Libre Jones has style: Maximalist style!
Beloved Upcycle, founded and launched by Libre Jones, reimagines vintage furniture and offers customized designs and aesthetics tailored to the client’s individuality.
Libre scours estate sales, resale shops, and flea markets looking for well-built pieces of furniture with classic details that speak to her and that are ready to be reborn. When deciding on a new visage for the piece she considers style, form, colors, textures, and trim and chooses modern prints that complement the furniture’s shape.
Client Need
While taking an upholstery class, Libre fell in love with revitalizing vintage furniture. Once she realized that her new love could grow into a business, she knew she needed to go back to the classroom – this time to learn how to become a businesswoman.
Solution
Libre completed the Profeta Entrepreneurship Workshop, a free nine-week program at NJII for people in Newark and the surrounding communities. The Workshop teaches business fundamentals, focusing on key topics new and small business owners need to be prepared to tackle.
“The Profeta Entrepreneurship Workshop helped me identify that my hobby is a legitimate business. The assistance I received helped me work through the trepidation with financial statements and creating projections, which always intimidated me. In the past I would get discouraged and stop, but now I am moving full steam ahead!”
Libre Jones
Founder, Beloved Upcycle
Business Value
Taking the course gave Libre the business foundation she needed to launch Beloved Upcycle. Her diligence in learning best business practices has allowed her to create a path to profitability.
As a designer, Libre creates a vision for each piece of furniture; as a businesswoman, Libre has developed a strategic plan for Beloved Upcycle.
Using her newly learned skills and industry knowledge, Libre has launched a marketing campaign on Instagram that illustrates Maximalist style, upcycling techniques, her visits to thrift stores and used furniture stores, and her own upcycling process. Today, two organizations have asked her to offer classes to help people understand the possibilities of upcycling.
Now that her revenue is growing, Libre hopes to find an affordable workshop space. Beloved Upcycle is a result of life-long learning and reflection of Libre’s persistence and ingenuity.
Learn more about Libre Jones’ story and her business process at Beloved Upcycle here.
The New Jersey Innovation Institute (NJII) is a 501c3 organization wholly owned by the New Jersy Institute of Technology (NJIT). As an independent corporation, NJII is uniquely positioned to be agile, entrepreneurial and opportunistic. NJII is focused on accelerating technology and fostering innovation in order to have a positive economic impact in New Jersey. To date, NJII has generated over $330M in revenue during its ten years of operation across its four divisions (Healthcare, Defense, Continued Learning, Entrepreneurship) and today has a team of 120 staff. Learn more: https://www.njii.com