Carley Ochs

Owner of Bourbon & Boweties

Don’t be afraid to get out and talk to people. The Tampa Bay community is so fun and the people here are great. Check out the TTBJ, VisitTampaBay.com lists local events as well.

Carley Ochs came up with the idea for Bourbon & Boweties while creating jewelry for family and friends. She started off by selling to local boutiques, but once she started utilizing social media platforms to showcase her work, her business took off. Carley taught her mom and a family friend to make the bangles to help her with orders. This became the format for production of Bourbon and Boweties. Each bangle is still hand-crafted by women and men in the Tampa Bay Area of Florida. Bourbon and Boweties has secured successful partnerships with small boutiques all over the USA, as well as Lilly Pulitzer, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s and Von Maur. Bourbon and Boweties is proud to offer timeless, fashionable and affordable jewelry that will forever be…

“Made by Proud Southern Hands.”

Q. How did you get your idea or concept for the business?

A. In short… a late-night flip cup game! I had just returned from Shanghai with some stones that I had purchased. After coming up with a few jewelry designs, the bracelet concept hit me. I made a few bracelets, but needed something to help made the shape. Thus, a red solo cup. The rest is history.

Q. What is unique about your business?

A. We are proud to have a work-force that is right here in our community. I think this really sets us apart from other businesses. We have created a cottage industry of women and men from the community that hand-craft Bourbon and Boweties from their homes, on their own time. How many people can go into Nordstrom and purchase an item that was made by someone in their community? Overall our hometown roots really set us apart, in our workforce, in our customer service and approach to business.