(Photo provided) Sonja Jo Cavallero (right) is spending retirement by sharing her art with the community at different festivals and craft fairs. She launched Greenwood-based Coconut Rose Designs in 2023. Her children, like her daughter pictured here, influenced her to start the business and even impacted how she named it.
By BRITTNEY DIAL TESTIN
Coconut Rose Designs first began in 2023 after Sonja Jo Cavallero, designer and owner, retired from her sales role at HP.
Inspired by her son, Cavallero was determined to share her art with the community.
“My 22-year-old son…started his own business at the age of 19,” Cavallero said. “Watching his determination and willingness to take risks to be successful at his small business highly motivated me to take the chance to start my small business. He is so positive and never gives up, and it had a major influence on me as well.”
Coconut Rose Designs creates handmade wired bracelet cuffs using stones, glass beads, and on occasion, repurposed jewelry. In addition, they offer ankle bracelets made with shells and beads.
“I find them at St. Pete Beach with holes in them already,” Cavallero said. “They are sold with a ‘Mermaid Story’ and it tells you the magic of the shell bracelet.”
Cavallero grows her own flowers to create pressed flower art. This summer, she also added wired crystal vase art to her handmade collection.
“I love all the things I make; they all have a special place in my heart as I create them,” Cavallero said. “They are all my favorite!”
Coconut Rose Designs can be found at farmers markets and small-town festivals on the southside of Indianapolis, including Center Grove, Greenwood and Bargersville. Her home art studio is located in the Center Grove-Greenwood area.
“I have always made crafts since I was in junior high,” Cavallero said. “Being in Girl Scouts showed me that I had a creative and artisan side. If I see something I like, I say to myself ‘I can make that.’ I have done flower arranging, seamstress and sewing things, wedding decorating, and so many other things.”
“My mission is to do what I love,” she continued. “Crafting is my hobby and now that I am retired, why not make some money while I do what I love! It’s wonderful to make others happy when they buy my beautiful things.”
Cavallero is a beach girl at heart and incorporates that lifestyle into her business name.
“The smell of coconut and roses are my two favorite smells in the world,” Cavallero said.
In addition, roses have a special connection in her family.
“Both of my children were born in June and their birth flower is a Rose, along with the fact my grandfather had a stunning rose garden with 125 roses,” she said. “It was so beautiful. He taught me all of his gardening techniques to care for roses.”
For more information, visit Coconut Rose Designs on Facebook.
