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Start Your Jewelry Business with Us at Halstead!

Halstead is committed to supporting small jewelry businesses in every way possible. Our huge selection of chain, supplies and findings is just the beginning. We also offer great content to help you in your business every day.

Starting a small jewelry business may be the biggest challenge you ever tackle. It will require more hours, effort, energy, and passion than you ever thought possible. But the entrepreneurship life is intoxicating. It is an amazing feeling to build something from the ground up and know that it is yours through-and-through. The Halstead Grant is a business development program and annual award to give new silver jewelry artists a launchpad for success.

Owning a small business will stretch your abilities. You will never stop learning and growing as a professional. The Grant program is designed to help change your mindset to prepare for the journey. No one person can know everything required to run a business. You will have to seek out education and resources to handle all the areas of expertise required. You will need to find mentors to guide you and share their experiences. You will need to set aside time to plan and set goals to keep moving forward. You will need to research and read to fill in the gaps and solve problems. And you will need to find a community of makers and entrepreneurs who understand the highs and lows of the small business life to support you and cheer you on.

Bookmark this page now. Be sure to take the time to explore the links below and all they have to offer. You don’t need to connect with all of these resources, but some will surely be right for you. And as your business grows and evolves over the years you will find yourself circling back to look for different resources to solve new problems you are facing.

Grant Application Prep

Recommended Listening

  • Perceived Value Podcast: by Sarah Rachel Brown on trying to make a living as a professional artist
  • Jewelry Navigator: by Brenna Pakes interviews professional jewelry artists on small business tips for success

Recommended Partners:

  • US Small Business Administration (SBA): a huge array of small business tools are available online; plus, the SBA has free consultation counselors in many cities. SBA counselors are an outstanding service to the small business community. They can help to connect you to local business resources and tackle many common challenges with you.
  • Flourish & Thrive: offering jewelry business education programs. The website is full of free content as well as paid classes on running a jewelry business. Fantastic resources via podcasts, webinars, online courses and an annual seminar.
  • Liz Kantner: 2019 Halstead Grant Guest Judge, jewelry marketing expert. Check out her innovative consulting options for social media marketing and jewelry PR. She offers private Instagram group content, webinars, one-on-one consulting, and much more.
  • Accounting for Jewelers: by Mariel Diaz began years ago to provide content specifically for small jewelry businesses. Mariel’s father was a jeweler. She is a jeweler and an accountant. Check out her blog for fantastic free content on the money side of the biz. She also offers consulting service options.

Recommended Reading

  • Halstead Blog Business Articles: dozens of jewelry artist business tips and expert advice articles by leaders in our industry. Learn how to start a jewelry business or grow an existing small jewelry business. Use the search box to find topics like "pricing," "marketing," or "elevator pitch."

Recommended Viewing

Recommended Professional Organizations

Many major cities have jewelry artist guilds that are amazing professional associations. Be sure to look for guilds in your area for technical workshops, business seminars, and community. National organizations are listed here.

  • SNAG: a professional organization for jewelers and metalsmiths around the world. It provides advocacy, community and resources for metalsmiths on many different career paths. Their mission includes resources and content for small jewelry businesses. In alternating years they host a conference focused on small jewelry business topics. See the SNAG Events page for upcoming events. Your membership includes a subscription to their cool print publications, Metalsmith and Metalsmith Tech.
  • Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA): association offering mentorships, social gatherings and seminars. See if your city has a chapter on the website.
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