Your jewelry production needs systems

Is it weird to think of ourselves as mini-assembly lines?

Not at all!

Remember how I like talking about creating systems for your jewelry business? You probably already have some systems in your jewelry-making skill set.

Putting in the time to learn jewelry production

I spent almost 5 years working for another jewelry designer doing everything from production to training to managing eCommerce. Getting that overview of how all parts of a business work together holistically was the best jewelry education I could have received.

One core lesson I learned was that everything needed a process, and the more documented the process, the better.

Here’s what I learned from working in production jewelry

Ergonomics – every movement counts

Working in a way that was ergonomic not only helped cut down on the wear and tear of my joints, it made it easier for me to reproduce multiples of the same piece with a high level of consistency.

Keep your jewelry tools in good working condition

Keep your tools sharp and dent-free – you’ll spend more time cleaning up a piece later if your tools put dents into your work, or skills like flush setting will take you longer and feel more frustrating if your drill bit or burs have dulled.

Keep your jewelry tools in the same place

Where you put and keep your tools matters – My bench and workspace are set up to keep almost everything in easy reach. And even when it looks disorganized to the outside eye, please know that I am fanatical about putting something back where I found it.

That mandrel might not go where you would put it, but it’s more important to be able to easily find the tool (or stone, or jump ring) later than adhere to someone else’s idea of where it should go.

Shortcuts are good, actually

Find the shortcuts – this is an old metalsmithing tip – look for the person in the workshop who does the least amount of work and see what they do. Chances are they have figured out a shortcut that you could learn from.

Hot Tip for the bench jeweler

For instance, I used to make my own notches on the post of my stud earrings. I had, of course, been trained by more traditional metalsmiths who only made their own posts and made their own notches. They did it by hand with a square file.

One day when I was using a cup bur to make the end of the post round and smooth, I suddenly realized that if I tipped it at about a 45 degree angle, I could make that notch AND make the end of the post smooth at the same time, saving me minutes, but more importantly, it saved me aggravation.

And that last part is vital. Remember how I mentioned that there are no separate parts of your business? If you’re feeling a sense of worry or aggravation with your work (making jewelry, managing finances, creating systems) it’s easy for those feelings to shift to avoidance.

If you can find that sense of ease and empowerment, it’s easier to do the work.

How production practices are important to your pricing

This is an old but still true fact about manufacturing at any level – switching tools takes time, having dull tools takes up more time.

Because your labor on a piece of jewelry informs the price, shaving some minutes off of a piece informs how much your jewelry costs. Shaving even $5 of labor off of a piece can help you grow by either allowing a larger budget to be able to hire a production assistant, or adapt your pricing and profit margins for a changing market.

When I teach pricing for jewelers, there is a cost to your labor – determining your shop rate, or your personal hourly rate contributes to how much you charge for your work, and identifying efficiencies in your work can free up both time and money in your business.

Be free and get your time back

Paying attention to your labor can also free up your time for the core parts of your business – namely strategy and planning. Many years ago, a mentor shared with me that the ideal balance in a jewelry business (or any creative business) is that you spend 20% of your time spent making and manufacturing, and 80% of your time on everything from admin, to planning, to sales to marketing.

Why? Because the rest of your business needs the same care and attention that designing and making do. Because that admin, sales and marketing time is the time you can leverage to pay yourself.

There are no completely separate parts of your business – almost everything works together to complete the picture of your business. Taking a holistic look at your business can reveal so much about your goals, direction and planning.

What questions do you have about creating more efficient production practices?