We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Janine Krantz. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Janine below.

Hi Janine, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

I wish I had embraced what I knew I really wanted to do rather than getting pushed along the path to vocational school and cosmetology in high school. I was always fascinated with jewelry and loved working with my hands creating things. The art teachers in high school offered metalsmithing as part of art class. Sawing out sheet metal, some basic forming and fabrication techniques and lost wax casting. I loved it and I really wanted to keep taking those classes but I was sort of pushed into vocational school and it didn’t fit in my schedule anymore. I remember so well my heartbreak at not being able to do it anymore. I really wish I had made a stronger case for keeping up with it then and feel like I lost a lot of time doing what I truly love. I was making beaded jewelry though and selling it at concerts and different places so I never truly abandoned it. Once eBay became a thing I was selling jewelry on there and once that market shifted I eventually made my way to Etsy. But it was never the serious thing I wanted it to be because I always had a “real job” that took precedence. I do wonder sometimes if I had followed the path of jewelry then where I would be now but I do know that I am so happy that I finally followed my heart and I do what I love now. So while there is regret at not pushing back then towards a career in jewelry I am content that I rectified that and now I am on the right path and the one I always wanted to follow.

Janine, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an art jeweler, which falls under the blanket of being a regular jeweler but nothing about my jewelry is ordinary. Most of my work is one of a kind or very small production runs. Everything is hand fabricated, by me, from raw materials in either sterling and/or fine silver or gold. I also use carefully chosen, unique and rare stones in my work which come from all over the world. Each piece that comes off my bench is something I have made with intention and infused with the energy I put into it, all positive, because I love what I do. I like to think of my work as heirloom quality, collectors items or wearable art. I fill a need for those who don’t like typical and mass produced jewelry. Who want something meaningful and beautiful and very much uniquely theirs.
There is something so special about owning something that is well crafted and one of a kind and I do believe so many people really are so tired of mass produced and poorly made things. In a throwaway society what I make is meant to last and means something.
I have been making jewelry and sending it off all over the world for over 20 years now and one thing I love is all the stories from all those people over the years. The ones who have come back to tell me how much pieces meant to them. Or how it was part of something really meaningful in theirs lives. Meaningful jewelry goes well beyond a wedding ring and sometimes the pieces I send off signify things that are so impactful in peoples lives I am flattered beyond belief to be a part of that! Even when people reach out ahead of time before they buy something to have modifications done or small changes it’s an experience I try to make as pleasant as possible. It’s really important to me that each piece I send out into the world is loved and that means that your entire experience with me should be a positive one. From the moment you visit my website or scroll my social media feeds I want you to see and feel good about what I make. If you ask a question, I am the one that answers, and I really care about your experience too! I do my very best to treat every customer the way I would want to be treated. It’s almost as important to me that you should walk away from any interaction or purchase only with good feelings about it as it is that you purchase anything at all. I know that what I make is not a necessity, like food or shelter. What I make is a luxury for most people and I appreciate that they would choose to spend their hard earned money on my work. Every time I send something off I really send out a thank you to the universe for letting me continue to follow a passion, some people who know me say it’s an obsession though and I think they may be right about that.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

This is such an interesting question to me. I think society as a whole doesn’t value artists or creatives the way they should. Artists and creatives make the world more beautiful and interesting. Everyone appreciates art in some way. From watching a movie, listening to your favorite band, buying a t-shirt with a cool graphic on it, the accessory you put on first thing in the morning to complete an outfit, those are all products of a creative somewhere along the way. But on the surface if you say you’re an artist or want to pursue a creative career or life most people will think you plan to remain destitute and struggle. Tell any adult that someone plans to go to art school or film school and they immediately assume that person is never going places in life and it’s a waste of money. While in some ways many creative people do struggle and finding the illusive golden goose is rare for most you can have a fulfilling, successful and productive life as a creative or artist. It just takes hard work and you need to be willing to do it. Half assed effort will get you half assed results and a path to failure. That holds true with all things in life though.
Society needs to find a way to respect creatives and artists in the same way you would respect someone who went into, business, accounting, nursing, teaching or any other of those career paths deemed dependable and able to support you.
How can they do that? Well changing perceptions is likely the biggest hurdle and any shift in the collective thinking of society is not something easy to achieve. So I think it falls to smaller gestures and actions to make an impact that will hopefully echo and ripple its way through humanity as a collective. Interacting with creatives on social media, buying something at an art show, supporting a small handmade business over going to the mass produced big box option. Not thinking that they are over priced. How many artists have I heard say that people haggle prices or straight up tell them they are charging too much money? Every one I have spoken to. Even telling your friends about something you have discovered and sharing it makes an impact. Those little actions will start a domino effect and eventually lift up those people and businesses and help them thrive. There are people out there doing this but there needs to be more till it becomes commonplace. Somehow it needs to trend and that would be wonderful if it did.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I built up my social media organically and with a lot of effort for years and years. Everything I used to do that worked so well doesn’t anymore and I have plateaued. About 2 years ago is when this started and I am now spinning my wheels. Sadly I think social media peaked and we are in a phase where getting a large following is so much harder it may not be worth the time and effort you would need to make it work. It will be like a full time job creating content for little benefit, unless that’s all you want to do and you don’t have bills to pay. Between all the tweaks to the algorithms, geared towards mindless scrolling and ad placements, scammers and bot accounts mixed with a disinterested public what was once a fantastic way to reach new people is on the decline. I am not sure what is going to be the next big thing but I do feel as if you didn’t get on there 10 years ago and start to build then you’re going to have a hard time gaining any traction. Some people still can but the odds are stacked against most of us now. Not to say don’t do it, just don’t be surprised at how hard it is. Don’t get taken in by any of the “Guru’s” that claim to have all the answers if you just pay them for their workshop. Just be authentic and consistent.
I am in a special group moderated by Meta and pretty much every post is about how engagement is way down, followers are dropping off at an alarming rate, posts aren’t even being shown to their followers and on and on. They will post their stats and it’s eye opening that such large accounts are getting seen by so few of their followers, let alone any new potential followers. The moderators have no useful feedback about it either. The smart thing to do if you’ve got a lot of time to devote is to create your profiles, post consistently with quality content. A mix of videos and photos, some informative and some geared towards selling. A good hashtag strategy is important, hashtags still matter. But most importantly don’t put all your eggs in one basket, depending solely on social media to get the word out about you or or business is not a good idea. One new tweak to the algorithm and everything you built is done. You have no control over your audience on social media so don’t ever forget that. Build your email list, get yourself out there locally and in person. Get people to notice you elsewhere and then they can choose to follow you but maintain control over your fans with your email list, the one thing you can still keep control of. Diversify your outreach so when one changes you’re not left hanging. But be consistent, it will take a long time but keep going.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://janinekrantz.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janinekrantz/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JanineKrantzArtisanJewelry/

Image Credits
Janine Krantz