In today's market many individuals have struggled to start a business or keep a business open but when you have a passion for it, sometimes that trumps the odds.

Emily a young and humble jewelry designer of Emily Elizabeth Jewelry, gives me the deets on her favorite pieces of jewelry to starting her business.


When did you realize that you wanted to become a jewelry designer?
After I graduated from college, I was unsure about what I wanted to do as a career; I thought about what I enjoyed doing and was good at...and jewelry design was a perfect fit!

Was it difficult starting your own business?
It wasn't difficult to start my own business, but I think like most start-ups, building momentum, turning a profit and gaining fans takes time and persistence. If someone is looking to turn their hobby of making jewelry in to a part time or full time business I think it's important to have goals and make sure that you do research (word of mouth, googling, price comparisons) so your time and money is well spent. This of course takes time and will inevitably result in some mistakes but those mistakes are important to experience because with each mistake you learn something and in return will make a better decision next time. It's also important to start small and take small steps or whatever feels best for your business.



How do you get inspiration for the pieces you design?
How I feel in my personal life and what season it is are is where I draw the most inspiration from. Sometimes, I am also inspired by magazine clippings or runway shows -- or even taking an outfit that I like and designing a piece that I could accessorize with that particular outfit.

Your favorite pieces of jewelry that's not part of your collection?
I really adore my grandma's jewelry. Over the years, she's given me a lot of her jewelry that's from the 50's, 60's and 70's. It's not only cool because it's vintage but also neat because it was my grandma's and each piece has a story behind it

Any advice to my readers who want to turn their love of jewelry making into a business?
Everyone knows that Etsy is a great way to test the waters and it's a great first step in branching out to the general public. However, even though it's one of the first steps and in the grand scheme of things small, it is important that every step you take you is done correctly and to your best. What I mean by this is, make sure your photos are crisp and that your descriptions are detailed and accurate, and that anything that represents your company looks great and is cohesive. It is also important to make have a simple website, business card and packaging; all of these resources can be found online and it's good to do research to find out what's best for you. All of these things take time and money to do correctly, but they are essential to creating your brand's identity and to come off as professional. (Because honestly, someone saying they don't have business cards is pretty embarrassing and inexcusable!)

After starting your Etsy account, you should hold small trunk shows at your house where you can invite family members and friends to see your items. At a trunk show, your family and friends can give you honest feedback and purchase items free of shipping charges, which they'll like. Plus, the overall experience will be enjoyable because it will be a girls day of jewelry shopping accompanied by refreshments and girl talk. What's great about having your Etsy account is that it will provide people who couldn't attend your trunk show to make a purchase at a later date; or for those who could, tell their friends about your jewelry to check it out on Etsy and either purchase online or attend the next trunk show.