We recently connected with Julian De La Garza and have shared our conversation below.
Julian, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s jump to the end – what do you want to be remembered for?
Coming from an art background, I’ve always tried to make pieces that bridge the gap between art and commercial pieces of wearable jewelry. I’ve found that my best method of doing this was incorporating technology into my creative process. Combing this with my skills from the commercial jewelry industry I’ve been able to be prolific with making pieces of jewelry that are more complex. My goal has always been to create absolutely unique and bespoke style pieces of jewelry that are essentially heirloom quality. It’s my hope that these pieces will last for generations and that they will inspire other makers to be prolific, experiment, and to stay ever evolving.
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.
I am a studio jeweler based in Rhode Island. I make what I would call talismanic jewelry. I reference a lot of various and somewhat disparate things in my work, such as gothic architecture, brutalist architecture, medieval jewelry and religious iconography. The results are pieces that look like they are found from antiquity, or have been unearthed in an archeological dig. I first started my metalsmithing journey when I went to Rhode Island College and developed my interest in the craft. After graduating I began paying my dues as a maker, working for Tiffany & Co. setting diamonds; after that I worked as a model maker creating masters and samples for Tiffany’s and David Yurman. Once I felt like I had gotten the skills I needed, I moved on to graduate school, receiving my Masters in Artisanry of Jewlery/Metals and developed what is now my visual language and my aesthetic for my work. Through all of this, I learned to pour myself into each of my pieces, developing ideas to their fullest using 3D printing and wax carving to create iterations of my pieces to explore all avenues of it when creating. The result is that my clients receive a culmination of a decade of ideas in a single piece.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I made and sold my own jewelry for years before going to graduate school, but it was not very successful. I tended to make what I thought other people would want, not realizing my full potential as a maker. I would say this was the turning point for me, when I started making work that I liked rather than what I thought other people would like. Once I made this change, I found that I hit my stride. I was already posting on social media consistently and I worked very hard at it. I developed connections, joined groups, paid for ads, and made work that showcased my style. I found that this consistency and perseverance paid off. I started at 0 followers just like everyone else does when they join instagram, and as I write this, I am sitting at somewhere around 45,000 instagram followers, and 19,000 tiktok followers in five years. I do use other social media like Facebook and Threads now, but it took consistent and persistent attention to showing off my work, adapting to trends and making those connections in order to get to where I am now organically.
Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?
My most effective strategy I would say is being present. I am always in contact with my clients, working with them, connecting, being a part of my community. I respond to just about every message I get. I don’t want people to feel unseen. I appreciate everyone who reaches out to me and tells me how they like my work, the brand, the aesthetic. I try to be genuine and communicative in every aspect of my life, doing so in business just made sense. Connecting with customers, however small, can turn into faithful clients who I have enjoyed working with and designing jewelry for for years. These clients are also usually the ones who trust me to design them something that is unique and pushes the boundaries of what I am currently doing. So again, if there is any advice I can give, it is to be responsive and to be present with your brand. be the face of it. Own it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.julianthe2nd.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julianthe2nd/
- Facebook: facebook.com/julianthe2ndjewelry
- Tiktok: Julianthe2ndjewelry
Image Credits
Ted De La Garza Alessandra Grima Marc Barbeau