Launching Your Own Jewelry Studio: A Go-to Guide
Do you believe you have what it takes to make your place in the world of gems and jewelry? Then let us help you with our guide to starting your own jewelry studio!
It’s no secret that the jewelry market is saturated. It’s crowded and carries with it a number of complications and challenges. But this shouldn’t be a reason for anyone to not try their hand at jewelry, especially when there are still many untapped opportunities and perspectives for newcomers to explore!
If you’re looking to turn your passion into a profitable venture, then this guide is definitely for you. It may seem daunting to start your own jewelry brand or studio, but with a concise explanation of the process, you’ll realize that it really doesn’t have to be intimidating. So let’s begin!
1. What do you want to sell?
When you’re starting out, one of the most important questions to ask yourself is this: fashion or fine jewelry? Or something in between?
Wherever your interest may lie in, it’s important to understand the materials, production process, manufacturing, marketing etc. that goes behind each category. Fine jewelry is made with precious or semi-precious stones, is priced much higher than the rest and requires extraordinary craftsmanship. Fashion jewelry, on the other hand, is made of less expensive materials and is priced lower than your fine jewelry. It also consists of an entirely different target audience.
These two are the most common approaches to making jewelry. There are so many other ways of designing and manufacturing jewelry, and it’s very easy to get lost in the choices. That’s why it’s crucial to narrow down your interest and pick one or two categories that you’d like to target, so that it’s much easier to carve out a niche for yourself.
Once you’ve decided on a category, start to define some specifics like your potential customer base (brides, every day, trendy etc.) and whether your products are meant to be occasional or not. Once you’ve jotted these details down, you can begin your research for your product design.
2. Do Your Research
Before you jump into designing your jewelry, it’s important to research the ongoing trends of the market. Not only does this step help you determine your path, but it also validates the style that you already have in mind for your jewelry designs.
The best way to research jewelry trends is to study fashion and jewelry blogs, publications and articles. Do check out Pinterest as well. The Internet has an abundance of these. You can even check out jewelry influencers on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest etc. Another great tool for your research is Google Trends, which gives you a broad volume to search when using specific terms and areas of jewelry design.
Once you have a good idea on some jewelry trends, you can now dive into designing your jewelry.
3. Jewelry That Is Inspired
To make good art, there has to be some inspiration behind it. The only way to succeed as a newcomer in the industry is to work on building a strong aesthetic and unique designs, and this can truly be achieved if there is some inspiration behind the work.
Jewelry is not just a commodity. It has personal meaning, and this needs to show through your designs in an intricate manner. Take inspiration from your own life and ask yourself what jewelry means to you. Once you’ve decided to incorporate a deeper meaning into your jewelry pieces, you can then work on bringing it to reality with the help of some tools.
Creating a mood board is one such tool. Pinterest has thousands of ready-made mood boards that you can take advantage of. You can even create your own with the help of applications like color.adobe.com or physically assemble your inspiration on an actual board. Apart from this, there are various design applications like CAD for jewelry designing that allow you to render designs on your computer – bringing your unique ideas closer to the physical world.
Once you’ve worked out your inspirations, you can start to focus on your jewelry brand.
4. Your Brand
It’s important to understand that a brand isn’t the logo or the product it sells, but it’s also a voice that aptly conveys your mission and vision behind setting up your own studio. It tells your story, and helps customers relate to your products and designs.
Remember, jewelry is always personal. Making your audience connect with your products on a personal level is the best way to build a loyal customer base. Tell your story and inspirations through your website and posts on social media. Sharing your creative process is also great for driving interest to your brand and your products.
Now that you’ve understood what ‘brand’ means, it’s now time to look at ‘branding.’
5. Strategize Your Branding
Branding consists of all the technical aspects that visualize your brand. This includes your logo, packaging, website and store. A fitting aesthetic and style must be adhered to that goes well with your brand. It should convey the overall look and feel that you want your customers to perceive of you. Since this is a crucial element to setting up your small studio/business, work on this part with patience.
If you’re on a low budget, it’s better to work on these aspects on your own. You can build your own logo using free online logo building applications. Even the kind of colors that you want to involve in your branding can be done with the help of a moodboard. By creating these aspects for free, it leaves you some financial power that needs to be spent on your physical store and your product photography.
6. Create A Business Plan
A business plan may not be required if you’re not looking at investors or other sources of funding, but it is still a crucial document to have for yourself. It’s a good exercise that helps you stay in line with your vision, understand your customer base and keep your goals on the horizon.
7. Production and Manufacturing
When creating your own designs, it’s crucial to collaborate with people or businesses that align well with your creative vision. Trustworthy suppliers that provide you with good quality materials, and manufacturers that work with the right tools are what leads to a sure deal in selling great jewelry to your customers. At J K Diamonds Institute, we guide our students and help them to utilize the Learnathon network to collaborate with jewelry designers, manufacturers, artisans, among others to be a one stop solution for all your jewelry business needs.
Anything that excites you carries a certain level of risk. It may seem daunting at first to start your own jewelry studio or business, but with a clear and concise plan, there is nothing stopping you from being the next trend-setter of the jewelry industry!
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and TJM Media Pvt Ltd. is not responsible for any errors in the same.
