do something like this and it turned out to be one of the best things I ever did, I met some great people during this time. This experience completely removed the fear that I once had and sparked the chain of offline events that were to come.
AUTUMN - WINTER 2022: During this time, I started to dedicate much more time to the rebrand of DAI BEADED IT into DAI XO. After speaking with others who have more experience, than me, in business, it was now clear that: if I wanted to grow into a great brand, spreading colourfulness, the word of positivity and expand my project range, I needed to change the name into something more cohesive and clear whilst maintaining my true mission, passion and the lovely lilac and mermaid holographic brand identity that I had developed over the last year or so. That is where DAI XO was born. For months, I worked on new product ideas, designs, building relationships with manufacturers etc. It was a stressful but fun time for me as I also had to maintain the Etsy and Online shop. The first outsourced DAI BEADED IT / DAI XO products were designed and created during this time - which are our popular: purple smiley keychain and multicolour focus on the good keychain. I ended the year feeling good, I was lucky enough to take part in some more offline events and again met some more amazing people!
AUTUMN - WINTER 2022: During this time, I started to dedicate much more time to the rebrand of DAI BEADED IT into DAI XO. After speaking with others who have more experience, than me, in business, it was now clear that: if I wanted to grow into a great brand, spreading colourfulness, the word of positivity and expand my project range, I needed to change the name into something more cohesive and clear whilst maintaining my true mission, passion and the lovely lilac and mermaid holographic brand identity that I had developed over the last year or so. That is where DAI XO was born. For months, I worked on new product ideas, designs, building relationships with manufacturers etc. It was a stressful but fun time for me as I also had to maintain the Etsy and Online shop. The first outsourced DAI BEADED IT / DAI XO products were designed and created during this time - which are our popular: purple smiley keychain and multicolour focus on the good keychain. I ended the year feeling good, I was lucky enough to take part in some more offline events and again met some more amazing people!
NOW 2023: So far, the year has been great, I have so much to be grateful for! The rebrand is going as planned and if you're reading this, then welcome to the rebranded DAI XO website hehe. It was a challenge to create because I had very specific things that I wanted on here but I did not have expertise of a website developer ahaha - hence why it took me so long to create (youtube and my loved ones have really been special to me). We have a host of new great products, all small, gift worthy and simply just cute! I am forever grateful for all the people that have supported me along the way, I truly appreciate each and every one of you! I must also state that I am also grateful for the difficult times; without such moments, I may not have had the chance to grown emotionally enough to believe that I can create, what is about to come with DAI XO; this is simply just the calm before the storm, this is only the beginning!
THE FUTURE: No-one can be sure what the future holds but I do have some very exciting things that I would like to continue to achieve. First and foremost being; continuing to fulfil my mission with DAI XO - in short: spreading nothing by colourfulness and positivity. Alongside that, I will continue working on my passion, my dream, my therapy: DAI XO :).
Thanks for stopping by and being the reason I get to do what I love, I hope you enjoyed the read and remember that YOU CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING THAT YOU PUT YOUR MIND TOO!
Love,
Dai xo
THE FUTURE: No-one can be sure what the future holds but I do have some very exciting things that I would like to continue to achieve. First and foremost being; continuing to fulfil my mission with DAI XO - in short: spreading nothing by colourfulness and positivity. Alongside that, I will continue working on my passion, my dream, my therapy: DAI XO :).
Thanks for stopping by and being the reason I get to do what I love, I hope you enjoyed the read and remember that YOU CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING THAT YOU PUT YOUR MIND TOO!
Love,
Dai xo
The DAI XO Way: Our Mission to Transform and Empower.
"Meine Mission besteht darin, Menschen zu ermutigen – insbesondere jene, die im Leben mit einigen Schwierigkeiten konfrontiert wurden – ihre Leidenschaften zu entdecken und zu verfolgen. Ich möchte dazu beitragen, Positivität und Glück zu fördern. Mit DAI XO hoffe ich eine achtsame Auswahl an einzigartigen, bedeutungsvollen und authentischen Produkten anbieten zu können, die diese Botschaft durch Farben, Worte und Gefühle widerspiegeln. Außerdem möchte ich eine einladende und integrative Gemeinschaft für alle zu schaffen. Bei DAI XO habe ich mich entschlossen, persönliches Wachstum und Entfaltung zu fördern und nachhaltige und sozial verantwortliche Handlungsweisen zu unterstützen."
Dai Dennis, founder of DAI XO
Dai Dennis, founder of DAI XO
“Simply mega and incredibly beautifully packaged”
Ordered here for the second time and very satisfied. The goods are simply mega and incredibly beautifully packaged 🥰A
Annika
via Etsy
“I am very happy with the chain”
I am very happy with the chain. Everything went smoothly and the necklace is absolutely beautiful. The necklace was lovingly packaged with a sweet message.S
SAMIRA
via Etsy
“I get asked about this great chain so often!”
I get asked about this great chain so often!S
Stephanie
via Etsy