From the looks of it, sophomore, Abby Moriarty seems like she would have no free time on her hands to do anything. She is apart of both the Girls Cross Country and Track team year round, is involved in numerous clubs at York, is an excellent student, and is constantly filming and editing videos for her broadcasting and communications class, yet somehow, she is able to run a handmade jewelry business, Honey Beads Co., all on her own.

“I really don’t know how I manage running a business while also making time for sports, clubs, homework, family, and friends,” Moriarty said. “I just try to fit it into any free time that I have, especially on the weekends.”

Ever since she was little, Moriarty has always had an interest in design and fashion, but it wasn’t until a family vacation to Arizona this past summer, that she discovered her true passion: making jewelry.

“I had come across so many local vendors who had been selling all kinds of jewelry with handmade beads,” Moriarty said. “I bought some for myself, and started making necklaces out of them because I had never seen jewelry like that back home.”

At first, she had no intention of creating a business and was making jewelry solely for herself and her friends. As the school year started and she began wearing her bracelets and necklaces to school, Moriarty started receiving a countless amount of compliments on her handmade pieces.

“When I started making jewelry, I really only made necklaces and bracelets for myself and my friends because I thought it was fun,” Moriarty said. “When I would be out wearing the stuff that I had made, so many people kept asking me where I got my jewelry from. When I told them that I made it myself, they started asking me how much I would sell them for. I eventually got so many order requests that I just decided to make a business out of it.”

After her decision to start her own business, Moriarty created an Instagram page titled “@honeybeadsco,” to establish a platform for other students at York to buy her bracelets and necklaces.

“I came up with the name Honey Beads Co because, at the time, I was really passionate about the whole ‘‘save the bees’ movement, and I wanted to do something to help the cause,” Moriarty said. “For one of my bracelets, a portion of the proceeds go towards a foundation that works to protect the dying population of bees. I wanted to raise awareness towards this and honey beads kind of rhymes with honeybees so it just kind of stuck.”

Her jewelry quickly became extremely popular among the girls at York, with students in all four grades buying necklaces and bracelets from Moriarty and supporting her business.

“It makes me so happy when I see people around school wearing my jewelry,” Moriarity said.“Sometimes if I’m having a rough day, simply seeing someone walking by me wearing one of my necklaces or bracelets really turns my day around.”

Because of the high quality of her bracelets and necklaces along with their inexpensive prices, Moriarty has acquired a following of loyal customers that continue to come back and buy jewelry from her.

“I had seen a bunch of girls at York wearing her jewelry, and I thought her necklaces were really cute,” junior Elizabeth Kempker said. “So I decided to buy one from her. The necklace I got was so well made, and I wear it pretty much every day because it goes with everything. I am definitely going to buy more jewelry from her in the future.”

As of right now, Moriarty has created a successful system of delivering her jewelry to students at York but is starting to work on ways to sell her pieces to people outside of the Elmhurst community.

“My business is primarily Instagram-based, and for a while, I just had people from York direct message me their requests and I would give them their jewelry at school during the passing periods or at lunch,” said Moriarty. “As the popularity of my jewelry grew, I decided to make a google form for people to fill out their orders, and now I am currently working on a website so that people outside of York can purchase my jewelry.”

Although the future is still unclear, Moriarty hopes to continue this passion of hers and keep designing new types of stylish jewelry for her customers’ wardrobes. As her business grows, she is planning on continuing her tradition of partnering with different charities to raise money for their causes.

“For the next couple of years, I plan on continuing my business for as long as I can,” Moriarity said. “I don’t exactly know what the future holds, but I hope to expand a little bit more. I hope to also sell more bracelets and necklaces that promote different charities and raise money for them.”