Huge news; I got a job
If you’re one of my lovely newsletter subscribers, then you’ll already know that I’ve made the decision to get a full-time job. It’s very exciting but not without a huge change for my business going forwards, so here’s a few more details.
If you don’t know here’s the news:
It’s no secret that running a small business is hard at the best of time. The past 2 years have been difficult for small businesses all over the UK. If you’re also a small business owner then I’m sure you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about, and hopefully you’re one of the ones that’s thriving.
Unfortunately being a self-employed jeweller has become more unsustainable for me in the past 6 months and the cost of living crisis has really driven this fact home; unfortunately I’m unable to live on the wage I make from jewellery.
I want to keep making jewellery but in order to do that it has to be sustainable for me. I made a big effort to ensure sustainability in my business by changing the way I work, buying recycled metals only from 2017 onwards and offering Fairtrade and SMO metals. This sustainability has to extend to me and what my take home pay is as I’m a huge believer in paying people fairly for the work they do. This is why I’ve decided to get a job, temporarily at first, in order to relieve some of the pressure and stress I didn’t even realise I was under.
I’ve found a full-time job that I’m very excited to start, one that I think will utilise my skills for organising and planning and my excellent customer service skills. All going well, I start later this month.
So how will this affect my jewellery business in 2023 and going forwards?
I will be limiting the number of bespoke orders I take on each year.
This means if you’re keen to order a commission (an order for jewellery with your own landscape is what I call a “commission”) then please get in touch with me early. My lead time will be increased to 8 to 12 weeks as I adjust to this way of working, this means you’ll need to get in touch with me 3 to 4 months ahead of when you need your jewellery to accommodate this. I’m hoping that this timescale will reduce as I work out my working rhythm with a full-time job. It may also mean that at certain times of the year my order book will be closed for months at a time while I focus my attention on my orders.
I will not be taking part in any markets in 2023.
I’m no longer going to be attending markets. I may make an exception here and there as there are some markets that I have loved doing, but realistically I won’t have time to prep for and attend markets with a full-time job. Unfortunately I don’t tend to sell enough at markets to cover my costs either, despite trying many over the years so it’s been a very easy decision to make. I’ve met so many wonderful makers at the markets I’ve taken part in, so I’m sad to stop attending as a maker, but hopefully this means I can attend and buy things instead.
I’ll have less presence on social media.
You might have found me via Instagram and Facebook, but in all likelihood you found me through word-of-mouth recommendations. This has continually been my best way of finding new clients over the years. So if you’ve ever acted on a recommendation, or recommended me to others then thank you so much - it’s YOU who have contributed to allowing me to be a full-time jeweller for as long as I have and I’m so grateful. If you feel inclined to leave me a recommendation you can do that here.
All this to say if you want to keep up with me in 2023 and beyond, your best bet is to join my newsletter at the link below. You’ll get access to sale events and new product launches before anyone else, see my new blog posts first with all my latest news. You’ll get a few welcome emails before being added to my general newsletters which are less frequent. Usually these come out at least once every two months and at most twice a month.