In 2001, after graduating from Virginia Tech with honors and a degree in Industrial Design, I moved to California with a suitcase packed with the few things I owned and a whole lot of aspiration. The world felt like a big oyster and I was young and full of steam. If someone had told me then that I would eventually start my own jewelry company, I don't know if I would have believed them.

Moving to California Without Much of a Plan

Settling on the West Coast wasn't quite as easy as I'd imagined. It was 2001, 9/11 had just happened and finding a job as a new college graduate was tough. I eventually found part-time work at a small furniture design company in Oakland while waiting tables for extra cash. I was having a blast living in California, but when it came to my career, I felt pretty lost. Something just didn't feel quite right.

So I made myself a plan. I would work hard for a year, save as much money as I possibly could and then follow a dream I'd had for a long time: traveling the world.

The Trip That Changed Everything

I spent the next year saving and planning, and then I picked up and left. For six months, I traveled with a backpack and very wide eyes. I left San Francisco for Tonga, then continued on to New Zealand and Australia before heading to Indonesia, where I spent five weeks traveling through Bali and Lombok.

From there, I went to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia before eventually making my way back to Thailand. I fell completely in love with Southeast Asia and spent anywhere from two to five weeks in each country. My original plan had been to continue on to India and Europe, but somewhere along the way I decided to toss the plan, extend my visas and stay in Asia a little longer.

It was one of the most incredible times of my life. Traveling that way opened my eyes to how many different ways there were to build a life. I met people, saw places and experienced cultures that were completely outside the little world I'd known. More than anything, the experience gave me a much bigger sense of possibility.

Coming Home and Starting CMD

When I came back to San Francisco, I knew I wanted to make something of my own. I was 26 years old, didn't have a perfectly mapped-out business plan and certainly didn't know everything I was getting myself into. What I did have was the feeling that if I worked hard enough and kept figuring things out as I went, I could make something happen.

And eventually, Colleen Mauer Designs was born.

There were years of trial and error after that. I learned how to design jewelry that could actually be produced, how to run a business, how to build a team and about a thousand other things I definitely didn't learn while studying Industrial Design. CMD grew slowly, one piece, one client and one lesson at a time.

Looking Back More Than Two Decades Later

So much has happened since the 26-year-old version of me decided to take a chance on herself. CMD has moved across the country, evolved through countless collections and different chapters, and grown into work I couldn't possibly have imagined when I first came home from that trip.

There are parts of this business today that look nothing like what I thought I was building back then. What hasn't changed is the part that mattered most from the beginning. I wanted a life where I could make things, follow my curiosity and keep creating something that felt like mine.

I think traveling taught me how to get comfortable not knowing exactly what came next. Starting CMD required a lot of that same trust. More than twenty years later, I'm still learning, still changing my mind, still making things and still incredibly grateful that younger me had the guts to give it a shot.

Here's to taking the long way around,
Colleen

© Colleen Mauer Designs. All rights reserved.

Published: September 10, 2018
Updated: August 23, 2026