Hi, welcome to jewelry and sure side hustle and today I have a very special guest.
I've known her a long time. That's what really like she's special in all of Austin, not just me.
But today we have a very special guest and we're going to have a really good time. This is
Courtney Gray of Courtney Gray Arts. She also does consulting. So consulting for jewelry designers
and jewelry owners and all kinds of jewelry things. So she is the bell of the ball if you're in
Austin and you're a jewelry person or want to have something made something. So let's get started
with Courtney and I'm so glad that you're here. It's been a minute. Let me see your dog.
My new little family member Frankie Smalls we're calling him. He's so cute. He's only 10 weeks
old. He's a shih tzu and a Maltese blend and he's like so nestled as you can see him. You can't
even see him. He's so dark. He's so dark. He's got a little face. But yeah. And you know my little
grandson that I just went to go visit he is Frankie. He's a Frankie. He's the fifth. Frankie the
fifth. We call him a syncop. I know I keep wanting to say like Frankie Jr. for some reason or something
but yeah. No, we got a new addition. So now how did you decide to get this dog? Is this the
Christmas present? You know it kind of is and we were driving the other day with my husband and
I think he was a little on the fence about a second dog. Just the same as he was about a second child
and I was like we better do it now. Like we're getting older. We got to do this. Do this. He said
you know because we just got my oldest dog just got diagnosed with heart failure. So many tears
later because he's my best buddy. You know Peter was like I think maybe we should get a second one
and that way he has a companion and get used to the second run and you know and so I go okay.
And like literally within a week there's a dog in my arms.
If you always want to get soon because they're very cute. I love that. I'm allergic to everything.
Everything y'all. Like seriously it's ridiculous. But these dogs I can have and I never had a dog
till my first one I so so yeah I'm excited but he's very cuddly and cute and we also are going on
very little sleep right now but that's how it goes. Okay are you up with the baby? Yeah he's only 10
weeks so you know we're doing the kid. I mean we just got him. We just got him the other day sugar.
So I was like we're getting through the first month and and then we'll we'll sleep.
We just have a little newborn and they bond with you so fast. I would love to have a dog. It's just
not the right time for us right now. We've always had dogs. We're we're dogless so if you need a
dog sit down. Yeah I'll call you but now I'm gonna need all kinds of support. Oh my goodness you're
on my list girl. You know it's because you know that's that I guess that's the one thing that you
know keeps my husband and I from getting one. It's like oh but wait we travel and we're that becomes
the issue. Yeah you want to be there for him. I'm happy for you but you do need backup. Yeah so
backup is available because we have dog dog people that are hungry for you know they did they take a
lot but they also give a lot so I'm all right. They do they do. Well first let's talk about
your business. When I first met you you were the thing in Austin on the east side you had uh it
was a like a home. I was in a work-lived situation. You weren't living in your part but it was like a
home kind of a it was beautiful. It was really great because it felt very cozy when you walked in
there and yet there's like all this creativity just like hitting you and all these people that were
such expertise in the field of metalsmithing and and then flash forward here you are now. I mean
we've gone through a lot together it's been a dozen years and you're still chumming along and doing
great things and kind of changed up stuff and now you're doing consulting which is a great business.
I wish you great success. I hope that you can really like really grow on that because people do
need help and they also need like the mentorship part of it and also holding people for accountability
on what the plans are that you've set up so I know that that's a really big thing. So besides that
and besides getting your dog what else is Courtney Gray up to right now? Well that that is it. I am
I am in the depths of this next chapter and it's really lovely honestly to have clarity on what that
looks like again. Clarity doesn't always come when we want it to and I feel like sometimes it can take
like painful you know like sledging through the snow just to get to the next thing and especially
when you're an entrepreneur it's not always quick. It's not an easy gig you know. I started when I
was about 24 years old running my own business and figuring out a lot of things the hard way
and also finding surprising successes within that you know just from showing up and continuing to
show up being consistent. So I guess I'm here I'm working on that still at 45. I'm you know building
that consistent practice of getting up and keeping myself in a place of motivation and moving forward
and really really at the end of the day trying to find the best way to help other people in the
same situations that I've been in because nothing lights me up more. I've looked at a lot of things
I've done a lot of crafts. I've done glasswork, ceramic before I started in the jewelry industry.
I was a welder. I was a fabricator doing large-scale sculpture work and at the end of the day it was
until I started making an impact on people or helping them in some way either to learn hands on
or to talk them through a situation or a challenge that they're facing in their business. I just
didn't really have that that passion. I love making don't get me wrong. I love making custom
design work working one-on-one. I've been doing that for about 20 years now and it still lights me
up being able to make an engagement ring for somebody or a custom you know heirloom that they
brought in that's been in the drawer for 20 years and is getting dusted off and it's like wow look
what we have here let's remake something you know into something that you'll wear now and that you
can hand down to your people you know. That lights me up too but I really feel like my purpose now
is moving forward is at least in this chapter is to try to connect with as many makers as I can
and that doesn't even just mean jewelers. It doesn't mean professional makers it means whatever
you're doing whatever your creative endeavor is how can we get you to that next level whatever
that looks like. So the things that I've learned over running a school for 14 years 25 years in
the jewelry industry and consulting for different companies big small one-on-one I've learned a
lot more than I realize it's like oh my gosh at the end it's all this stuff in here you know
and so how can I get that out of my body and make and hopefully help somebody else. So that's the
goal is finding avenues and platforms to do that within. So thanks for having me here because
this is a great chance to connect with your audience and I know you have a similar approach to how
you do business sugar so and life you know. Well I think that I learned a lot from what you just
said about you that I didn't know always a creator I knew but always a teacher at heart like that's
me too. So there is that really that need to connect and kind of like lift people up and
help people and pass along our knowledge because it nothing feels better than you know and you've
also made a connection with somebody for a really long time. So I bet when you go out in a general
public because during that time you've met so many people in Austin that you are kind of a force to
be reckoned with and a name that people know because I mean I I've talked about your business for so
long and different to different people and sent people your way and you know I just I think it
was just like last week I I mentioned you to somebody that wanted something custom. Oh thanks
I'm like yeah. So you know it is about that like you know connecting to people and connecting it
to thoughts and and passing it forward right. Like how do you stay motivated because I think being at
home sometimes without you know now we're used to it because we have been doing this. But we also
know seasons are coming so that kind of keeps us rolling along like you know we've got like the next
that Christmas is almost over and now we're going to be moving the next days and etc. But what is
your number one thing that really like lights your fire to keep going every day. I mean that's a
really big question you know and I think it's honestly one of the things that I'm I'm working
on right now is under I've been working on this for a while but also learning how to explain it
and maybe teach it is understanding your creative seasons you know and your personal seasons because
I think that that motivation factor changes throughout the year throughout your life and
we it's kind of like our hormones like we're lucky women you know that we get to deal with like
daily shifts in our hormones. Same with motivation and passion and creativity. I've become I've come
to understand that you can't be creative 365 days a year that we need space and we need perspective
and room to breathe and room to shift gears and room to do different projects to keep yourself
engaged as a really big one without losing the focus and follow through factor that comes with
you know any project that you're trying to finish. I find I think consistency would be my answer you
know to that is consistency showing up consistently no matter what and if you drop off for a week or
two whatever a month or something happens in your family we've had multiple events in our our family
illnesses and fires and all kinds of craziness you just come back to it you know it's you don't beat
yourself up too much easier said than done and you just continue to show up and stay consistent with
the ultimate purpose whatever it is that you feel is your service or the thing that you can offer
you know it can't to me I in my mind it can't just be I'm making something to make a money you
know it has to be I'm making something that is meaningful to somebody else and and that's for
selfish reasons as much as it is you know I'm not you know Mother Teresa over here making you know
trying to make an impact on everyone fix everybody's world but it's more about that return exchange
that exchange of energy and and love essentially that you know why are we keeping this to ourselves
like let's help each other through and collaborate instead of compete or so those those are really
core values in in my world but also I think consistency is so big you guys I mean you have
to show up for your work and it can't be just today it has to be a little bit each day does that
make sense and that helps especially like you said working from home not easy I literally I'm
sitting in a room right now I share with my bedroom with my husband like his our bedrooms on the other
side of this wall so you can only imagine like nap time versus work time like oh the bed's right
there I could just go take a nap you know or no go in the studio and get your butt in there and
and create something you know so it also is disciplined do you dream about pieces because I
do I I wait well you're surrounded with beads over there so you are waking up like to color and
I can only imagine that you close your eyes and see you know those those things yeah sometimes I do
and now that I've been I've launched my own podcast sugar called the jeweler's view I am dreaming
that I've already recorded an episode that I'm thinking about you know so I think we're constantly
processing in the back of our brains and and that's a lovely thing to realize too with seasons and
when you're understanding how to stay motivated and a big one that comes with that motivation may
not be a problem for many but overwhelm you know is the other end of that where you're just you're
pushing yourself way too hard and overthinking things until you know it all kind of just gets
mushed together and doesn't happen um so it just I have to remember to remind myself of okay yes
it's good you're motivated you're moving forward don't forget to take a break like okay yeah go take
a nap you know walk away for a minute but I don't know if that answers the podcast I'm gonna hear
about your podcast yeah well I'm so happy to be on the other end of the microphone you know so to
speak because I'm used to interviewing and I love it and I really do and I did it I did a podcast for
Rio Grande jewelry supply for five years called the jeweler's view oh no whoops it's called for the
love of jeweler's and I'm still getting those two mixed up and it was lovely I was produced and
hosted that just virtually and I also got to travel and interview people at Santa Fe symposium and
different at snag and different events in the industry and love that because it just talk about
community that's when you really get to go and feel the you know feel that environment being the
environment with other makers and creatives it's and we have brand is such a big name like it's
you know it's a giant in the industry so I'll talk to you well you just you had the ear of the world
I guess I mean at least this world you know for part of it those who listen to podcasts anyway but
yeah no it was really fun it was very educational and it was a lot of you know getting to interview
some of the best makers in the country and in the world really because we could send a microphone
across overseas and interview someone in anywhere you know so I did that for a while and then I
shifted gears about a year ago and decided okay it's really time for me to focus on this you know
this purpose of coaching others and working in that direction more and spending my valuable time
on on those endeavors so that I can reach reach new people that need it so yeah so the jeweler's
view is born from that concept and it's very coachy I am like literally just sharing all of these
obstacles that we face as makers it's it's probably not what you think when you first see the cover
like click in and listen to one they're short they're sweet 17 minutes I think I just put one out
I love that because you can go on a walk or you could take a drive to work and just listen and
get a little insight on something that you might be facing too fear failure you know bad reviews
dealing with imposter syndrome I'm bringing in some really cool co-hosts next year that I won't
even announce yet because it's still in the works but I'm super excited and bringing their insight in
you know and so how can we take our decades of experience here and and maybe cut out some of
the guesswork that that happens and the you know the doubt and the worry that comes from being an
entrepreneur and a maker who's hoping to create a creative business for themselves so um so that's
the goal of the podcast is is a connection tool you know to help help get a get to that audience
in a new way so from the comfort of my studio yeah well yeah but that 17 minutes is a great link so
I'll have to keep my mind yeah that I just is how did you slide on seven even now I think I just made
that up well I think my last one was 17 minutes and that's what I was referring to but I thought
you know at first I was like can I go in and talk for 30 45 minutes by myself to myself because I'm
used to interviewing you know where I'm actually practicing being quiet like I'd literally do this
put a finger over my mouth you know so that I wasn't talking over my guest and now it's just me
sharing so it's really cathartic and very uh opening it's like opening me up in a new way
but I was like I don't think I can do 30 45 like I sat down and 45 minutes later I was like you
better hit stop you know so it was not a problem but what I realized is you know I the goal is to
do it every week and that's a big commitment from me you know this isn't monetized in any way
I'm doing it because I want to connect and want to help and so and there's you know behind the
scenes there's editing there's publishing there's there's cost behind it and there's time and so
I want it to stay consistent and I also don't want to overwhelm my listeners with a bunch of
information since it is um somewhat mindset perspective focused on on creative and you know
creatives and makers uh for them I would like to kind of deliver that in little bite size pieces
so that's the goal because even right now we've done seven yeah look at that 1738 yeah
boom I know but there is two of us and we're so entertaining that and interesting that we need
two hours you know uh well we do have years of experience behind us and in very like
different directions which is so interesting I think you know you're doing I don't know well
how do you explain what you do yeah kind of handmade jewelry it's not everything but not
yeah but you don't do any silver smithing or gold smithing right yeah yeah yeah none of that well
it it works yeah yeah and so therefore I've had to since I don't have that as my skill set and I don't
I don't am I interested in it because it's got so many more legs on it that I don't need at this point
I've come up with other ways to create things that you know that are in my wheelhouse that are
you know have that same kind of skill level and our customers I think that could be a whole
another podcast like dealing how to deal with the general public like you know it's all about
everything but you know sometimes they don't understand I have a customer right now who
swears that the three necklaces that I need to make for her have to be solid gold
the chains and I'm like is this like funnier right yeah like right who wants solid gold
just chains to start off with like that's where I have to start right right ah you ever heard
do you have any solid gold chains I actually do I do no I I maybe I should try we have brand
you can yeah or um there's a lot of there's a lot of resources out there well it is and gold is
is definitely it's expensive it's more expensive than platinum now it's more expensive than platinum
and where it's you know when I started it that was polar opposite world so the the cost of materials
is definitely something to consider if you're gonna go full-time you know or or take on a project
like what you're talking about and my advice with that is quote it first don't tell your customer
anything until you sit down and put pencil to paper and do your research on what materials
cost right now and what gemstone you may think oh I can get a two millimeter sapphire you know
well I'm just using that as an example but you know but maybe not you know or sourcing this that
and the other um sometimes I've I dive in and swim too fast and it's like oh make sure that you
cover yourself with a quote and quote correctly that's one of the the things that I'm going to be
putting into some trainings that I'm working on next year is how the heck do you price stuff you
know yeah yeah and then can people pay this and the truth is yes some of them can yeah so you know
but you have to stay on point with your pricing it's a big it's a big topic for us right yes and
I usually start off the conversation by saying yep what's your budget I can make anything on a budget
like you know if it's ten dollars you're just gonna get right I've got one you know I call it my
pocket bead you know it's like okay one link from the chain for a doll you know so just to give you
an idea yeah yeah what did that guy just saw a post that makes me laugh it was um I've seen it a few
times but it's the guy and it's a beautiful big painting of like a horse and then the rest that
half of the body is all defined and the other half is like sloppy and cartoon-esque and he's like
here's what I can do for half price you know I thought that was really on point you know yeah
yeah it's the same thing about you know how long does it take you to do this well it takes me 50
years because that's exactly that kind of and you do you have to account for all all of that
expertise that you've built in the time and the education and the sacrifices that you make as a
maker to to build a craft and to build your skill set it's not I used to run a school I saw it every
day you know people are coming in some people are taking off six months of their life just to come in
and focus on one thing some people two years you know it just varies on what's going on in your world
and what you can afford to to do but it's a big sacrifice it's a big commitment and it can be
scary as hell you know I think a lot of people don't go full time maybe because it's so scary and
overwhelming and so that that's where I hope to come in and help a little bit more in the future
is is like okay this is scary but we're guess what we're gonna do it anyway you know and how do we
get there yeah because you're constantly learning too every day like it doesn't process doesn't end
no no yeah I never pretend to know it all absolutely not and that's the products that are available to
us are becoming more and more there's a lot of differences coming forward just and sustainability
is another really the eco-friendly kind of you know you're able to reuse and recycle your metals
you know those are maybe even the stones from other people's jewelry like this is now how we're
calling it and it really it really is a better at the end of the day a better product if it's got
that it's got something else that was loved in it before it's like that a soul of it is still there
yeah I think I really do I do believe that and sometimes it's not possible to do that unfortunately
because of contaminants or some other reasons but but when you can it's really cool and I that is kind
of what I specialize in or have found myself in and specializing in was recycling materials and
taking people's older jewelry and you know repurposing it so to speak I had this guy come one time
talk about like taking some something with meaning and he I don't know why this is popping into my
head but he came in with this giant chunk of copper and it was all mangled and and shredded and
and I said okay you know what do we got here we I got all kinds of stories here but from the years
you know just doing custom design and people would walk in with all kinds of funky stuff but
he sat down he said this is an IE it's from an IED which had hit he was in Iraq it had hit his door
side panel of the door like an inch away from where he was sitting and the IED hit like it
exploded near and shot this piece of copper and if it was one inch off or it was very significant
you know it would have killed him he said I want to take this I want to make it into a pendant
for my girlfriend my fiance and I was like when it looks like a thing I have to send you a picture
it was I mean talk about breaking sawblades like any of you metalsmiths that are listening
you break sawblades all the time you know especially in the beginning of learning how to
saw through material this thing I must have busted like 80 sawblades just trying to get
through it and keep it intact because it was really thick and I just I just like cutting a
heart out of it like a little heart and it was just tiny it was this big chunk and so I just took
a little heart out of it and it was really neat because the surface was what we would call reticulated
in the jewelry world in the metalsmithing world but which was melted no actually it was that that
would be granulation but the the surface was kind of mangled looking like almost like a burn victim
would would have like a texture to their skin same on the metal it kind of surface bubbles up to the
surface and then dry kind of cools like that so it's I'm not explaining that well but it's it's
pretty beautiful yeah has a texture to it like a real melted look and so we just left it raw he
goes like you know I want to remember what this was and the fact that I survived this and so that
was a really special piece but yeah I mean people bring in grandmother's jewelry you know all kinds
of fun things and you get to look at it and play with it and and then reimagine because jewelry
has memory you know it has memory I I have such vivid memories of being five years old and like
looking at my ring or and my little necklace and it's a little pearl and just loving those pieces
and I still have them today as you know going forward it's like okay I've been dragging these
pieces around that a little girl just loved and that that little bit of jewelry in her hands just
made her so happy so it's that whole thing that kind of like goes with it everything has a memory
and you know as I went to go see my grandkids this weekend and I've given them tons of jewelry
center like I brought jewelry of course I brought jewelry but you know I hope that they remember that
I made a little coral I pressed some coral vine from our ranch that our grandkids used to play
under and I'm that in a little piece and you know wrote a little note because of course they
won't really know but and I hope that that is something that they'll remember when she grows
up and sees that piece it's like oh that was my grandmother trying to you know pass down that memory
so that's yeah I they always remember those times at the ranch because now they moved away
and don't get it right yeah you know that's that's the the beauty of being a maker we can like come
up with that little like a twist to the story but that jewelry like what you make it's still everybody
remembers when they get pieces and how they felt about it where you know those that go in it and all
it really is jewelry is an important part it's in our DNA like it goes it's the most ancient craft
business in existence as far as I know I mean it literally goes back to the very beginning of you
know man you know pounding on metal I mean that's what I love about it and I'm I'm a waxer so I do
a lot of casting carving and then casting and that's a very ancient process you know it's really
neat there's definitely newer tech to do it but with of course safer ways to do it now but but
there is something primal about it that I think is in our DNA you know it was even before metal
you know they were using eggshells they were using you know seashells they were using you know sand
anything they could think of they were clay mud like I mean just yeah whatever yeah it's pretty
neat it makes me wonder or sometimes I want to go back in time how what was going on in that
person's mind you know how did they figure that out because like what who figured this out you know
that you could pour metal into this because they knew yeah well eggshells uh ostrich eggshells were
some of the earliest beads that they know that they found and I've tried to crack an ostrich egg
before we had to get a tile cutter it's so hard and literally it's like a porcelain tile so they
were actually using you know little tiny rocks and you know somehow or another you know getting those
the shapes all pretty much the same and a hole through it that was a true right yeah without
breaking it you know yeah yeah they still sell those beads in Africa and I'm sure they're using
snippers now to create those so it's a hard product to work with so I love all that I love the history
of jewelry I know I'm on every thread that there is on you know ancient man's you know the finds
that they have because I think that's a whole different collection I'd love to dig into is
recreating some of those finds that would be so cool yeah yeah the history it's so cool yeah the
ink lines I'm doing a new collection on the ink lines the Nazca lines because the Nazca lines
are such great little characters you know they're so interesting I don't know I'm so fun and it does
keep you inspired when you're constantly thinking about oh what do I want to do? Yeah yeah put your
little stamp on all that it is it is how do you keep yourself on point though like you know there's
so many ideas and we all have so many projects like you know I have found object work that I like
to do I'm a painter I'm a singer you know that's that's one of my main course singer I've got to come
here yeah we should yeah and that's a whole other oh just tell everybody wearing awesomeness
oh yeah yeah well right now we do a first Saturday and at Saxon Pub which is a really cool
kind of old school little bar that's on South Lamar and it's been there forever I don't even know
probably 50 years or something yeah and they it's just like a dream for musicians because we go in
and you can hear everything so well and they take care pretty good care of everybody so so that's
really lovely um yeah every first we go by suburban beat you're you're an enterprise an enterprise
explain okay explain my enterprise because you have multiple facets within your business that are
that make you an enterprise you've got creative enterprise I like that yeah I like that I'll take
that it's probably better than serial entrepreneur which I've been called before yeah well and then
next you need to write some books because that's an easy you're not the first person to tell me
to write a book I don't know what I would write about I mean eventually it probably will be more
about working with makers you know as I move forward but um I always said if I wrote a book
actually it would be called Facing All My Fears in Under 40 Years um just because I I've had a lot of
you know we've all had like big life events but I feel like man you know when you wake up and your
house is on fire and your kids are in the house and it's like that's kind of a big fear that you
know we really hope doesn't happen and but we face them and then we we get up and we keep moving
you know we deal with it and hopefully everybody survives you know um so yeah I think I think that
will probably be book number one would be Facing All My Fears in Under 40 Years. Well I haven't lived
through a house fire but a lot of people have badly was your house oh it was totally demolished I
mean we just um but no I won't say that because look what just happened in North Carolina what
happens to people all the time with these fires that are spreading all over I can't imagine
a whole like town getting hit you know we were the only house on the block um but uh
it was an electrical fire in the attic and so and we didn't have smoke detectors in the attic
because that's not code it's not required by code and that's the number one place that fires start
so yeah that's a long story I'll share with you sometime but it was a it was an intense
intense thing to look up the stairs and realize there's a giant fire you know coming down and
you know getting the kids out and everything but no we they dumped I think a hundred thousand
gallons of water on the top to get it out and by that time the whole downstairs flooded and the
upstairs was just demolished so we threw everything in a dumpster sorry mother earth but we had a lot
of crap and we we had to just throw it all away and start over and it's just not as hard as you
it was hard it was summer it was it was awful but at the end of it we just kept laughing you know it
was like we just kind of got through it and we just started over and thank god we had insurance
like there's people then we were situations who don't have that so um my husband's a contractor and we
you know my friend said it well he said if this was going to happen to any family we're
we're y'all are the ones that it should happen to meaning you know how to handle it like you
guys you know you're super resourceful Courtney and he's a builder so well you'll be all right you
know and and we are we we were and um but yeah just a lot of a lot of events in a row it's been
interesting it still takes it takes a whole I know I know some of you I know some of your stories I
know it's got you got big huge dress tickets over the head of each one of those like that is big
like that is yeah I asked my sister-in-law is like is this normal for these many things you know this
many things to happen she goes no Courtney you you yeah no this is a lot there's a lot of shit
coming at you you know and it's like okay what are you trying to show me world like universe what do
you know and I think it's resilience training honestly it's like okay you know right I was
telling a friend I can go sit in the freezing cold water now surrounded with snow and sit down for a
minute and just breathe through it you know and get up and keep going even even when your legs are
numb just you know you just kind of figure it out and you know I'm not gonna let this stuff hold you
down you just we don't choose that way so um easier said than done but um but yeah anyway uh it has
been a lot of stuff but you know without any of that stuff we don't end up where we are right now
and so at the end of the day it's all about being grateful for good and the bad because every piece
of it has led me into this amazing situation that I am with a great partner and two great kids and
now a new little puppy dog and getting to sit here and talk with you about my crazy life and my
ambitions and motivation and you know getting to speak to people through my platform and I have a
there's a lot of good stuff a lot of good stuff you know silver lining and we're also in we're also
in women in yeah the great national group but we have an Austin chapter that we're both in the
women's jeweler's association yes women's association yes so wherever you are if you have a wj a group
and you can just go to women jeweler's association and look up you know where they have chapters but
it's a it's a pretty cool model they I think it started a long time ago by women who in the industry
because it used to be women were the minority here and now it's polar opposite I will tell you I
think the majority is women now absolutely um you know who are in the in the jewelry industry of all
facets of the jewelry industry and so we're kind of ruling ruling this thing now ladies but um but
yes wj a is a really very cool organization and you can get involved with the local chapter if you
don't have a local chapter I know that they will help you get one started so it's a great community
builder and and I miss having a school when I sold the school in 2019 kind of lost that community
of course it was COVID too so talk about just changing your whole world bam you know it's like
wow okay you know I was in the center of this you know it's kind of a bubble too because people
would come in the door I wasn't really you know they would just walk in and there's all these creative
energy coming all the time and um I miss that so wj has been really healing for for me and I'm sure
it has been for a lot of people just to have that connection when you sit and make stuff all day
it's really nice to get out and connect with other women and men it's not a women only association
men are absolutely welcome um and just connect with network you know meet appraisers meet retailers
meet you know crafts people meet fine jewelers it's it's kind of all over the gamut so it's it's
nice yeah it's nice and well it's like a big industry and we are talking about how you know
women were kind of like we kind of had a chance to take over at some point but I remember Marion
Haskell who is one of my style icons in the jewelry fashion jewelry world a lot of her products
have made their way into my jewelry from old warehouses um that housed all the manufacturing
of her products but she started out you know early after like World War one between World War one
War two moving here but then when she really branched out and really got good and known
her brothers took over the company and said no no women should be in charge of this business
and they took her off and then everything kind of changed because it wasn't as good anymore
because it was her vision that was really the thing but you can today still they they still
have licensing you know there's still manufacturing jewelry today from her jewelry and that was you
know almost a hundred years ago now we're getting yeah you could go to like knee men's or the high
end stores and you would see Marion Haskell pieces because they're still high revere but
um it is now from a long time ago they pushed out a woman well that's not uncommon is it that's just
an no that's don't push me out can't push me out sorry don't even try I love it that her long
that's wild I love it that her long I can't imagine being being born in a time and even now it's
so we don't have to get into that but it's like oh my gosh like what is happening why are we going
backwards you know for women it's like really are we still in that place where we were thought to
you put everything you know this project pendulum swing like we are now we're headed back to the
other end of it and right now in the Smithsonian magazine there is an article about the guy who
formed whatever is it bomb I might say his name right but who wrote wrote the wizard of Oz
but if you got that magazine and you read through it it's not about him at all it's really about his
niece and what a what a suffragette she was and what a breaking every rule like I I want to go back
I'm taking it to the ranch over the holidays and just reading through this very big article
and I just want to like dive into each one of those resources of their listing because
the power it just made me feel like we could do more we can do more like I know we're in this
turning point but like I feel like I need that to hook into some kind of where we have something
to hold accountable for that time period that we tried to do something right you know to kind of
stop this but it's not it's not really easy but I definitely want to I really felt like that I'm
like they were fighting against being able to vote we're fighting for our bodies and all the other
things basic rights yeah and we really need I really feel that need to step up to the plate
I got definitely doing like it it just got me really excited when I read that I'm like here's
somebody I can boil it boiler plate this down yeah yeah what that's very cool how they did it back
then to turn things around turn the tide it took a hundred years but they did it talk about consistency
right showing up I was getting up yeah we can't give up we do have something that we do when it's
important and you know it doesn't happen quickly nothing I feel like nothing really does nothing
valuable happens quickly I was actually sitting every morning I try to get up now and I've got a new
routine and that that goes something like this when I'm lucky and don't have a new puppy that has to
go pee but you know so I'm like okay wait when do I meditate you know now there's a puppy has to go pee
first but you know I try to wake up and I do like at least 10 minutes of meditation and just just
zoom in and typically that's a gratitude practice you know thank you so much like everything you
know the littlest things and it's just a little thing and I had to start really small with that
and build you know trying to build up to a longer period of time and some people could do 20 30
minutes but I figure if I just do five to 10 minutes it's something I can repeat and I can stay
consistent with it so I started doing that every day and if I don't because stuff happens life happens
I feel the difference now right and then I go and I work a little bit and I have my tea a quick
coffee believe it or not and I have my tea like four or five cups of tea so I don't know if it
cancels out the coffee quitting and now I get my kiddo get my kiddo off to school and then I exercise
and I'm doing like 15 minutes of kind of hardcore exercise and that's it right 10 minutes 10 15 minutes
a day and then I go for a 20 minute walk with my dog and then I go back to work and man what a difference
I forget why I'm telling you consistency I think is what I'm driving at but man it's like it's like
opened my whole world just that that those few things and I didn't do all that at once I like
added one thing and then the next week I started with the walking and the next week I found the
fitness program I liked that was reasonably priced and I doing it all online there's no gym
and I don't have to go anywhere you know I was like let's make this as let it be easy how can I let
you know yeah and my mental clarity my physical the way I feel physically the way I look everything
is shifting and it's like wow 10 minutes a day like it feels like when it comes down to it's like
wow all these things add up and takes me about an hour and a half you know but but staying and doing
it every day I'm noticing I'm only like 12 13 weeks into this you guys I'm still very new but
I I met with a young lady the other day younger than me I guess I say young lady but who used to
work at the school and I've been sending out emails about my new business and how I'm rebranding
myself etc and showing up as the coach that I am meant to be now and she goes your emails broke
through my depression and I was like oh and I felt so bad because this young lady worked her butt off
at our school and then when the school got sold a lot of the hours didn't get credited to her so she
didn't get to come and use the classes that she had worked her butt off for so she and she goes
and I've always admired you I'm wondering you know could I just talk to you and I was like absolutely
let me just let's just treat these like sessions and we're gonna we're gonna get this figured out
she's moved to another city she's got nobody she's got no money I just felt like oh my god
and I got on the on the horn with her on the zoom and she's just crying the whole time and I you
know as a coach you have to kind of like okay I'm here and I'm holding space with you but I'm not
gonna feel your emotions because otherwise I'd be no good to you so I'm learning to you know we
have to learn to separate and kind of especially when you're empathic it's difficult but practicing
that and so that you can really help them tune into something that they don't see necessarily
necessarily that it's going on behind the scenes and honestly when it came down to it it was those
few things was are you exercising at all no I don't I don't think I have time I don't have time
but I don't have a job right now and I don't and I go wait a second you don't have time
you don't have 10 minutes five minutes three minutes like there's time so saying I don't have
time is like saying I don't want to might as well just be like I don't really want to do that so
you know my invitation to her at the end of the day was let's start there because if your body
doesn't feel good and I went through some health big scary health stuff last year part of my roller
coaster ride sugar and I know you had some stuff too girl it's not easy like up and down and when
you don't have your health you don't have you can't do anything you can't help anybody you can't make
stuff like so it's like you know we got to start there that's the foundation the bottom of the
pyramid is our physical carrying body has to be okay enough to do the things and serve in the
ways that we want and then comes you know the other things on top nutrition of course and all
those things I don't mean to sound like some sort of health nut over here but man it's making a
difference to me and I'm not the healthiest person and so this is a new important thing that I'm
identifying so she's doing it I was like can you do this every day for a week and she skipped a
couple days because she's depressed when you're in depression you do not want to move like you
just can't you know I've been there too and but she's noticing big differences she was like I
I can't I go in the second question I said was do you meditate at all or take a slowdown like do
you practice any kind of meditation no but I've always meant to but I'm worried about my lung
capacity it was so interesting to me yeah and no judgment at all I love her so much but it's so
interesting because you look back at yourself like wow we can make up there's an excuse for anything
you know I'm not going to work on this today I'm not going to be consistent with this because
xyz it's like wow how do we cut through that no like what voice is telling us it's the one that
wants to hold us down and keep us back from from our highest potential and we have to have
conversations with it daily without judgment and just be like okay I see you there but that's not
working for me that's not a viable excuse I'm doing a whole episode on this right now too so it's
on the top of my head but um but yeah um it make it a big difference she's like oh I can let my
lungs feel better because I'm doing some breath work it's the opposite of what we thought comes to
go and then from there you can start building your creative endeavor but if those things are out of
whack like things are just it's gonna makes it it's not gonna be easy you know I have an app that
tracks my exercises and yesterday I said I've done a thousand I've done a thousand exercises
yeah I love a little gamified yeah there's a little bit of brand new and you know it's all virtual
I'm not going to a thing just like you but there are all kinds of things out there that do well
that will really help you and and then and then there's chat should be tea are you
using any yeah because that's the new thing right tell us what you know I just it's it's here and
you know I know there's a lot of mixed opinions out there and it is new and it is scary and and
it's over the top robot world that we're headed again to and we've been headed there and it's
been available just not to the public until recently and one of the things that I've been
hearing I do a lot of trainings outside of my training other people I I do you know other
workshops and I study a lot and I research but it's here and it's not going anywhere and so we
we kind of need to get on understanding at least how it could be useful as a tool and I don't want
it to replace my thinking because I don't think you could do that honestly I don't think that I
would let that happen but I do see where it could be dangerous in the wrong hands like
there are some really cool things that it's capable of and I'm I'm just on the tip of the
iceberg so I'm I'm no expert here at all I do know in the industry that people are using it to
design not only to create but to design you know it's not just a basic tool anymore it's very
robe it's becoming very robust and I use it for a simple organization tool because I am not the
most organized I have a creature of habit and routine but I I'm not very good at taking a big
giant thought or vision and putting it for artists right so putting it into a document having it make
sense to a virtual assistant or somebody that might be having you know help me put something
together or a client even you know like let's brain dump into this doc and then chat GPT can take it
organize it into sections and you can even have it outline it for google docs and create an outline
that you can click through and so that's a very basic way that I use use it for that and I'm
telling you I used to have employees I used to have a team I don't like calling people employees
but legally they were my employees but but my team yeah my when I had a bigger business my team
was there and I hate to tell you but chat GPT is replacing probably two two of those employees
it's quick it's it's phenomenally quick in a second it's weird yeah I had it write a little
point I gave it six words about visiting my grandson and I said you know six year old so write it
to that age and make it very simple and make sure you include you know grandma loves you and these
things you know some of the things that we did and then because they love mail I found out so then
I can mail them a little bit so you're such a good group yeah I mean GPT was like in one second it was
so cute that's cool there's a lot of cool creative ways that you can use it and I think it's the same
as when we think about marketing and what a drag mark you know that oh I'm gonna mark it I just want
to make cool stuff I don't want to have to mark it I'm sorry but you can't eat you know 50% of it is
getting it out there and so yeah you know if you want to sell work and some people that that's not
their interest and that's totally fine but um but yeah I think it's the same kind of thing it's
but man it's a great tool some of the AI tools and now I'm learning more there's Claude and there's
there's all these different types of they'll do design work they'll do image veneration
yeah pretty crazy some of it I'm like still a little overwhelmed but as I dive into it I'm using it
every day using chat GPT hey here's my podcast topic let me outline it chat GPT right on outline
you know it's like wow you know just dumped my brain my thoughts in there and it's organized so
organized so that uh it is such and if you're if you're listening to this and you're not on the chat
GPT chain take an online course I actually got certified in chat GPT from Microsoft it is easy
it's not easy but it's there it's free and it just really gives you a backbone to know that
everything is possible and it's coming and we need to use it because my day job is as a technical
area that that will be taken over but there's still needs for you know editing and being able to
give it the information and make it you know make it do what you want to do and you can even get mad
at chat GPT and kind of threaten it it's like hey hey that's not like or have it roast you you can do
a roast you know one thing that's a little more about you have it roast you do a roast on you
it does it I've never done that but I do tell it to that thank you so much you know I want to say
I just love you so much it is a robot like you know we've all seen Terminator 2 I wear it I hear
that but yeah you know be kind you know that yeah no it's kind of like having a assistant it's like
having a buddy there to work with yes that sounds weird but it really is because it is AI it's
intelligent and it's a deep brain and now it's on our phones yeah the new the brand new pixel
I'll have to have to pixel your brain about all of that it's yeah I'm still very very
kindergarten with with what it can do and and oh yeah okay well I definitely definitely should be
doing oh you should that would be really helpful yeah and how can we apply it yeah yeah so going
forward because we're getting near the end what's coming up for you that you're really excited for
in 2025 because we are basically days away from this year being over and we can get a fresh start
good question um I'm I'm very excited about what I'm building right now and you know the podcast
is is just part of that what I what I'm putting together for the industry and and really when I
when I sat down and started to kind of design this next chapter and what does it look like
I was like is this even for just jewelry makers anymore I think it's more broad than that but
I'm known in this industry and I've been in this and I know it better than any other craft that
that you know I couldn't speak to ceramics in the same way that I do jewelry making because of my
experience so I decided to stay in that niche but eventually I do see it getting a little more broad
and I do coach different you know I coach singers and I coach painters but right now you know the
focus is really this niche I love this industry I love the jewelry industry it's been so good to me
and there's so many great people and so my my goal I guess for the 2025 is in my I'm excited about
is I'm putting together a couple of small workshops very financially accessible for beginners and
and people who may be on a tighter budget and then I have also a six week course that I'm going to be
building it's virtual all from here and can connect with anybody anywhere in the world
and we can all get together and create a community within that kind of a transformation six week
course on getting into the industry what do you need to know where the resources how do we do this
how do we find consistency there'll be the mindset and the perspective piece mixed with the realities
and the you know what is retail versus wholesale like there's so much to know and I feel like when
my students back at creative side would come in they were like a deer in headlights because it was
so much information that you can find if you go down the the youtube or the you know social media
rabbit hole there's so much out there so my goal is to bring that all together as much as I can and
create a cohesive course for people that they can do over their own at their own schedule at their
own pace in their own home not making I'm not teaching soldering there's plenty of people who
are rocking that I did it for a long time and now what I'd like to focus on is the nitty gritty of
the business side and the marketing and the how to get yourself out there and how to do it with
confidence and how to find customers and how to work with customers all of those things so
I'm excited it's in the works and yeah and just looking forward to finding new connections within
that avenue too so hopefully helping some people through those skinny spots so that they don't have
to go through the suffering that can come so again tell everybody where they can contact you it will
be below in the description tell everybody and we're and then also your instagram and then
we will wrap it up because we are hitting that yeah Courtney gray arts is where I'm found and
but you can email me just send me an email hi at Courtney gray arts calm if you have any questions
I can help guide you in any way and but yeah on insta facebook I'm at Courtney gray arts and the
podcast is the jeweler's view which you can find anywhere that podcasts anywhere you like to listen
and other than that yeah I think that's pretty easy to find me out there just google Courtney gray
jewelry and the next meet the next women yeah I've been trying to show up every yes and yeah I just
like to say onward and upward to everybody no matter where you're at it's where you're supposed to be
and you know you've got this just keep moving forward showing up for yourself and your your craft
and your business whatever that looks like and there's no judgment on any of that any level that
you're at we're all in this together so yeah reach out to people like sugar who great connectors and
wait I keep killing you sugar is a gate you it's sugar gay yeah yeah sure we're any here a little
we have a history on your name like what's up with the sugar gay is face facebook wouldn't let me know
when I first so you use sugar yeah so you just a little sugar on everything I love it yeah the
sugar was my business name it was my everything my store everything was it wouldn't let you use
gay so wait I'm just coming back to that no it was not that was in 2007 oh my gosh and it was
that a community things have changed a lot they actually wrote me years after that like five or
six years after then said okay now you can use it it's like okay you want to use it to sugar gay so
that I'm kind of now everything is sugar gay just like you and that's one thing I would tell new people
is take one thing and become that all the way through all your social yeah so you're not everybody
that you've got multiple names it's just one thing yeah and the easiest thing honestly is your name
because you know I mean unless there's a conflict out there or it's really really difficult to spell
perhaps but you know something right or starts with gay I can't believe they didn't let you on
Facebook it's ridiculous but yeah that's a definitely good branding advice is just keep it simple I mean
we have big dreams and they can get very detailed and intricate and but keep the keep the titles
minimal so that people can find you yeah yes spell spelling it easy well thank you and kiss
on the puppy for us get my serious yeah little Frankie little Frankie Smalls Frankie Smalls Frankie
and ice yeah well thank you so much for having me as such a blast thank you and I appreciate
you're my friend always I'm here so we should we should get together like in person and you know
I'll show you some that sounds great I'm always down with that let's do it yes all right thank you
okay well thank you for listening to jewelry is your side hustle with sugar gay is for
because it is about grit and it is about you know just keep going forward so today was a really great
day and I hope you have a very good day for us your day thank you very much