Get to Know Natalie of Toasted Jewelry

Hi! My name is Natalie Lynn Opperman, Founder of Toasted Jewelry.

Where do you live? 

I grew up in the beautiful redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains, moved to Santa Barbara for college where I studied psychology and business, now I live in the redwoods in the Soquel hills.

How old is Toasted? 

5 years!

How did Toasted get its start?

Toasted was created shortly after graduating college in 2016. Our vision was to create a jewelry company that is inclusive, community-based, and cool. I was doing marketing for a start-up sunglasses company part-time, bartending on the side to make money, and every free second I had was spent obsessively watching YouTube videos on how to make jewelry and spending all of that bartender money on jewelry materials and fancy lookbook paper. I was starting to ask for too much time off to attend art markets, pop-ups, and was saying yes to pretty much every opportunity I was given. I left for Europe for a month and basically got laid off from the bar job when I got back 'cause I wasn’t available enough. That was the pivotal moment where I was like okay, here’s my chance to shoot my shot and do this thing full time. 2018 is when I went full throttle. Here we are in 2021, Toasted is in roughly 30 stores throughout the US and Canada, our jewelry is worn by beautiful women all over the world and I’ve never been more excited to make jewelry in my life!

I also want to mention that Toasted was originally started with my best friend Keana Rees. With our long-distance living arrangements and her growing family, she sadly stepped down as a co-owner in 2018. 

Is Toasted Eco-Friendly? 

My personal high standards of being eco-friendly definitely spill over into Toasted. Our packaging is made from 100% recycled materials, and we source our materials from ethical businesses that we feel good about supporting. 

Where can we find your jewels? 

You can find our full selection of jewelry online at www.toastedjewelry.com or at any of our amazing retailers that are listed on our website. 

What’s your best seller? 

Lately, it’s been stack rings, Linx Layer Chain, Emerald Ring, and anything with a Pearl on it!

Any advice for our girls looking to start their own business? 

Be naïve and delusional about how far you can go. If you put all of your energy and passion into your vision, it will be successful, it has to! Manifest it, educate yourself, figure out the tools you need, stand confidently by your work, and don’t waste time on anything or anyone that doesn’t align with your dreams. Oh, and if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room! 

You can shop Natalie's pieces on (almost) all our O'Neill Women's collections since we LOVE her pieces so much!!!