We were lucky to catch up with Liz Kantner recently and have shared our conversation below.
Liz, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
It was this Spring, five years ago, that I launched the Stay Gold Collective.
The initial idea came from several places, but the most important one was the need that I saw
for community and education in the jewelry industry.
I’ve curated emerging and independent designer sections for a number of trade shows
throughout my career. Whether the group was 10, 20, or 40+ brands, one thing was always
true: I always saw lasting relationships form between designers as they came together to
support each other in ways I could never have expected.
The Emerging Fine Jewelry Designer Incubator at the recent NY NOW Show is a perfect
example. The encouragement these 12 designers offered each other was incredible – and because of their positivity and support for each other, everyone was more
successful.
The jewelry industry is not an easy one to enter. There was (and still is) very little educational
support for independent designers. I already offered one-on-one consulting services, but I
wanted to create something broader, something that would be accessible to independent
designers.
That idea was the seed that grew into The Stay Gold Collective.
Since 2019, The Stay Gold Collective has evolved in so many ways. In addition to live trainings,
direct feedback, and access to a private community of like-minded jewelers, we now offer
hundreds of original educational videos covering everything from marketing and sales to
contracts and accounting, as well as exclusive recorded interviews with some of the industry’s
top experts, designers, and retailers. It’s all available to rewatch, with more videos added every
week.
But what designers are most drawn to – and why some members have been with me since day
one – is the community.
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?
My true passion is working with independent jewelry artists to help them thrive in the modern marketplace.
While not an artist, I have the utmost appreciation for fine jewelry makers and love to work one-on-one with clients to help them tell their authentic stories and achieve success. I particularly enjoy the opportunity to work with emerging designers who have a unique vision and a contagious passion for the work they create.
Before finding my way to the jewelry industry, I studied Marketing and Communications at Drexel University. Already blogging in my spare time, my post-graduation entrance into the world of professional marketing led me to discover the possibilities of combining my marketing education with my affinity for social media. I shifted focus to Digital Marketing and soon found myself with accounts for large consumer brands like Black & Decker and Airborne Effervescence.
A cross-country move led me to my first jewelry industry job: Digital Marketing Manager for legendary jeweler Todd Reed in Boulder, Colorado. During my years at Todd Reed, I fell in love with the jewelry industry. I worked on advertising, public relations, sales, and trade shows, all while also enjoying a front row seat to the jewelry design and making process. The position was a joy but eventually I couldn’t ignore the urge to try something new within the industry.
I left Todd Reed to launch Stay Gold in 2016. I moved to Asheville, NC, and started accepting jewelry brand clients and freelance work. I’ve worked for trade shows: Liz curated the New Designer Gallery for JA New York, the Designer Jewelry section of Premier and most recently CURATED at NY NOW. I’ve been featured in Forbes, JCK Magazine, INSTORE Magazine, and National Jeweler.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
One of the most basic things I follow in my business is “Do what you say you’re going to do.” Being consistent, always delivering on my promises and being transparent in my advice have led to loyal clients.
I’ve also spent the past 12 years in the jewelry industry showing up to events, walking trade shows, and talking to designers one-on-one. Through all of the connections I made and clients who saw results from my services, since launching the Stay Gold Collective, I’ve been able to grow it to over 115 members. The retention rate is high – some have been with me from day one – and even if designers need to pause their membership, they often come back. Many of them are advocates for what I do and bring new members in or offer testimonials.
Something else that has helped continue to build my reputation is collaborating with respected members of the industry – Several events with NYC Jewelry Week, a curated collection for Artful Home, Success with Jewelry Podcast with Laryssa Wirstiuk, CURATED at NY NOW with Robin Kramer
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Show up authentically, and rather than worrying about vanity metrics like followers and likes, focus on one-on-one conversation and sharing your story. It’s much more challenging to build an online presence now, but collaboration and cross-promotion are some of the best ways to grow. Ask people to tag you! I encourage designers to share and tag me in their Daily Jewels, which I am always glad to repost on my page.
I also think email marketing is something to add to a marketing strategy, and while an online presence is important, nothing beats meeting people in real life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lizkantner.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/liz_kantner
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethkantner/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf5edpCqf-IK-kUPKa_PFSg
Image Credits
Headshot by Chelsea Lane Photography
All others taken by me