Meet Maxine Bishko | Founder of Lattice Gems

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maxine Bishko and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maxine, what do you attribute your success to?
I would say the most important factor behind the success of Lattice Gems is motivation. Having been in the industry for two years, a lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes – content creation, e-commerce and social media management, ups and downs, just to name a few things that a solopreneur does – it is very easy to lose motivation especially when the business does not do well. While I always invoked creativity and intuition into Lattice Gems, without motivation, any creative idea would go to naught. Because I love what I do and who I am creating for, this keeps me motivated as I am not simply creating to make money or pass time.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Many people can set up an online store selling things. Even pretty things, like crystals. Some people love the geological aspect of how crystals are formed, while some people believe in their metaphysical properties. But for me, I see them as they are, now. Each and every crystal is unique, and no two are the same. And so being, each of them tell an individual story. Sometimes they look like dessert, other times they have little markings shaped like animals on them, or they are a pocket of beautiful scenery. I tell their stories on all my platforms, and the stories caption each crystal’s image on Instagram @latticegems. That makes them speak to my customers, with their delightful names and creative stories, written in the way I view them.

In a market where the love for crystals is growing exponentially with a saturated marketplace of crystal sellers, I definitely have had my difficulties. In particular, in learning how to pick and trust my global suppliers. I have come across some crystal “wholesalers” from all around the world (even the USA) who claim to be reputable and ethical. However, they turned out to be scammers. Some of them sell inferior products while others scam for money because the barrier of entry to selling crystals is so low. That is why to succeed in this business, one has to form a network of trusted suppliers and resources, and for me, I did that with my intuition and prior experience of dealing with people. I was fortunate that most of my suppliers are great businesses; as for the minority who turned out to be scammers, I always believe that karma will get them back. For some lessons in life, a fee of either time or money must be paid to learn the lesson.

Lattice Gems is a brand that supports its community of crystal-loving people from all over the world, with crystals from far-flung corners of the globe. Regardless of the reason for loving crystals, Lattice Gems has an ethically-sourced crystal for you. And with each crystal, there is an accompanying story inspired by the crystal itself – just for laughs, quirky anecdotes, or metaphysical properties of the crystal – every crystal has a story envisioned by Lattice herself. Formed during the pandemic, Lattice Gems’ community quickly grew and is still growing today.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My favorite part of SoCal is Oceanside, because I am a beach person. Spend a day at the beach and check out a few restaurants along the way for some cocktails or appetizers. Because one of my favorite shows is Animal Kingdom, you can also make it a point to find the production house just off the street facing the ocean! Then, take a drive to Temecula and stay in one of the vineyards for a couple days – where you can relax and drink wine. Take a few vineyard tours and learn more about Temecula wine!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Besides the most inspiring person to me, Dwayne Johnson, who is a ROCK of motivation and can-do spirit, I must say my husband deserves most credit and recognition. He has never wavered in his support of my business and has also come up with ideas and creative ways to expand the business – in ways that I’ve never even thought of. He also offers his help when I need an extra helping hand – be it during live shows or at weekend markets. I am very grateful for his support and encouragement that flows relentlessly from him.

Website: latticegems.com

Instagram: @latticegems

Facebook: facebook.com/latticegemsatelier