We were lucky to catch up with Kayla Goldsmid recently and have shared our conversation below.

Kayla, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I believe that being an artist or a creative has its ups and downs. There have definitely been days where I have thought to myself that it must be so nice to have a ‘regular job’, something with benefits and consistent pay. There is something alluring about the idea of a job where your schedule and ultimately, your path, is picked out for you. Where there is someone above you to take on responsibility when things are going wrong. When you work for yourself, you don’t have that. Mistakes happen and it is no one else’s responsibility but your own. Your schedule is completely flexible, so you have to have the will power to get yourself to the studio at a reasonable time and you wear many hats, probably too many. While this can be stressful, I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. Loving what I do has changed my whole idea of work from something that I used to dread to something that I forget I am even doing most days. Of course it can get very overwhelming sometimes, but I am lucky enough to have found a good support system within the jewelry community to go to for help when things are feeling unmanageable. At the end of the day, I can’t imagine that any other career path would make me feel happier than the one that I have chosen.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always been interested in jewelry. When I was in fifth grade I begged my mother to let me take a class to make a sterling silver ring. It wasn’t easy for her to find a studio that would allow someone so young to be involved in a process that involves fire but she somehow managed to get me into a class, with many restrictions to my participation. That was the beginning of many classes here and there throughout high school and college. It wasn’t until covid, when I moved back in with my parents and was unemployed, that I started looking into more serious jewelry courses. Thankfully there was a fully equipped studio relatively close by that I was able to start attending. After my first class, I fell in love. I couldn’t even wait another week for the next class and I ended up signing up for another and going twice a week for a total of 6 hours. Pretty quickly after I started making myself jewelry, my friends started wanting the things I was making and then their friends, etc. I never planned to have a jewelry company, I really fell into it with a lot of hesitation but I couldn’t be happier it happened.

I create entirely handmade jewelry pieces using recycled precious metals. I have a jewelry line listed on my website (kaygestudio.com) with what I consider staple, everyday pieces. My initial intention with Kayge was to fill a gap that I saw in the handmade jewelry space which was simple basics for everyday wear. I am such a big proponent of shopping small and handmade but I also have a very subtle style so before I started creating I was already aware of the lack of simple pieces in that space. While that was my initial intention, I have always been open to going with the flow with my brand and trying out different directions whenever they present themselves. Currently I am doing a lot of custom work for clients which covers a wide range of projects- from creating a design around a customer’s stone to hand carving a custom wedding band to perfectly fit around an engagement ring. I really enjoy the variety of projects that come my way and working with so many different kinds of people.

The things I am most proud of creating so far in my career have been the wedding bands I have gotten to make. Those have been some of the most meaningful projects I have worked on to date. It always feels like such an honor to be trusted with creating something that will be worn daily as a symbol of love. These projects are also highly collaborative from design through conception, I am constantly sending back and forth videos and photos of how the rings are going and getting feedback as I go which I love. I really get to feel confident that I have brought someones vision to life when they are getting to put in as much or little feedback as they want.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

In the jewelry space that I have found myself in, I often find that people can gate keep information. I have noticed with myself that I can sometimes want to protect what I have spent so long trying to figure out as well. Recently, I have started teaching part time at the school that I learned metalsmithing at. While teaching there I have had to quickly unlearn any feelings of wanting to keep information for myself. My students rely on being able to have access to all of the knowledge I have and I love being able to share it with them. I think the whole jewelry community only benefits when we decide to share our knowledge with one another. One of my favorite aspects of owning a jewelry business and being on social media is getting to connect with so many other creatives who have the same love for jewelry making as I do and being able to share tips and tricks with each other has really helped me create and deepen connections.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Recently I have been leaning more into utilizing chat GPT. When I was first introduced to the software a few months ago I didn’t really see how it could apply to me. I thought wow I wish I had this in college to help me write papers but I didn’t understand that it could benefit really anyone. Now I use it often to help me understand my business better by asking questions about social media, marketing, brand strategy, etc. I think as a creative it can be hard for me to focus on the aspects of my business that are not making the jewelry (the part I love most). Sometimes I don’t want to do social media or finances or any of the hundreds of other things you have to do if you are running your own business, yet all of those aspects are necessary for success so having a tool like chat GPT has really come in handy for me recently.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kaygestudio.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kayge_studio/

Image Credits
Caylee Robertson (@cayleemaliarobertson) Erica Thornberry (@ericajoanphoto) Georgia R Haynes (@georgiarhaynes) Katherine Eddie (@kateddiephoto)