Pat Starr wanted more than the usual daily grind — driving to a job, working at a desk all day and than going home.
“Life’s too short to just get up and be tired and not enjoy going to work,” she said.
So Starr, a Buchanan resident and accountant at Andrews Tax X Accounting, P.C. in Niles, saw an opportunity when a business space vacated next to her work.
“It was like divine intervention. Things just started lining up,” she said.
Starr has been making her own jewelry for at least 15 years — at first just to have something to wear to work. However, more and more people began asking her to make them necklaces and earrings too.
“When things get stressful, I could turn the numbers off,” she explained of her hobby.
When a salon closed next door to the accounting business, she and her husband, Dave, decided in July to set up a jewelry store, Inspired by You. They unlocked the doors to the public Aug. 30.
“If I have a dream, he just buys into that vision,” Starr said of her husband.
The store’s name is as exactly as it implies — the merchandise is influenced by what Starr’s customers want to wear.
Through wearing jewelry, she has been able to understand what is “more than pretty” and what is just uncomfortable.
“Most of this isn’t funky … ‘look at this,’ and then never wear it again,” Starr said.
She certainly can do funky, or any other style customers request. She also receives frequent requests for jewelry repair, often on homemade pieces

purchased elsewhere.
“If the bracelet doesn’t have the right kind of beads, it falls off,” Starr said.
Inspired by You carries a wide selection of classics and trends, from necklaces with large stone pendants, to long, beaded necklaces to delicate gemstone earrings.
Starr uses a wide variety of materials to make jewelry, like crystals, charms, pearls, gemstones and shells, and would like to eventually repurpose beach glass and use parts of an old chandelier, skeleton keys, fabric-covered stones and decoupage-style in pieces.
However, 75 percent of Starr’s clientele want custom work, not just what is in the store windows.
“Thus, the name of the company,” she said. “Whatever your inspiration.”
Starr has held home parties in the past, but said the difference between hers and other jewelry parties, like Lia Sophia’s, is that “you can take it with you” instead of ordering it.
She is very excited about an idea for “mommy beads” — jewelry wrapped with fabric from baby clothing children have outgrown.
“You have a favorite, but what do you do with it” after the child has outgrown it?” she asked. “Then every time you wear it, it can bring back memories of your baby.”
Prices for earrings start at about $10; bracelets, $20; and necklaces, $30.
Starr’s future plans include starting a beading club, and she would like to also integrate handmade gift items.

Inspired by You is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It is located at 24 North Fourth St., Niles. It can be reached at (269) 262-1813 or visit Inspired by You on Facebook.