We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amy Kalish. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amy below.
Alright, Amy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So, folks often look at a successful business and think it became a success overnight – but that often obscures all the nitty, gritty details of everything that went into the growth phase of your business. We’d love to hear about your scaling story and how you scaled up?
Scaling my business really came from years of putting in the work and staying committed to doing things properly. I started from the very beginning, going to College for jewellery and fully immersing myself in it. I trained as a Gemmologist, Goldsmith, and Silversmith, and even learned traditional techniques like copper enamelling, so I truly understand the process from start to finish. It wasn’t glamorous in the beginning. It was hands on, long hours, and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but that’s what gave me the foundation I have today. Because I actually know how to make the pieces, not just design or sell them, the quality of our jewellery is extremely high and we thankfully rarely have issues, which is something I take a lot of pride in. As I moved through different roles in the industry, I naturally built a reputation for quality and trust, and of course design, so over time that turned into a loyal client base. A lot of my growth has come from word of mouth, which to me says everything.
During this time, I was also raising three sons at home, going through a divorce, and navigating the loss of both of my parents. It wasn’t easy, but in many ways, my work became my anchor. It kept me grounded, gave me purpose, and pushed me forward even on the hardest days. During Covid, I brought on my partner Amber and interestingly, that’s when we got busier than ever. It pushed us to grow in a way we didn’t expect, and we really found our rhythm. She was giving birth with a mask on, while designing a diamond ring with me on the phone between contractions (true story). Together, we’ve built a proudly woman-owned business, where I focus on the client side and she runs the back end, allowing us to offer a seamless, concierge-style experience.
We may not be the largest company out there, but our quality is top notch, and that’s always been the priority. Along the way, I also had to learn how to actually run a business, not just design jewellery, and that’s been a huge part of the growth. Today, I’m proud to say we’ve built something strong, with a reputation for quality and expertise. Looking back at everything it took to get here, both personally and professionally, I’m incredibly proud, and honestly, that’s exactly why we’re called Name That Jewellery Inc.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
At Name That Jewellery, our expertise lies in high end natural diamonds, lab grown diamonds, and gemstones, with a strong focus on creating custom, one of a kind pieces. We also specialize in transforming existing gold and diamonds into something new and meaningful, giving new life to pieces our clients already own. A big part of what we do involves working with families through estate jewellery, helping them navigate through sentimental pieces during difficult times and guiding them with care and honesty. In addition, we offer watch and jewellery repairs, and provide fair, competitive pricing when trading in old gold. We also deal directly with insurance claims. Everything we do is rooted in quality, trust, and a truly personalized approach.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding part for me is taking something that starts as an idea in my head and watching it come to life through every stage of the process. From the initial renderings and all the tweaks, to making sure the design is not only beautiful but structurally sound, every step matters. Then seeing the final piece come together with the level of quality we’re known for it never gets old. What really means the most, though, is when I run into clients and see them wearing their pieces with pride. So often, those pieces are made from their mom’s or grandparents’ jewellery, and now they get to wear it, enjoy it, and eventually pass it down again. Being part of that story, that continuation, is incredibly special.
How’d you meet your business partner?
I met my business partner, Amber, many years ago when she was working with one of my suppliers. She had actually gone through the same Jewellery Arts program that I did, which I think gave us an immediate understanding of each other and the industry. At the time, she had only been out of school for a few years and was already running the office, doing everything from A to Z. I remember pushing her, and honestly, I probably still do, but she always wanted to learn and grow. She was incredibly attentive and truly exceptional at what she did, which really stood out to me. During Covid, I made the decision to “steal” her away and asked her to join me as a 50/50 partner. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made. Of course, like any partnership, we’ve had our hills and valleys, but we’ve also grown tremendously together. We balance each other in all the right ways, and I’m really proud to say we’ve built something strong. As our corporate lawyer once said, we’re like mirrored sisters and that’s always stuck with me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.namethatjewellery.com
- Instagram: @namethatjewellery
- Facebook: Name That Jewellery
