Personally Poetic

Waxing Poetic was founded by Patti Pagliei Simpson, its CEO and creative director, who built a line of charms and pendants inspired by antique wax seals. Her sister Lizanne Pagliei-Hales joined as co-founder and head of sales and marketing in 2008. The company was based in Los Olivos, California, in 2013 and later in nearby Carpinteria, and its pieces were handcrafted by artisans in Indonesia. In 2026 the company said it had been making jewelry for 25 years.

Around 2015 the sisters added a direct sales arm called Poetic Xchange. It recruited women as “Luminaries” to help customers design personalized pieces at home parties called “Exchanges.” Its home page listed three reasons for being: to feel good through inspiring jewelry and exchanges, to be good to each other through support, and to do good for the world through shared values.

“The idea of being ‘poetic’ doesn't just belong to poets. It belongs to all of us who seek, and all of us who share.”

Patti Pagliei Simpson and Lizanne Pagliei-Hales, founders — Poetic Xchange website (poeticxchange.com, archived), December 2016

In early 2018 the program relaunched as Personally Poetic. Luminaries became Consultants, and Exchanges became gatherings. The new site described itself as “our Waxing Poetic Opportunity.”

Personally Poetic sold the Waxing Poetic line of jewelry. Most pieces were made to mix and match, so customers could keep adding to a necklace or bracelet over time.

• Charms and pendants: symbols such as bees, hearts, stars, trees of life and compasses, plus words of encouragement.
• Toteme and Petite Toteme: pendants that could be set with birthstones and tiny soldered-on symbols called glyphs.
• Write On: pieces stamped with names, initials or a short phrase.
• Chains, bracelets, rings and earrings: to wear on their own or to carry charms.

The old Direct Sales Aid profile, written while the program ran, listed individual charms from $35 to $94, Toteme pendants from $55 to $90, and bracelets and rings from $59 to $129. Personalized pieces could take several weeks to make.

Sellers were first called Luminaries and, from 2018, Consultants. They sold at home parties, online parties, fairs and vendor events, and took orders that shipped from the company. Hosts earned free and discounted jewelry based on their party sales.

Starter Kit

The old Direct Sales Aid profile listed two kits. The $199 Flying High kit held 6 charms, 3 chains, 3 Write On charms, a necklace and a bangle, plus catalogs, order forms, invitations, display pieces and a tote, which the company valued at $664. The $499 New Heights kit added 6 more charms, 6 more chains and 3 more Write On charms, valued at $1,589.

Pay

According to that profile, Consultants could earn up to 35% commission on personal retail sales, plus team commissions on sales by people they recruited. Reaching sales milestones could also earn free or discounted jewelry and incentive trips. Direct Sales Aid could not confirm these figures in an archived copy of the company's own plan.

Personally Poetic did not publish a closure announcement that Direct Sales Aid could find. The archive shows its end clearly, though. The personallypoetic.com home page was still recruiting Consultants on January 26, 2019. By February 2019 parts of the site had stopped loading, and by April 17, 2019, every page, including the join, host and shop pages, redirected to waxingpoetic.com. The consultant program did not return. Later the old domain lapsed; by March 2021 it showed an unrelated online shop, and by December 2021 it pointed to Waxing Poetic again.

Waxing Poetic kept selling through its own website, its flagship store and independent retailers. Then, in spring 2026, its website was replaced with a farewell message and a final sale.

“After 25 years of making, meaning, and marking what matters, our studio is entering its final chapter.”

Waxing Poetic website (waxingpoetic.com, archived), April 2026

As of October 2026 the waxingpoetic.com store shows a “store unavailable” page. Former Consultants kept whatever jewelry they had bought, and Waxing Poetic pieces still turn up on resale sites. People who liked personalized charm jewelry can look at live companies such as Origami Owl on Direct Sales Aid.