How to Start a Jewelry Business: A 9-Step Guide (2023)

For a lot of creatives at coronary heart, a interest like jewellery making is an effective way to unwind after a protracted work day. However what if these creations begin garnering consideration from associates and even strangers? At this level, you would possibly ask your self, “May my hobby become a business?”

Studying how one can begin a jewellery enterprise requires an understanding of the trade. For one factor: It’s crowded on the market. The worldwide jewellery market is expected to be value $418.9 billion by 2026. Nonetheless, there’s nonetheless room for newcomers who can discover an untapped area of interest or deliver a contemporary perspective to the craft.

When you’re in search of a creative way to make money, learn on. This go-to information to beginning your personal jewellery enterprise consists of recommendation from the professionals, tactical takeaways, and inspiration from established designers and enterprise homeowners.

The right way to begin a jewellery enterprise in 9 steps

1. Find your niche in the jewelry industry
2. Research the market and trends
3. Define your brand
4. Produce (or source) your jewelry products
5. Set up a jewelry business studio or workspace
6. Take professional photos of your products
7. Build your ecommerce store and start selling jewelry online
8. Market your ecommerce jewelry brand
9. Scale your business

Beginning your personal jewellery enterprise on-line is a superb low-investment business idea for makers, however crafting expertise aren’t essentially required (extra on that later). That’s why jewellery is among the hottest things to make and sell on-line. We consulted two jewellery designers and requested them to share their very own private experiences in constructing a model from scratch. 

1. Discover your area of interest within the jewellery trade

There are a number of classes inside the jewellery market—all the things from low-cost and cheery plastic beads to fine-art valuable metals and gems. One of many first inquiries to ask your self is: What am I going to promote?

You possibly can go for fantastic jewellery or costume jewellery (often known as vogue jewellery)—or one thing in between. Every class has its personal supplies, manufacturing course of, worth level, and buyer profile:

Fantastic jewellery 💍 

Fantastic jewellery is on the high finish of the market and may be recognized by the next qualities:

• Made with valuable and semi-precious metals and gems
• Greater worth factors
• Made with glorious craftsmanship, often not mass produced
• For the luxurious, marriage ceremony, and special day buyer

Vogue or costume jewellery 📿 

Costume jewellery is the kind of jewellery you see in every single place in chain boutiques and low-to-mid worth vary on-line shops. You possibly can spot it by its properties:

• Often stylish, following quick vogue traits 
• Made of cheap or inexpensive metals and supplies (beads, wire, plated steel, plastic, artificial gems, and many others.)
• Lower cost factors
• May be mass produced (and infrequently is)
• For the on a regular basis buyer

Artist-designed jewellery 🎨

This class captures all the things in between. Handmade jewellery requiring specialised talent and mid-range supplies are discovered right here. This jewellery can even have the next qualities:

• Supplies someplace between cheap and valuable (textile, metals, semi-precious gems, wooden, 3D printing, and many others.)
• Uniqueness of design (collectible, made to order, certainly one of a form)
• Extremely expert craftsmanship
• Worth level varies however often mid-range to excessive relying on the artist’s recognition or the quantity of labor required
• Event or assertion items for the design-savvy, collector, and gift-giving buyer

When you’ve narrowed down the broad class to your startup jewellery enterprise, it’s time to carve out a distinct segment to your merchandise. Begin by defining your best buyer (basic, stylish, brides, socially aware shoppers, and many others.) and resolve in case your merchandise are occasion-specific (marriage ceremony, occasion, on a regular basis, and many others.). This can decide the way you market them to your audience.

Jewellery merchandise and classes

When you’ve determined in your market, take into account whether or not you’ll promote a variety of product sorts or give attention to one merchandise. For instance, you might need to area of interest down and specialise in engagement rings or go broad with a group of combine and match vogue items. 

Contemplate the next merchandise to your jewellery firm:

• Rings (sized or adjustable)
• Necklaces (chokers, pendants)
• Bracelets (bangles, cuffs)
• Earrings (drop, clip-on, studs)
• Engagement and marriage ceremony rings (engagement, for males)
• Watches
• Toe rings, physique chains, and different physique jewellery
• Piercings (nostril, navel)

Additionally take into account complementary merchandise and classes. Jewellery model Wolf & Moon sells its signature types in each hair equipment and baggage.

2. Analysis the market and traits

Efficiently launching your model within the jewellery house requires a data of traits and thorough market analysis. Earlier than you begin creating your model and merchandise, it’s important to know your viewers and collect inspiration. 

Following jewellery traits

Researching traits is one method to decide (and validate) your chosen route. Learn vogue and jewellery blogs and comply with vogue influencers and widespread TikTok creators within the house to remain on high of traits for every upcoming season. Look to different jewellery designers for inspiration. 

And, don’t be afraid to dig into some information. Utilizing Google Tendencies, you can even see broad world search quantity for a selected time period.

Alternatively, you would possibly look into adjoining consumer trends, such because the urge for food for customizable experiences like engraving. Or faucet into the rising pattern of sustainable procuring habits through the use of ethically sourced supplies.

However enterprise homeowners don’t have to only comply with traits—you could possibly additionally use your jewellery enterprise to begin your personal. That’s what Biko founder and designer Corrine Anestopoulos did, launching her assortment based mostly on private type.

“Someway I felt like, simply by fluke, I discovered a marketplace for one thing new with out that means to,” Corinne says. “But it surely was simply my style.” When she launched, Corinne was working with a brassy end. “No one else was doing that,” she says, noting that shiny silver was the pattern on the time.

Now, although her collections evolve with traits within the jewellery trade yearly, the frequent thread is a recognizable look that defines her model and secures repeat enterprise.

Discovering jewellery design inspiration in every single place

Success as a beginner in any aspect of the style trade depends upon robust aesthetic, distinctive design, and constant branding. Earlier than hiring a designer to develop branding or crafting particular person items, enterprise homeowners ought to run by way of just a few workouts to outline their total signature type.

Relying on the way you wish to get impressed, you might arrange Pinterest boards, design your personal digital temper boards, use a jewellery design cellular app, and even assemble inspiration bodily on a bulletin board or in a sketchbook.

I’m at all times drawing inspiration and amassing inspirational photographs, irrespective of the place I’m.

Corinne Anestopoulos, founder, Biko

Gather photographs, colours, and textures from nature, structure, vogue, or journey, after which establish themes that emerge. “By no means cease being impressed,” says Corinne. “I’m at all times drawing inspiration and amassing inspirational photographs, irrespective of the place I’m.”

💎 Important studying: How Direct-to-Consumer Jewelry Companies Are Changing Everything

3. Outline your model

Profitable jewellery companies all have one factor in frequent: a rock strong model. Bear in mind, model is completely different from branding. Model is your voice, mission, imaginative and prescient, and your brand story. It tells your potential clients how one can really feel about your merchandise. Vogue purchases are sometimes emotional, and rising manufacturers can win clients by connecting on a private stage, even by way of one thing so simple as a enterprise identify. 

Telling your model story and discovering your voice

Your model tips will inform all the things you do as a model. This important doc will seize all the things from voice and tone to mission and values. It will likely be helpful in holding your communications constant whilst you scale. 

Greatest practices for jewellery manufacturers:

• Perceive your viewers. How do they converse? What tone and slang would resonate with them?
• Set up a brand voice and tone information.
• Inform your story by way of your About page.
• Inject your self into your social media posts by sharing the method and inspiration behind your designs.

Packaging, emblem, and model id

Branding refers back to the tactical parts that characterize your model visually: emblem, packaging, enterprise playing cards, and your web site.

When you’ve established your merchandise’ aesthetic, chosen a enterprise identify that resonates along with your viewers, and nailed your buyer profile, it must be simpler to establish an total look that may outline your model. That is a necessary step, even for a small enterprise, so don’t rush it.

Branding design duties to finish as a brand new jewellery enterprise proprietor:

• Resolve on fonts, colours, and images aesthetic.
• Develop the emblem your self utilizing a free online logo maker or rent a professional.
• Create a library of name belongings, together with a number of variations of your emblem and different design parts that may seem on packaging, social media, and your web site.
• Select a recognizable domain name to assist your clients discover and keep in mind your web site.
• Design product packaging and inventive transport supplies to match your branding.

For bigger budgets, work with a designer to translate your imaginative and prescient right into a full branding package for your corporation—from the emblem and web site to packaging and advertising and marketing supplies. Peruse the portfolios of Shopify design experts to discover a designer whose work resonates along with your tastes.

💎 Tip: Remember the fact that you’ll nonetheless need to reserve a few of your finances for skilled product photos. We’ll focus on the significance of images for jewellery later on this put up. 

Writing a jewellery marketing strategy

A proper business plan is probably not needed in the event you don’t plan to pitch your thought to buyers or search different types of outdoors funding at first. Nonetheless, testing just a few business plan templates could also be a superb train that can assist you perceive your audience, objectives, enterprise mannequin, prices, and development plan. It’s additionally useful as you learn to run a jewellery enterprise. 

Your marketing strategy can define your brand’s mission and values, which can make it easier to align with the suitable buyers for your corporation.

💎 Important studying:

4. Produce (or supply) your jewellery merchandise

The way you’ll develop your merchandise—by hand or in a manufacturing unit, at house or outsourced—depends upon the complexity of the design, worth level, supplies, and required talent stage. On this part, we’ll focus on how one can begin a jewellery enterprise by way of 5 manufacturing and sourcing strategies:

1. Handcrafted jewellery manufacturing: fantastic and certainly one of a form
2. Handcrafted jewellery manufacturing: vogue and costume
3. Jewellery manufacturing: manufacturing unit outsourced
4. Jewellery manufacturing: print on demand
5. Jewellery curation: dropshipping and resale 

1. Handcrafted jewellery manufacturing: fantastic and certainly one of a form

Handcrafting fantastic and one-of-a-kind (OOAK) jewellery may be one of the crucial concerned but private and versatile of the manufacturing strategies. 

Relying on supplies and design, some strategies of fantastic and OOAK jewellery manufacturing require specialised coaching/certification and costly gear. You might have to study a few of these strategies, together with:

• Soldering
• Silver/goldsmithing
• Casting
• 3D printing
• Laser chopping
• Leather-based tooling
• Weaving
• Gemstone setting

💎 Tip: Contemplate beginning with free on-line tutorials to learn to make jewellery. You possibly can then improve to paid courses or apprentice below an skilled craftsperson to increase your talent set.

2. Handcrafted jewellery manufacturing: vogue and costume

Handmade costume jewellery typically includes the meeting of present parts—chain, wire, beads, forged pendants, and many others.—and doesn’t require particular coaching or gear past fundamental hand instruments.

This kind of enterprise is less complicated to scale, as you should purchase parts in bulk and create templates for meeting by employed manufacturing workers.

If design and manufacturing are the weather of your corporation that deliver you pleasure—and never the precise job of creating jewellery—outsource or rent for different roles that can assist you scale the artistic work. 

Biko founder Corrine reaches out to native universities with famend vogue communication applications to seek out her interns. “I don’t ever search for anybody who’s focused on design,” she says. “What I would like is somebody to assist me unlock my time in order that I may be designing extra.”

3. Jewellery manufacturing: manufacturing unit outsourced

Moderately than making the jewellery with your personal arms, you may have your designs manufactured by another person. This isn’t best for fantastic, customized, or OOAK jewellery, however it may be cost-effective for vogue jewellery produced in bigger portions. There are two major choices for outsourcing to a jewellery producer: native and abroad.

• Native manufacturing has the advantage of a “made native” enchantment and creates simpler alternatives to construct relationships and have manufacturing unit oversight. The downsides can embody larger prices, restricted alternative, and manufacturing quantity limitations.
• Abroad manufacturing could be a good answer if you wish to hold prices low (for these doing excessive volumes) and have extra alternative in factories. Doable challenges embody communication boundaries, much less oversight, and achievement points brought on by provide chain delays.

Correct sketches or 3D renderings of your designs are needed in the event you’re outsourcing to a manufacturer. There are a number of choices, relying in your talent stage and finances:

4. Jewellery manufacturing: print on demand

Essentially the most hands-off manufacturing technique includes importing your designs to a print-on-demand app. Your unique designs are 3D printed or recreated in chrome steel, wooden, plastic, gold, or silver and shipped on to your clients.

The Shopify App Store is full of corporations that may flip your designs into a variety of items, from mugs to t-shirts to jewellery. 

5. Jewellery curation: dropshipping and resale

When you’re not artistic however nonetheless have a ardour for jewellery, take into account resale and curate jewellery items from different designers to promote in your personal on-line retailer. You possibly can carry stock and ship it your self or go for a jewelry dropshipping mannequin. 

With dropshipping, there’s no want to hold any stock. Promote merchandise by way of your on-line jewellery enterprise and the orders are shipped on to your clients by the seller. 

5. Arrange a jewellery enterprise studio or workspace

When you elect to make your jewellery in-house, you’ll want a workshop house for you and your group. When establishing this house, take into account the next:

• Maneuverability. Contemplate the circulation of the house, particularly if the meeting has a number of steps—do you progress from one station to the subsequent in a logical sequence?
• Security. Some chemical compounds or instruments concerned in jewellery making require correct air flow and security precautions. Examine with native legal guidelines governing use of those substances and processes.
• Storage. Nicely-organized multi-compartment storage is important for small components.

“A jeweler’s bench, a flex shaft, and your security could be an important concerns,” says Gillian Johnson, founding father of Canadian jewellery model Hawkly. “The flex shaft is a superb and versatile device that you should utilize for drilling, ending, and sprucing your items.” She additionally advises utilizing a face masks and security goggles—and for these with lengthy hair to tug it again so it doesn’t get caught.

In case your manufacturing group is bigger or your necessities are a bit extra complicated—as with steel work or silversmithing workshops—take into account business house outdoors of the house. If it’s out of your finances at launch, look into co-op studio house or share the costs of house and gear with different creatives. Gillian splits her studio with two different companies.

Area sharing additionally helps fight entrepreneur loneliness, one thing Corrine is acquainted with. “After doing Biko full time for some time, I ended up working at a retail clothes retailer as soon as every week simply to not be lonely at house in my studio.”

Jewellery gear and instruments

There are a number of on-line sources for how one can make jewellery on-line, together with wholesale jewellery making gear, instruments, and provides, together with valuable gems and uncooked metals.

Gillian depends closely on phrase of mouth in terms of her wholesale suppliers. “Don’t be afraid to ask different designers the place they discover their provides,” she says.

She additionally attends commerce exhibits and trade occasions to proceed to increase her community and uncover new supplies. “My favourite place to supply the most recent stones and silver findings is the Tucson Gem and Jewellery Present,” Gillian says. “There are literally thousands of distributors from all around the world.”

6. Take skilled pictures of your merchandise

Product images could make or break your on-line retailer. That is true throughout many industries however is very essential for manufacturers within the vogue trade.

In lots of circumstances, with a quite simple lighting setup, you may obtain nice DIY pictures of your merchandise, even along with your smartphone. Jewellery, nonetheless, could be a little more difficult, as a result of tiny particulars and reflective surfaces.

Don’t skimp on images.

Corinne Anestopoulos

“Don’t skimp on images,” Corrine says, even in the event you’re on a finances. Knowledgeable photographer is expert at making fashions really feel comfy and establishing difficult lighting. 

Different additions to your photoshoot group embody stylists, make-up artists, and assistants. 

Hiring fashions doesn’t have to interrupt the financial institution. “There are at all times individuals who need to construct their e-book or prepared to work for product,” she says. “It’s not about making the most of individuals—you’re all new to the sport. When you get a gaggle collectively and be part of forces, you may create magic collectively.”

When capturing your pictures, it’s additionally essential to supply a number of completely different views and angles of your merchandise inside these two classes:

• Product pictures. These are clear photographs of the product on a clear background to reduce distraction and spotlight the small print and completely different angles of the piece. These pictures can create a clutter-free, constant look on assortment pages. 
• Way of life pictures. These are secondary photographs, often on a mannequin to point out scale on the physique and recommend styling concepts to clients (typically nice for upselling—you may nudge clients to mix a number of items into one look). These photographs can work on product pages or in a lookbook and are usually higher for social media posts.

Searching for extra methods to chop prices? Associate with complementary attire manufacturers to cut back images bills or lend your jewellery items to vogue editors for photoshoots in return for product pictures and publicity.

💎 Important studying:

7. Construct your ecommerce retailer and begin promoting jewellery on-line

Now that you’ve got your manufacturing, model, and images nailed down, let’s put all of it collectively. To begin your personal jewellery line, you don’t want an costly and sophisticated web site to achieve success. You possibly can set up a Shopify store utilizing a free theme, personalized along with your model belongings, fonts and colours. 

Choose a website template that enhances jewellery, placing the images first. Listed below are just a few Shopify theme options for jewellery companies:

Clear themes are designed to let your merchandise and model shine and most choices mean you can simply customise the expertise, even in the event you’re not a designer or developer. 

Important pages and content material 

The next pages and particulars are important for an internet jewellery enterprise’s web site:

• Homepage. Giant way of life pictures right here instantly hook a customer. Preserve this web page clutter-free and targeted on new and trending merchandise and collections with a transparent CTA.
• Assortment pages. Slice and cube your merchandise into collections by kind, worth level, materials, or event.
• Product pages. Product pages embody important info like sizing, supplies, and care directions. Characteristic a number of pictures right here to cowl each angle. 
• FAQ, Contact, and About pages. These are important pages for any ecommerce retailer. Concentrate on customer support and telling your model story.

Throughout all pages, web site copy ought to mirror your model voice and encourage emotion (what would you like the shopper to really feel?) whereas additionally being detailed and useful. Product descriptions ought to pull in your model story whereas additionally offering technical info.

💎 Tip: Have a bit extra finances? A Shopify Design Expert may help you tweak themes and construct distinctive pages inside our total ecommerce website design.

Apps for jewellery companies

There are a number of apps within the Shopify App Store you may add to your website to assist with how one can run a jewellery enterprise—all the things together with enhancing the shopper expertise, decreasing returns, and increasing conversions. Listed below are a pair examples really useful for jewellery companies:

💎 Tip: Learn the way apps and instruments may help you replicate an in-store personalized shopping experience on-line, and take the quiz to seek out out which instruments are greatest to your jewellery retailer.

8. Market your ecommerce jewellery model

Vogue and jewellery are closely saturated industries. How will clients hear your voice above the noise? marketing strategy will rely in your product, viewers, and finances and should require some trial and error. Customer acquisition might be an ongoing concern to your model—listed here are just a few methods to get began. 

Social advertising and marketing 

Making jewellery gross sales doesn’t imply having to bombard your followers with gross sales pitches. Corinne recommends filling the gaps between product-focused posts with inspirational content material. “After some time, you’ll notice that you simply’re impressed by an analogous stream of issues and it tells its personal story.”

Concentrate on every social community individually, testing content material to see what sticks. Every platform has its personal vibe—TikTok is understood for genuine and quirky brief movies whereas Instagram is best for extra polished photograph and video content material. It’s nonetheless attainable to realize some traction with natural posts, however take into account paid social media campaigns to drill down in your demographic and improve attain.

Collabs and influencer advertising and marketing

Corinne has additionally had success with Instagram influencers, bartering product for a devoted put up. Earlier than reaching out, she says, be certain your curation and hashtags for Instagram are robust so influencers can see in case your model aligns with their very own. “Creating a way of life round what you do is value greater than something,” she says.

Influencer marketing affords a stage of social proof you may’t get with straight promoting. Youthful shoppers more and more belief social media creators for product suggestions. Shopify Collabs is a superb place to attach with influencers seeking to promote your product.

One other method to make the most of natural advertising and marketing is to collaborate with other brands. This may be finished by way of co-marketing a promotion, working an occasion with different manufacturers, internet hosting a tandem giveaway, and even partnering with a suitable model on a brand new product.

Public relations for jewellery manufacturers

Jewellery advertising and marketing can have distinctive challenges. Noticing heightened competitors in 2011, Corinne invested in a rebrand of Biko after which employed a PR agency to get the phrase out. “It’s costly to work with PR however actually, actually beneficial,” she says. “It led to the very best press I needed to date. I offered $5,000 of 1 specific bracelet after it was featured.”

💎 Tip: Experiment with each advertising and marketing technique, from ecommerce SEO to email marketing, and analyze outcomes to see what works greatest to your model. 

Pop-up retail, wholesale, and artist markets

Corinne’s profession started when she was invited to share a sales space at a neighborhood clothes present. On the time, jewellery was merely a interest. She offered out on day certainly one of a two-day present, validating her idea and serving to to show her ardour right into a enterprise.

Markets provide the chance to get out and see clients in individual and get suggestions instantly.

Corinne Anestopoulos

Attending a home made market just isn’t solely an effective way for rising manufacturers to realize publicity to built-in audiences and validate an thought—they’re additionally essential for established on-line companies. “Markets provide the chance to get out and see clients in individual and get suggestions instantly,” says Corinne. 

A substitute for collaborating in markets is to host occasions in your personal studio. “Pattern gross sales are a great way to liquidate older merchandise and likewise invite individuals into your house and course of,” Corinne says. Or, if your personal house isn’t conducive to visiting, host a pop-up in one other retailer’s jewellery retailer. 

Corinne additionally grew her enterprise initially by way of consignment and wholesale agreements, which she gained by approaching native retailers in individual. Chilly calling has a excessive rejection threat, however you simply want one “sure” to get began, she says.

9. Scale your corporation

For brand spanking new companies, begin small by pitching your designs to native boutiques. As you scale, you may work your approach as much as bigger companions. Wholesale nonetheless accounts for the majority of Biko’s total enterprise, and Corinne has labored with giant retailers like Nordstrom, Simons, and Hudson’s Bay. 

One other method to scale includes opening as much as new markets. Discover international shipping choices to see in case your product may be offered globally. Strive increasing your jewellery line with new merchandise and collections to achieve a wider native viewers, too.

Begin promoting jewellery on-line now

Taking the plunge is likely to be scary at first, particularly in a market as saturated as jewellery. But it surely’s additionally an trade you may enter step by step—many profitable jewellery designers debuted their model as a side gig or launched companies from a kitchen desk.

One of the simplest ways to face out is to be genuine, belief your design instincts, and take heed to your clients. 

Gillian Johnson, Hawkly

Small-scale manufacturing means you may get designing from your personal house. All you want is a niche, a model, and a fundamental marketing strategy. And, there’s nonetheless room for rising designers to make their mark. “One of the simplest ways to face out is to be genuine, belief your design instincts, and take heed to your clients,” says Gillian. Go for gold!

Characteristic illustration by Pete Ryan