For marketing sophomore Marley Brownlow, creating bracelets became more than a hobby; it was a way to carry on her mother’s legacy. After watching both her mother and childhood friend battle cancer, she knew she needed to inspire change.
Brownlow created her bracelet-making business, One Love Beads, to raise awareness for cancer and to honor her mother, Brandi Brownlow, who passed away from colon cancer in 2019. The name of her business was inspired by singer-songwriter Bob Marley, whom Brownlow was named after. Her bracelets are inspired by the ocean, which connects to both Bob Marley and her mother’s love for scuba diving. Brownlow is now a part of the founder program at the Kendra Scott Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute.
“I started making bracelets, and my friends really liked it,” Brownlow said. “They wanted to buy them. I was like … ‘I’m gonna turn this into a business to give back to the cancer community.’”
Brownlow said each handmade bracelet takes around 15 minutes to make. She has sold her bracelets on Etsy and in multiple shops, including along the coast of the beach at Port Aransas and the San Marcos River.
“(At) the first shop I started in, we knew the owner, and I am still in there today,” Brownlow said. “My dad was like, ‘You should tell him about your business.’ So I did, and (the owner) was like, ‘Let’s sell your stuff here.’ It was really exciting. I couldn’t believe it.”
In her freshman year of college, Brownlow joined the founder program in the fall of 2023. Created for female students who have started a business, the program gives them resources, mentors, networks and workshops to help them grow. As a founder, Brownlow sold her bracelets at the Longhorn Market last November. This year, Brownlow stands as one of the vice presidents of marketing for the Kendra Scott Institute student board.
“I saw this spark in her eyes when being able to showcase her business (at the Longhorn Market), talk to people about her business (and) show the product to them,” said Priscilla Olivarez, president of the Kendra Scott Institute student board. “You can see the sunshine coming out of her. That’s a really inspirational moment.”
Aside from running her business, Brownlow said she spends her time in a variety of ways: drumming in her family band, called Island Texas, instructing horseback riding, choreographing dance, working two marketing internships and scuba diving. Her grandparents said they see a lot of their daughter in Brownlow.
“They remind us a lot of each other,” said Jan Burks, Brownlow’s grandmother. “Of course, they are different people, but they both have a way of walking into a room, and everybody is happy they’re there.”
Brownlow said she looks up to Kendra Scott and hopes to grow her philanthropic business similar to Scott’s in the future. Brownlow said as her business grows, she wants to donate to the American Cancer Society and the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
“I hope (people who buy my bracelets) feel like they’re not alone — if they’ve lost a loved one with cancer, if they’re battling cancer themselves or if they know somebody that’s going through their (own) battle,” Brownlow said. “I hope they just feel joy and know they’re not alone.”
