Notes from Chris

Episode 1816

In high school, Michelle Gulden was always the girl making beaded and hemp necklaces in study hall. In her twenties, she started making jewelry for gifts. Those gifts turned into friends buying for other friends. This self-taught jeweler then started throwing jewelry parties—and now she operates an Etsy shop called jack & ginger.

People have lots of theories about why Michelle picked that name. Some think it’s named for pets or family members. Some assume it’s for plants. The truth is, she picked the name after sitting in a bar drinking a jack & ginger—a nice simple drink! A friend suggested it and the name stuck.

At the time, Michelle lived on the island of Oahu (that would be Hawaii…) so her jewelry was heavily influenced by island style and uses natural materials. She found all the sea glass and shells herself, and loved the element of hand picking what she works with. She describes her customers as “those that love an endless summer.”

The business grew mostly through word of mouth. She worked in tourism back then, so guests would comment on her jewelry—and her coworkers wore it, too. Online, Instagram has been the most helpful tool. Her account (@hijacknginger) has grown slowly but now has over 8,000 loyal followers.

Sales fluctuate and are now averaging $4,000-5,000/month. She works part-time as an office admin three days a week but jack & ginger has grown into a nearly full-time job.

Going forward, she hopes to add more retail accounts so her work can get into more boutiques for people to enjoy. She also hopes to do more pop-up events so she can get out and meet customers, too.

Finally, she’s in the process of building a Shopify storefront so she can have her own website separate from Etsy.

 

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  MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

• Check out Michelle's beautiful collection at her online store, JacknGinger.com.

SEE ALSO:

• College Curriculum Developer Makes Minimalist Jewelry: When a professional development specialist can’t find “just the right” piece of jewelry, she makes it herself. Six years later, she’s mined a second income creating minimalist, Boho-chic jewelry.
• Finance Worker Strikes Gold with Custom Jewelry: When the daughter of a jewelry maker discovers how profitable the industry can be, she uses her skills from corporate finance to build her own brand.
• Model Turns Designer With Travel-Inspired Jewelry: Stuck at home during the pandemic, a fashion model learns to sell non-binary, unisex jewelry inspired by his travels.

Inspiration is good; inspiration combined with action is better. Now get back to work!

Yours in the revolution,

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