We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Christy Robinson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Christy below.
Christy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Actually I have two stories about risks I have taken with my business that turned out to be wonderful decisions. The first was NOT getting a degree and going into debt to learn jewelry making. Instead I worked and got paid to learn metal smithing and the jewelry business by working as a bench jeweler/assistant to two different established jewelers.
The first jeweler I worked with specialized in contemporary art jewelry. While working for him, I learned what tools I needed to set up my metal smithing studio and also about how to run a contemporary art jewelry business with shows and collections and such. He paid me per piece to finish out his lost wax castings of mini kayaks which he sold to shops for outdoor and camping gear (think REI) which was a hobby of his. Working on these pieces gave me time at the bench to practice with all the tools that were new to me at the time but it also was a great example to me of taking your other interest or hobbies and making special pieces to sell to niche markets. This is what I eventually took and did myself with my vegan message jewelry.
The second jeweler I worked with was a more traditional jeweler that focused on repairs and wedding jewelry. I worked with this jeweler as his silversmith assistant for six years, repairing a lot of sterling chains, resizing rings etc. But the most important thing I learned while working here was not about jewelry making but about basic customer service. I learned about giving the customer the best experience they can possibly have. Which I found requires you to let go of your ego, to listen to what is being asked of you by the customer and to be generous with the customer and making sure they are happy with their jewelry item in the end no matter how many times you have to make it and even if you lose money doing so. The reason is if a customer isn’t happy they will tell more people than when they are happy and bad news travels so much faster than good news…in other words once your reputation is tarnished (intended jewelry pun LOL) it’s bad news for future business. Lastly the other thing I learned which is about jewelry making is that since repairs of jewelry was the main focus of the shop it led me to learn what ways I could make my own pieces so they wouldn’t break! One of the best lessons I learned was the more moving parts on a piece the more likely you will have one of those parts break sooner rather than later…so that is why with a lot of my pieces I focus on minimalism and I always use quality lobster clasps on my chains as toggles and spring clasps never work!!
In addition to working with these two jewelers I learned my craft by taking classes and workshops at the Creative Arts Center and Craft Guild of Dallas in specific techniques that I wanted to learn so was able to pay as I went along. Having taken the risk though to not get a degree in art or jewelry making I was never in debt along the way and I was getting paid instead of having debt but was still able to learn the trade and the business side of things as well debt free.
The second risk I took was by leaving that last jewelry job and starting to work for myself. When Etsy became a real option in the mid 2000’s I remember I told a friend I was going to leave my bench jewelry job of six years and work for myself and she immediately said “What if no body buys your stuff…what if you fail?” which I hadn’t even thought of but I replied “If it doesn’t work out I’ll just go get another job as a jeweler” to which she replied “Wow, you’re brave!”
I remember this conversation because I had never even thought about starting something new or taking a risk as a potential failure but I think that the way my friend was thinking is what keeps a lot of people from taking risks and keeps them in jobs that they don’t really like but are “safe”. That is not to say that going out on my own and working for myself was not work because it was A LOT of work but with greater risk and effort there is also greater rewards. I definitely make more money working for myself but more than that it is so rewarding to get to do exactly what I want to do each day and not be repairing other people jewelry ..not that there is anything wrong with that but I just felt and still feel like I had more to offer the world than being a jewelry repair person.
In the end I think risk is all about perspective, if you see a risk as just an opportunity to learn something new or an adventure and not about failing I think more people would be less scare to take risks. Plus one thing I have learned as a creative person throughout my life is that not all times you make something is it going to work out…”failing” becomes common place and because it happens a lot you aren’t as devastated or paralyzed by it. I find that a lot of the creative process is about the process of learning itself and not so much just about the end product…I find that when something happens that doesn’t work the way I initially thought it would I just learn what didn’t work and problem solve the next way to make my creation work.
I am so glad I took the risk of both teaching myself a trade by finding non traditional ways to learn so I would not end up a starving-in-debt artist with a degree that I didn’t need and also took the risk to work for myself which I have been happily doing since quitting that jewelry job back in 2007. Take a risk on your self…You’re worth it!!
Christy, 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 have loved creating since childhood, and when I started working at a gem and mineral shop in my early 20’s I started playing around making jewelry with rough rocks I had polished in a rock tumbler and also gemstone beads and was immediately obsessed leading me to eventually take a basic metalsmithing class at a community college. I found that I really loved jewelry making because of the variety of techniques that it offered unlike other art forms which seemed kind of limiting to me at the time. Metalsmithing allowed me to create pieces that are “permanent” but I discovered over time that metal itself is so malleable and changeable to work with that it can even become liquid….Well until it hardens again but it will be in a different form! I just loved and still do the dichotomy of permanent (Earth) and malleable (Air) and this overarching struggle that we all have as humans about our own sense of permanence in the world and our own malleablity in the face of the fact that nothing on Earth is permanent except change itself. I think my being a Taurus sun sign(earth) with Aquarius moon sign(air) is what make these aspects of metalsmithing so appealing to me!
Since then I have gone on to work with two Dallas based contemporary jewelers and have taken jewelry intensives at The Craft Guild of Dallas and the Creative Art Center also in Dallas and learned a variety of other jewelry techniques which I now use to make my jewelry. I use hand sawing, hand stamping, casting, metal clay/kiln firing, enameling, etching, stone setting, beading, metal fabrication & soldering techniques to create my jewelry often using more than one technique per piece. I use recycled metals,Lab Grown, American Mined and ethically sourced gemstones.
Recently (2021),in an effort to be even more sustainable and climate friendly I moved from Dallas Texas to Hubbard which is a small Texas town (population 1423). Now my current Jewelry studio is located in a tiny solar powered off-grid shipping container that we call the Evergreen(see Evergreen Jewelry Studio for more info.)
While I am a one woman shop as I design and make every piece of jewelry,I hand stamp,solder, set stones, and pack up every order with care etc…… I do get A LOT of help and support from my amazing husband Kyle and Laika our rescue Schnauzer mix who always keeps me laughing!
Along the way of my jewelry making journey, I became vegan and got involved in animal rights and liberation protesting after seeing an undercover slaughterhouse video. At this time I also got involved in the Green Party and began seeking out others and also educating myself about environmental issues and protesting for those as well. I also began learning about feminism and human rights issues too.
In 2007 I combined my interests spreading the messages of these various causes with my jewelry designs by starting my online shop via my primary website www.christyrobinsondesign.com and my Etsy Shop. In both I strive to offer affordable, well made,sustainable jewelry in recycled metals that is both earth and animal (vegan)friendly and also promotes & encourages a dialogue for the wearer about the causes that I and they may feel strongly about.
Being an ethical Vegan for over 20 years ,I do not use any animal products such as feathers, leather, bones, coral, shells,beeswax, pearls, etc. This also includes jewelry making items such as rawhide mallets,leather sandbags, glue and I also use only vegan ink on my hand stamped pieces!
I currently give a portion of my proceeds to various earth, animal, or people friendly charities. Check out my Giving page if you are interested in learning about my Giving and Fundraiser Donation Jewelry and also my Jewelry Collections which are my Art Jewelry projects that raise funds for various causes.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
getting to do what I love everyday!
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
The Complete Metalsmith by Tim McCreight is a jewelry studio must have book…it’s a great resource while working in the studio
Contact Info:
- Website: www.christyrobinsondesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crobinsondesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crobinsondesign
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CRobinsonDesign
Image Credits
Christy Robinson