We were lucky to catch up with Gemma Rose recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Gemma thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I never dreamt of becoming a jewelry designer. After modelling for seven years, I went back to school to become a school teacher. After teaching for two years, I took a yoga teacher’s training course on summer break in Los Angeles and was selling necklaces that I made off my neck. A friend saw an ad in the LA Times advertising that department store Henri Bendel was looking for LA designers and encouraged me to showcase my collection. I never thought in a million years that they would order my jewelry! I remember saying, but I’m a school teacher. And they said, “Welcome to your new career.”

I tutored children in reading and math for the first three years while I built my business. A lot of people advised that I sell nationally with Henri Bendel as my main account yet I felt like I needed to go slow and steady and learn the ropes first. Things happened quickly in those three years as a lot of my customers came from yoga class and then would shop in high end stores in Beverly Hills. They would call me and say so and so would love to carry my jewelry. Stylists then would shop my pieces for magazine covers, celebrity events, etc. It was exciting but also reminded me of the. modeling industry, which was not a world I wanted to relive.

I met a native american shaman who told me the reason I was making gemstone jewelry was because my purpose was to channel healing energy into gemstones and crystals, I decided to learn more about healing modalities so that i could best support my customers. I then changed the business model from selling to stores to creating custom healing pieces for individuals. This aligned more with what made my heart happy.

It took me a while to build my custom order business. However, I have loyal customers for over 1o years, and I can now earn a full-time living doing what I absolutely love.

Learning the business side of running a jewelry business has helped me navigate social media and email marketing, contributing to my business’s success.

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 back background and context?

What sets me apart from other jewelry designers is that I approach each piece I create from a healing perspective. For example, I have customers who regularly send me DM’s asking for me to create a piece or collection to help them with whatever they need for healing.

Once I intuitively choose stones for them, I then channel Divine love and light into their pieces, which activates the stones and becomes more than just jewelry but also a healing touchstone.

Over the years, I’ve realized that my most loyal repeat customers all have one thing in common: They all, in their unique way, are here on Earth to spread more love and light onto this planet. I call them “love warriors.” They treasure their Gemma Rose pieces to assist them with energetic protection, grounding, upliftment, and empowerment.

Nothing makes me happier than to receive testimonials like this:

“Your jewelry is one of the most precious gifts you can give to someone you love or a gift of love to yourself. The jewelry pieces have such a powerful, healing effect. They have literally protected me, allowed for spiritual breakthroughs, growth, receiving love and happiness. They are a part of me and a grounding force in my life.”

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

There have been times over the past 20 years when I wanted to quit, especially in the beginning. As an artist, learning how to run a business was a huge learning curve. I’m continually a student of the business. Whether learning how to update my website, improve my copywriting, social media marketing, or any aspect of business management, I’ve overcome a lot of resistance and fear by diving in, asking for support, and staying open to change.

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

Our educational system should do more to encourage students with artistic talents, and we should eliminate the negative stereotype of the “starving artist”. As our society values art more, this stereotype will end.

As George Bernard Shaw wrote: “Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.”

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.gemmarosejewelry.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gemmarosejewelry/

Image Credits
Gemma Rose