CPP student shines with jewelry small business
By Lindsey Lam, May 5, 2026
Crystal Duran stood behind her table as crowds of people walked by her neatly arranged polymer clay earrings and jewelry glistening in the sun.
Now a mechanical engineering student at Cal Poly Pomona, Duran first began making jewelry during her childhood when her mother encouraged her to explore the arts and work with her hands. The hobby stuck because over the last four years, Duran has made polymer clay earrings and other jewelry under the business name “Crystal’s Krystals.”
The vendor fair in Whittier in 2021 marked her first big break, but for her first couple of markets, Duran struggled to sell some of her products. Market after market, many of her creations laid untouched. Yet, her first couple of customers sparked something inside of her that pushed her to continue growing and working on her small business through college.
“I definitely gravitate a lot toward fantasy and whimsical kind of inspired jewelry,” Duran said. “Another half is probably paying tribute to my Latin roots.”
Some of Duran’s designs include swords with roses wrapped around the blades, whimsical mirrors with flowers and butterflies in the reflections and pink potions. And through many of those designs, many feature butterflies and marigolds.
Now, Duran releases new pieces every week and markets them by herself on her Instagram page. Crystal’s Krystals is a one-woman operation, as Duran balances tabling, crafting and engineering coursework by herself.
Since starting at CPP, Duran tabled at eight of the markets hosted by Associated Students Inc., primarily the Night Market and Bronco Marketplace events.
“Keeping a community and progressively growing is really important to me,” Duran said.
For in-person events, the help of her friends and family, including electrical engineering student Arturo Magaña, who assists visitors when Duran is busy custom sizing other customers, lightens the load. Magaña’s favorite part about helping with tabling is talking to different types of people and introducing them to Duran’s work.
“She reflects a lot in the products she makes,” Magaña said. “She’s a very happy, hard-working person, and I think what she makes and what she sells reflects that.”
Physics student Abigail Walston first discovered Crystal’s Krystals in 2023 at Duran’s first on-campus table during an ASI event. Walston bought a pair of monarch earrings.
Since then, Walston encountered Duran several more times at ASI vendor market events, eventually considering herself a regular customer.
“I just love her style, honestly,” Walston said. “The style of clay earrings is something that I’ve loved for a long time, and that’s like always something that I’ve gravitated towards.”
Since meeting Duran, Walston has bought four pairs of earrings from her, primarily seasonal designs.
The jewelry does not tarnish and shows no signs of wear and tear, according to Walston.
“It’s just so impressive that she can create so much stuff for her business and still maintain going to classes and staying up to date,” Walston said.
Duran also began collaborating with cafes near Pomona to host pop-ups to sell her jewelry, mainly Cafe 86 in West Covina and Yoxi Tea in Covina. Magaña also helped Duran at her event at Riverside RnB Tea in fall 2025.
But Crystal’s Krystals is not limited to Los Angeles County. After a mishappened market in Victorville, she bonded with other affected vendors in the area. So, Duran asked a boba shop she and her family used to go to if she could do pop-ups occasionally. Since getting a “yes” from the owner, Duran has hosted vendor markets at the boba shop for almost two years.
“It’s really important to me to continue that community and also offer those opportunities for other vendors,” Duran said. “That’s why I try to keep doing it as much as I can.”
The pop-up events offer different types of crafts, crystals, tumblers, jewelry and magnets.
Duran also tabled at several other markets, including the Little Tokyo Flea Market, Creepy Dollz Market and Solar Flare Market.
While Duran said she feels entering a mechanical engineering role after college makes the most sense, she does not want to let go of her small business.
“I think for now, really the foreseeable future, I can see myself continuing for a while longer,” Duran said.
More information about Duran’s future events and pop-ups can be found on her Instagram at @crystals.krystals.
