While casually bantering about baubles and beads during their sons’ play date in summer 2011, Victoria Wollmann Wise ’96 and friend-now-business partner Meredith Miner had no clue they’d soon be the proprietors of a successful and first-of-its-kind Fort Worth-based social commerce site selling jewelry and accessories.

“When we started Jewelry Nut, we were looking to have a side business to earn a little extra money,” Wise said. “With Facebook, it went viral and we grew really quickly.”

Born of an inkling that the pair could peddle fixed-price designer and designer-inspired pieces on Facebook, the site took off quickly — much more so, in fact, than the entrepreneurial pair ever imagined. Simply by word of mouth with local pals, Wise and Miner snapped up more than 175 Facebook fans on their inaugural auction night and the fan roster was pushing 30,000. The exponential growth, in fact, necessitated a move from the duo’s office space near University Drive to their current quarters a month after startup.

Facebook auctions are held every Monday and Thursday at 8 p.m. CST. Each night’s jewelry and accessory items are featured with a photo, price and quantity. Procuring a piece — there are 60 to 80 available styles per auction — is as easy as becoming a fan of the page and then entering your email address in the comment box immediately below the image. The first bidder to respond before the batch sells out scores the item at the posted price.

“Our main offering is in the $16-to-$28 range,” Wise said, noting that she and Miner regularly monitor fashion blogs to ensure they can offer on-trend items well within customers’ budgets.

As for future Jewelry Nut plans, watch for some “exciting” enhancements coming down the pike, Wise says.