{"id":248783,"date":"2026-04-02T18:09:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T18:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/248783\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T18:09:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T18:09:13","slug":"golden-hour-designs-cultivates-girlhood-in-sacramento","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/248783\/","title":{"rendered":"Golden Hour Designs cultivates girlhood in Sacramento"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the COVID-19 pandemic launched shutdowns across the United States, Amanda Jensen, a Folsom resident, felt aimless.<\/p>\n

She was home alone all day, and when she wasn\u2019t, she was hopping between waitressing and bartending in midtown. She was in $25,000 worth of debt and couldn\u2019t pay her bills, Jensen recalled.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the life she saw for herself. But an old love from her high school days came back: hand making jewelry.<\/p>\n

What was once a hobby during her teenage days at Vista Del Lago High School in Folsom became a serious career path.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time, I wasn\u2019t really ready to take it seriously,\u201d Jensen said, \u201cI remembered I loved it so much, and I had always felt the calling to be a business owner again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Golden Golden Hour Designs owner, Amanda Jensen, poses for a portrait at the store in Oak Park on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

So, Jensen took a risk. While she said the world felt \u201cso scary and uncertain,\u201d due to the COVID-19 shutdown, she was determined to change her life. And six years later, she did.<\/p>\n

Jensen now owns Golden Hour Designs in Oak Park, a hypoallergenic jewelry and accessory shop and DIY craft lounge. What started as a side hustle selling crafts at farmers markets and online has now transformed in a whimsical storefront that offers jewelry making classes.<\/p>\n

Golden Hour Designs has come a long way since its humble beginnings, Jensen said. She said the operation began in a spare bedroom in her apartment. She bought herself a computer, some crafting supplies and went to work.<\/p>\n

She treated it like a full-time business, hand-crafting every piece of jewelry and conducting all backend operations by herself. Anywhere she could, Jensen sold her jewelry, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that what\u2019s I was meant to be doing,\u201d Jensen said. \u201cSo I dedicated every moment that I possibly had, seven days a week, to starting the business to fulfill the dream that I had.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nayeli Nayeli Anedazola returns charms to boxes after creating a necklace at Golden Hour Designs in Oak Park on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com A dreamer\u2019s dream<\/p>\n

While Jensen was fueled by sheer determination and hustle, she knew she needed an extra set of hands to get Golden Hour Designs off the ground. That\u2019s when she met Shellaine Anderson, who serves as the store\u2019s business consultant.<\/p>\n

Anderson joined in May 2024. When she saw the job application for general manager, Anderson said she was struck by Jensen\u2019s enthusiasm. She said she saw Jensen\u2019s vision and envisioned the possibilities of what Golden Hour Designs could be: a dreamer\u2019s dream that came true.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a real opportunity here to not only continue to sell retail items that are emphasized on self-expression, but to take that a step further and create a space for the community,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cIt\u2019s a space that\u2019s unique in Sacramento, and a place where people feel safe, and they belong together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Customers Customers Jackie Price and Tiare Lau, right, take in a candle’s aroma at Golden Hour Designs in Oak Park on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

She previously ended her tenure as a manager of a children\u2019s art studio, and after talking to Jensen on the phone, she said she felt like their personalities were \u201ca match made in heaven.\u201d The match was so perfect, in fact, Jensen packed her bags in Los Angeles and moved 400 miles to Sacramento.<\/p>\n

Upon Anderson\u2019s arrival, Golden Hour Designs grew from a retail-focused company to a community center, Jensen said. With the newly added charm lounge and merchandise that promoted individuality and female empowerment, Anderson knew Golden Hour Designs was different.<\/p>\n

\u201cAuthenticity and self-expression are highly underrated,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cIt\u2019s about being able to promote being who you are and showing up authentically in everything that you do,\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nayeli Nayeli Anedazola displays her completed charm necklace at Golden Hour Designs in Oak Park on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com Growing women-owned businesses<\/p>\n

Golden Hour Design is among the more than 1.5 million woman-owned businesses in California, which has the most woman-owned businesses than any other state in the country, according to The National Association of Women Businesses Sacramento Valley Chapter. Businesses run by women are beginning to dominate the state\u2019s economy, making up 40% statewide.<\/p>\n

The number of women-owned businesses in only growing in the state, a research brief from the University of California reported.<\/a> From 2019 to 2023, women-owned businesses brought in $580 billion from a $3.7 trillion national revenue.<\/p>\n

But what sets Golden Hour Designs apart from traditional businesses in Sacramento is its expansion into community events, Jensen said. It\u2019s more that just a retailer, but a home to a community-based craft club and monthly craft camp.<\/p>\n

\"Yazmin Yazmin Bedolla and Nayeli Anedazola, right, create charm necklaces at Golden Hour Designs in Oak Park on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have the ability to bring people in to experience other things we can do here that are not just charm jewelry,\u201d Jensen said. \u201cWe do all kinds of different events for crafting things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golden Hour Designs has expanded its jewelry to mainstream retailers as well. Jensen has sold its merchandise to more than 800 stores worldwide, including Urban Outfitters, Tilly\u2019s and Free People, according to its website.<\/p>\n

At the core of Golden Hour Designs is a place for the \u201cgirly pops\u201d and everyone from \u201cany walk of life.\u201d For Jensen, the most rewarding thing as a business owner is to see a place she created make people feel welcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cCultivating girlhood for me is making sure that every single person that comes in our doors, regardless of their gender, feels welcome,\u201d Jensen said.<\/p>\n

\"Customers Customers shop at Golden Hour Designs in Oak Park on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

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Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Emma Hall<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Emma Hall covers Sacramento County for The Sacramento Bee. Hall graduated from Sacramento State and Diablo Valley College. She is Blackfeet and Cherokee.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the COVID-19 pandemic launched shutdowns across the United States, Amanda Jensen, a Folsom resident, felt aimless. She…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248784,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-248783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}