We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Elizabeth Anne a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Elizabeth, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with education – we’d love to hear your thoughts about how we can better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career

There are a few choice that things, I and I’m sure many others , would like to see changed in our country’s education system. But I believe that education and knowledge are the best tools we can give the next generations to set them up for success. From a young age, we start asking children, “what do you want to be when you grow up?”. And they’ll give you a pretty generic answer of doctor, astronaut, etc. But rarely, (if ever) will you hear a child say that they want to be a plumber, jeweler, electrician, etc. We need to inform and encourage the upcoming generations to consider trade schools instead of the traditional 4+ year college degree. Many of the trades like goldsmithing are dying out, because no one knows how to get started in it, or that it’s even an option for them career-wise. Many of these trades can and will never be replaced by automated machinery like drones or artificial intelligence technology, due to the complexity of the work. So there’s solid job security on top of solid pay. And on top of all of that, they won’t have to deal with being in copious amounts of student debt for the rest of their lives.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

While the jewelry industry itself has advanced greatly in regards to technology and innovation over the past 100 years, there is a lack of representation by the clients it predominantly serves: women.

Exodus Goldsmiths developed from a long-term love affair with gemstones and other sparkly things.
We believe that sustainability, transparency, and craftsmanship are of the highest importance. The actual art of jewelry making is nearly lost. Gold plated, hollow, cheaply made jewelry is the new norm. We create art, but we also help our clients design high quality heirlooms that they will pass on from generation to generation—pieces that last the test of time. We use only recycled precious metals, and responsibly sourced gemstones,  diamonds and pearls. Our clients deserve to be informed, educated, and be at peace knowing that not only will their piece last for generations, but that the materials used to craft it are eco-friendly and human-rights friendly.

We’d really appreciate if you could talk to us about how you figured out the manufacturing process./

At Exodus Goldsmiths, every single one of our pieces is made completely by hand in San Diego, California. Our belief is that sustainability, transparency, and craftsmanship are of the highest importance. One thing I’m sure everyone has noticed about the jewelry industry is that nearly all of the pieces on the market are identical, or close to it. I personally refer to them as “cookie-cutter”designs. Meaning that the pieces are mass produced and often made very poorly. Large chain jewelry stores are especially notorious for this. And it is exactly what we strive to avoid!

I don’t think anyone goes out to purchase jewelry with the intent of choosing a poorly made cookie-cutter type piece. But many people are not properly educated and informed by the sales people they encounter in the stores, so that’s exactly what ends up happening. And then the piece will only last a few months to a few years before it begins to fall apart, forcing them to buy a new piece again and again. It’s an endless cycle that can be stopped altogether by purchasing a piece that’s truly made to last for generations. And that’s exactly what we strive to provide.

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

Social media marketing is an absolute MUST these days. Building up that solid audience is one of the most difficult things for smaller businesses. When we first launched our e-commerce website, we knew that an Instagram and a Facebook page would have to closely follow.

Two apps that are absolute lifesavers for our social media marketing are PLANOLY and CANVA. Planoly is basically an automated post scheduling app where you can upload photos with captions, and then schedule them to post on specific dates at specific times. It really helps relieve a lot of stress to do this once at the beginning of the month, and have the app do the rest of the work for you, instead of trying to do it every day.
Canva is amazing for DIY graphic design. It is especially great because no matter what you design, if you use their templates it will always look like you know what you’re doing. Even if you don’t. You can even design your own logo, business cards, and stickers!

One word. Hashtags. They may seem annoying and cliché when you see them at the bottom of a post, but it’s a major part of reaching your target audience. The #hashtags are little keywords that people “follow” on their Instagram or Facebook accounts when they want to view more of that specific hashtag title. For example, if a person is looking at engagement rings on Instagram, the algorithm on the app will show them more and more of that topic on their account. So when you use hashtags associated with “engagement ring”, you’re more likely to show up on their page. Posting at least two times a week is extremely important with the app’s algorithm as well. It shows that you’re active on the app and will expose your account to new potential followers and clients.

One thing to note is that Instagram is brutal and unforgiving to small businesses. We had a major following on the app for years, with hundreds of carefully curated posts and stories. One day last October we got a notification that our account was PERMANENTLY SUSPENDED. After hundreds of emails trying to get this issue resolved, we had to throw in the towel and make a brand new Instagram AND Facebook account , since they’re both owned and operated by the same company. This was a major set back for our social media presence, but we are working hard to get back to where we were!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.exodusgoldsmiths.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/exodusgoldsmiths.official
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/exodusgoldsmiths.official/

Image Credits
Cali Cho Photography- proposal photo.