How To Turn Handmade Jewelry Into a DTC Business
Executive Summary
Anice Jewellery founder Brittany Hopkins describes building a handmade jewelry business around custom pieces, word of mouth and a team of metalsmiths. She explains how customer requests guided inventory, why she split the online range into essentials and one-of-a-kind pieces, and how virtual custom sessions and workshops kept the business working during pandemic closures. Notes cover selected business passages from the full public auto-captions, checked against official Shopify show notes. This is a Learn with Shopify bonus episode within Shopify Masters, originally published August 11, 2022 and uploaded again to YouTube on March 28, 2024. The guest name follows the official page rather than caption spelling. Pandemic changes and store plans describe that historical period, not current operations.
Key Takeaways
Own store from the start
In 2008 she chose her own Shopify store over Etsy to stay independent and try templates, accepting that traffic would be slow. Growth came from shows and markets plus custom work.
Custom is the marketing
Custom jewelry made on the spot drove word of mouth, since people told friends about their pieces. She posted on early Instagram up to six times a day showing pieces made that day.
Led by customers
She bought stock based on what people asked for, carries more samples, and moderates inventory because of gold price risk.
In-house makers
Anice is mainly a team of metalsmiths making collections in house, with a small part made by outside smiths. Trust and trial and error decide partners for chains and metals.
Essentials and one-of-a-kind
The range splits into classic everyday items and one-of-a-kind pieces that reuse old jewelry, so nobody can duplicate them. Before the pandemic the site was less curated.
Pandemic pivot
Custom building moved online through video and FaceTime, with a treasure drawer shown on camera, plus virtual workshops with a mailed kit. She put her face on Instagram on her web team's advice, and still offers it to customers who are out of town.
Choose the location
She nearly opened in a neighborhood that had not yet taken off. Her Kensington Market shop had tourist and weekend foot traffic and complementary fashion neighbors, with no other jewelry store.
The Conversation Breakdown
Own store from the start
⏱ Untimed topicIn 2008 she chose her own Shopify store over Etsy to stay independent and try templates, accepting that traffic would be slow. Growth came from shows and markets plus custom work.
Custom is the marketing
⏱ Untimed topicCustom jewelry made on the spot drove word of mouth, since people told friends about their pieces. She posted on early Instagram up to six times a day showing pieces made that day.
Led by customers
⏱ Untimed topicShe bought stock based on what people asked for, carries more samples, and moderates inventory because of gold price risk.
In-house makers
⏱ Untimed topicAnice is mainly a team of metalsmiths making collections in house, with a small part made by outside smiths. Trust and trial and error decide partners for chains and metals.
Essentials and one-of-a-kind
⏱ Untimed topicThe range splits into classic everyday items and one-of-a-kind pieces that reuse old jewelry, so nobody can duplicate them. Before the pandemic the site was less curated.
Pandemic pivot
⏱ Untimed topicCustom building moved online through video and FaceTime, with a treasure drawer shown on camera, plus virtual workshops with a mailed kit. She put her face on Instagram on her web team's advice, and still offers it to customers who are out of town.
Choose the location
⏱ Untimed topicShe nearly opened in a neighborhood that had not yet taken off. Her Kensington Market shop had tourist and weekend foot traffic and complementary fashion neighbors, with no other jewelry store.
Core Frameworks & Ideas
Let customer requests guide buying
Custom projects showed Hopkins what customers actually wanted. She used that information to buy materials and held samples to reduce the risk of overstocking.
Separate essentials from unique pieces
Classic everyday jewelry and one-of-a-kind reworked items serve different shopping goals. Separating the two made the online store easier to browse.
Plan retail around experience and costs
Hopkins looked for foot traffic and complementary neighbors, then used workshops and custom projects as additional revenue streams. She stresses planning how rent will be covered on a slow day.
Actionable Next Steps
- ✓Offer a custom or personalized version of your product to drive word of mouth.
- ✓Split your catalogue into essentials and unique items.
- ✓Research foot traffic and neighboring shops before signing a lease.
- ✓Write a slow-day plan for covering rent and labor before opening a physical store.
Notable Quotes
“I kind of get led by my customers”
“I can still bring it to you”
“location is really huge to do your research on”
The One Thing to Remember
I kind of get led by my customers