From Survival to Sparkle: A Journey of Empowerment from a Teen Mom in Crisis to Jewelry Artist and Lawyer
My journey of empowerment.
Balancing motherhood, trauma recovery, and ambition isn’t something you’re taught. It’s something you survive. And if you’re lucky—and stubborn—you do more than survive. You transform.
I’m Asia Olieman, founder of Pretty Weird, a handcrafted Philly-inspired jewelry brand born from pain, persistence, and the wild pursuit of joy.
I’m also a domestic violence survivor, a lawyer, a mother of three, and a woman who rebuilt everything from nothing more than grit, pliers, and a dream.
The Beginning: Teen Motherhood, Abuse, and Rock Bottom
By 18, I had two children and a violent partner I was constantly trying to escape. We moved again and again, always starting over, always just barely getting by. At one point, we lived in an apartment with no heat, no hot water, and not much else—surviving off of pancake mix and sleeping on the floor.
We didn’t have a couch, just two toddler mattresses and a queen-sized mattress topper I laid out so we could all sleep side by side. Eventually, he found us again. He destroyed that tiny bit of peace I had scraped together. We lost everything.
And while my family did everything they could, and I’ll always be grateful for their support, there comes a point when outside help isn’t enough. The turning point came when I realized that real change—lasting change—had to come from me.
I had to find the strength to move far away, to start over in a place where I knew no one and nothing. Because staying meant staying stuck. And I couldn’t do that anymore.
The Shift: Dreaming for My Children
I was tired of just surviving. Tired of living in fear. I wanted something more for my kids than this cycle of trauma and chaos. And I knew that if they were ever going to believe that joy, peace, and dreams were possible, I had to show them.
So I started over. Again.
I went back to school. I finished college. Then I pushed through law school—all while solo parenting, healing, and learning how to live again. I pursued law because I believed it would give us the stability we desperately needed. And for the first time, we had financial security. We had structure. We had peace.
But I still didn’t have joy.
Rediscovering Joy Through Jewelry
Law brought me stability, but it didn’t make me feel alive. That came later—late at night, during rare quiet moments, when I’d sit down to make something with my hands. At first, it was just an escape. Then it became an outlet. Then a passion.
Eventually, I founded Pretty Weird, a handcrafted jewelry line full of humor, nostalgia, resilience, and Philly pride. It started small—just me and some tools at the kitchen table. But it grew fast, because people recognized the heart in it. They felt the story behind the sparkle.
Each piece I make is shaped by everything I’ve been through. Some are hand-engraved sterling silver. Some are painted or molded by hand. Some capture the silliness of childhood or the sacredness of survival. But all of them are real. All of them are me.
What I Want My Children to Know
I don’t want my children to grow up thinking joy is something you earn after a lifetime of struggle. I want them to know joy is a birthright. That you’re allowed to rebuild. That it’s okay to walk away from everything just to find peace. That you can be broken and brilliant at the same time.
I want them to know that surviving is not enough. You’re allowed to thrive. To dream. To create. To choose something that makes you feel whole.
And if I can model that—between court deadlines and jewelry orders and bedtime stories—then maybe they’ll grow up believing they can do it too.
The Brand I Built from Ashes
Pretty Weird isn’t just jewelry. It’s a love letter to my past and a promise to my future. It’s for the people who’ve started over, the ones who’ve been knocked down and clawed their way back up. It’s for the weirdos, the survivors, the dreamers, and the ones who were never handed anything but still built something beautiful anyway.
From hand-engraved Phillies helmet rings and painted pendants to one-of-a-kind nostalgic pieces, every item is made with purpose—and made by hand, usually with my kids chattering in the background.
Shop handcrafted jewelry made with heart, grit, and joy at Pretty Weird.
Follow the behind-the-scenes on Instagram @prettyweirdofficial.
Because surviving isn’t the end of the story—it’s just the beginning. And joy isn't a luxury. It's the reason.