NEW Jewelry Interview: Beadiful Accessories

Over the past few months I have had the privilege of interviewing some highly successful and establish jewelers, and I always enjoy hearing about how they got to where they are now.  However, last week I had the pleasure of networking with lots of creative individuals just embarking on their careers as jewelry designers.   I asked Brittany Long, of Beadiful Accessories,  about some of her feelings about launching her new line of jewelry, and not only were her answers thought provoking but also provided some inspiration and ideas for other "newbies".

Why did you first start making jewelry? My grandmother, mother and I have always had an interest in anything "crafty". We went through a painting phase, a diy phase and then we were sucked into the jewelry world and have been making pieces ever since! We went exploring one Saturday and found the cutest little bead shop and we were immediately hooked. We are all very unique in our styles and designs and stay active in everything from bead weaving to wire wrapping!

Why did you decide to start selling your pieces? After about 2+ years of attending classes and coming up with our own designs we had quite a good collection....about 400 pieces! We just kept seeing beads, gems and crystals that we wanted to work with and kept letting our creative juices flow! We also got a lot of compliments when we would wear them out and got requests to make some for friends and family! We thought "Well, we love doing this and have no plans to stop, so lets have fun with it and share it with the public."

Where would you like your brand to be in 5 years time? Major department stores everywhere! LOL...wouldn't that be nice? Realistically, I would love for Beadiful Accessories to host jewelry parties weekly for customers and have our line sold in boutiques/stores around the area. We would also like to become regulars at major jewelry and craft shows around the Southeast. I would also like to continue to grow Beadiful Accessories online presence and make it a great place for customers to frequently visit!

What outlets do you currently sell your work in? We currently host jewelry parties, open houses and sell through our online store with Etsy. We are a new company and plan on attending craft shows and fairs within the next three months. We have a website, Facebook page and blog that we actively update to let customers know of upcoming open houses, sales and new items that are listed on Etsy for sale!

What do you think is the biggest challenge to new jewelers trying to break into the market? There are a lot of challenges that you are faced with, but it is most important for fellow designers to not get frustrated and discouraged. It will take time to build up awareness of your new company...there are SO MANY out there! We had some open houses for our jewelry that had 100+ people and some that had 20. You just learn from each experience and make your business that much better.

If you have a talent and a passion, don't give up!

Visit Beadiful Accessories for more information.