We were lucky to catch up with Mark Edge recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Mark thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?

I was born to be an entrepreneur. My entire family are entrepreneurs and my father groomed me from an early age to establish a business and work for myself. If I had accepted a job from someone else, I probably would not have lasted a day as I’m wired to be an entrepreneur.

Mark, 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?

In the 8th grade my father met a designer who was a silversmith. He was offering a silversmithing class in my hometown of Birmingham AL and needed students. My father asked me if I wanted to take it and I said no. He said that was fine but If I didn’t, I would have to work at his lumber manufacturing company that summer which sounded like a bad idea. With that ultimatum I agreed to take the jewelry class. At the end of the 5-week one day a week class, not only did I make the best piece, I set up a card table in my bedroom and started making more jewelry. I was immediately in business and gained quite a following. After high school I attended the University of Alabama and received a marketing degree and decided to reopen my design business after graduation and the rest is history.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I established my business around 1983 and have managed to survive wars, recessions, lockdowns, stock crashes, 911 etc. I simply refuse to not succeed. I always say If I have a good year in business it’s my fault and if I have a bad year in business it’s my fault as if I have the right merchandise at the right time and price it will sell. The 2008 crash was brutal, and my sales dropped. After a few years of sluggish sales, I decided to add pre 1965 silver vintage American coins to the collection and sales soared to record levels as I had the right product at the right time. The tagline we use for the coins is “an investment in style.” As a design business you must continually reinvent and I’ve managed to stay relevant for my entire career.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I absolutely love designing new collections. Every six months I seek out new materials and sit down and create around 75 new styles for spring and fall. I spend around 4 weeks creating each collection and love the journey. It always fascinates me that I can produce so many styles in such a short amount of time. I clearly didn’t learn how to be a designer over the course of 5 evenings in the 8th grade and know that I’m blessed with the gift of design and for that I am eternally grateful. I have no plans to retire as what I do is fun and all passion. All of my customers are happy and that makes me happy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.markedge.com
• Instagram: @markedgejewelry
• Facebook: @markedgejewelry

Image Credits
Photography by @hobjoshgood & styling @retmod.