The Grand River Sachem and Glanbrook Gazette

August 12, 2010

Lorie Tokola of Hagersville was a woman twice diagnosed with cancer and looking for a way to earn enough money to send her children to university.

Silpada Designs, a company that creates stunning, hand-crafted jewellery, enabled Tokola to achieve her goal.

Bonnie Kelly and Teresa Walsh, two stay-at-home-moms who love designing jewellery, created Silpada Designs as a small business. When they realized they had something special, the decided to expand.

Last week, Tokola spoke at Silpada Design’s national conference in downtown Toronto. She told her moving success story, which inspired and empowered about 1,200 women.
As a two-time cancer survivor, Tokola said she had reached a point in her life where she refused to believe [she] was not going to be there for [her] children.

“That was just not acceptable,” she said.

With that mindset, Lorie looked to many direct marketing companies and was sold on Silpada designs after learning about the compensation plan.

“When I first started it was purely for profit,” Tokola said. She wanted to pay for her children’s university education.

Her tenacity and ambition was obvious. She became a star leader within 12 weeks of joining Silpada, earning a four-digit commission cheque.

Within a short time, Tokola had pulled together a team of 20 people. Now, just two years later, she has 70 people working for her.

As Tokola learned the quality of the product she sold, her business became a vehicle for both personal and financial growth. She developed a passion and love for Silpada Designs.

Tokola admitted she was shy before working for Silpada. She described herself as “not a jewellery girl.”

Now, she enthusiastically describes Silpada’s products.

Tokola said Silpada’s jewellery is unique and very ecologically conscious. All jewellery is made from sterling silver, a material that is totally recyclable. Red coral used in the designs is ecologically harvested.

Each piece of jewellery is hand crafted by artisans around the world and passes through the hands of four to eight people before reaching its owner, guaranteeing a special, one-of-a-kind piece.

Artisans are paid what Tokola calls  “a living wage, not a minimum wage.” This gives them the opportunity to become the chief artisans in their own towns.

Silpada has changed Tokola’s life, giving her financial freedom and flexibility to spend more time with her family.

“I’m so committed to living in the moment and not wasting any time,” Tokola explained.
She calls Silpada the best opportunity to come her way.

“I’ve been able to achieve what I wanted to financially,” Tokola said.

Working with Silpada has allowed Tokola to retire from her work as a part-time nurse in Hagersville.

She can now focus her time and energy on staying healthy and doing what she loves most.
Tokola is a huge advocate for the potential to help change others lives by equipping them for success.

“I am a ‘possibilitarian’,” she said. “We have to live for what’s possible not for what’s real.”

For more information on Silpada Designs visit their website at www.silpada.ca.

View article online at Sachem.ca

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