1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,360 Welcome to the GuiltTrips podcast. I'm your host, Kendra Lockhart. As a goldsmith and 2 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:17,560 gemologist, I'll be speaking 24 carat on all things jewelry, metals, and gems. Join 3 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:24,080 me plus a few friends to demystify both materials and designs as your private jeweler. Let's 4 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:35,640 tune in on these topics and get golden. In today's episode, I'm going to talk about time. And 5 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:40,640 that's a very interesting concept, not only in the jewelry world, but also in business 6 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:47,880 ownership, employee management, and making sure a project is properly booked so that 7 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:56,320 it isn't rushed and client expectations are met. Now, I've had time anxiety. I've had 8 00:00:56,320 --> 00:01:04,400 time collapse. I've had time magic because time is a lot more plastic than we estimate. 9 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:09,920 The reason I decided to speak about both time and timing is because they mean different 10 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:17,760 things to me when I have that internal dialogue. Is it time? Meaning, have I outgrown something? 11 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:25,320 Has it run its course? Most of our opportunities to learn do have an expiration date on them, 12 00:01:25,320 --> 00:01:31,840 much like my stay here in New York. It's coming to a close. Timing, on the other hand, seems 13 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:41,800 to be more of a space, a strange and potentially divine or magical moment or opportunity where 14 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:50,920 you are supposed to intersect either with a place, a person, or a proposition. So today 15 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:59,960 I'm going to walk through the arc in my career of where both time and timing pulled me out 16 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:08,920 of something, pushed me into an unfamiliar place. But ultimately, echoed that wonderful 17 00:02:08,920 --> 00:02:18,200 loop that I've seen in my life, a beautiful pattern of who I was being and whom I was 18 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:28,360 becoming. My first awareness of time regarding my career was the fact that I did grow up 19 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:36,640 near the Chicago border. There was a program called After School Matters down at the Art 20 00:02:36,640 --> 00:02:46,480 Institute of Chicago. It led me to taking art classes where I was a kid paired with 21 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:53,680 probably a teaching assistant. It satisfied my parents' need of filling up my schedule 22 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:59,520 so it would sync up with the end of their workday. But also, it planted that seed of 23 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:06,320 the joy of creating. And most importantly, is it showed me what it was like to finish 24 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:14,120 a work. Before, my drawings were just pieces of paper and crayons until I got bored or 25 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:20,680 felt like doing something else or, I don't know, was called to the dinner table. This 26 00:03:20,680 --> 00:03:30,040 was an actual structuring of my efforts in a specific period of time. Week one, we met 27 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:37,720 our TAs. Week two, we came up with a concept. Week three, we were taken to go and get the 28 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:46,440 supplies. Week four, we began executing. Week five, we finished it up. And week six, was 29 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:52,920 the presentation to the parent. This definitely planted a seed for me taking art classes throughout 30 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:59,960 my life, long past my academic career. The one in high school that would become most 31 00:03:59,960 --> 00:04:10,560 significant would be introduction to jewelry making. As far as timing, I was now off to 32 00:04:10,560 --> 00:04:19,120 college, had enrolled in the major of architecture, and found out my parents' vicious divorce 33 00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:24,600 was really starting to heat up. There was an open house at the arts and design building 34 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:29,600 where one of my classmates had invited me. And it was also the location where I would 35 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:34,680 have to take future architecture classes. It seemed very faded with what I was seeing, 36 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:41,800 and I decided I've got to transfer out of architecture and into art history and studio 37 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:47,840 arts. This would serve me well because not only did it change what I was learning, but 38 00:04:47,840 --> 00:04:57,720 it completely reshuffled the professors I had. And that would also alter my trajectory. 39 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:04,440 So now I'm thriving in my new major. I've got the confidence. I've got a professor 40 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:12,200 who's sharing wonderful resources. And it gets suggested to me that why not take a studio 41 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:19,880 art class outside of drawing or illustration. And so I do and find myself thinking, I'll 42 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:28,480 get an easy A, do a jewelry class. And it was time for me to let go of my preference 43 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:35,960 and probably dependency on pen or pencil to paper and really start to use my hands with 44 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:43,440 tools in them and start producing ideas in three dimensions that weren't so easy. It 45 00:05:43,440 --> 00:05:50,120 was in this class that I would also experience timing. The professor whose name was Billie 46 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:57,280 Jean Thighdy happened to be a master silversmith to the degree that she was the president 47 00:05:57,280 --> 00:06:03,840 of national silversmithing in America. It would be the second time a jewelry teacher 48 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:11,600 would take note that I was beyond what I was being taught that I was a natural at this 49 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:19,640 and that I definitely needed to pursue this or at least push the curiosity and see what 50 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:30,080 else is there other than completing a course. The timing that happened upon finishing my 51 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:36,840 undergrad and needing a job was the simple fact that not far from where I was staying, 52 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:42,240 I had moved back in with my dad temporarily to pay off a small amount of debt for my 53 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:51,560 tuition was the fact that he had a client who was working at a store that specialized 54 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:57,200 in jewelry replicas. He asked her if there was any part time work. This was right before 55 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:01,840 the holidays and it just so happened that they were interested. This would begin my 56 00:07:01,840 --> 00:07:09,400 experience in retail jewelry sales. Simultaneously, I was working for my dad's boss and I would 57 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:19,520 get my first jewelry commission. It was time to do business with my skills that I had acquired 58 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:26,640 down at university. Now was I great at it? No. In fact, I ended up really failing on 59 00:07:26,640 --> 00:07:34,760 my first professional contract. Why? One, I didn't have a contract. Two, I didn't take 60 00:07:34,760 --> 00:07:43,360 a deposit. I was 21 years old and one of the employees found out I had done some metal 61 00:07:43,360 --> 00:07:49,800 work and asked if I would make her ring. And I said I don't work in gold and her response 62 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:56,000 was gold schmold. I'm sure the techniques are the same. I really want some rings and 63 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:02,120 we're on a small budget. Do you want to continue this conversation? And I said yeah, I will. 64 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:08,680 So we sketched it out and I went and got all of the supplies only to have her say, you 65 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:14,120 know, we really, really on a budget, we're not going to go with custom rings. We're going 66 00:08:14,120 --> 00:08:20,480 to borrow some family pieces and then when we're a little better off, we'll revisit this. 67 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:30,200 How did I know how important that setback would be? So the timing of my commission falling 68 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:35,920 through would lead me to my business sponsor. My dad came down with some cold or flu or 69 00:08:35,920 --> 00:08:41,040 whatnot and was going to miss going to a dinner. That was a fundraiser with a ticket he had 70 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:46,400 purchased. He said you'll go. And I said, I'm really not interested in sitting in a 71 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:51,920 room full of suits. And he said go or I'm going to charge you for this ticket. I need 72 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:57,640 to reclaim the value one way or another. So I attend. And lo and behold, I am seated next 73 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:04,320 to my business sponsor who wanted to know what do I do? And I said, I'm not sure I was 74 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:11,360 about to make some rings and I didn't get a contract or a deposit. And now I've got 75 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:17,360 college debt and now I've got to pay this off. And he said, what do the rings look like? 76 00:09:17,360 --> 00:09:22,400 Famously as the story goes, I sketched him out on a cocktail napkin. He gave me his business 77 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:28,080 card. I went down to see him in the Diamond District in Chicago. He set me on a path to 78 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:36,080 complete the rings. He introduced me to my wax carver from the model and my jewelry caster. 79 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:42,640 From that, the rings went to a competition and won my first award. I owe being here to 80 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:50,000 the timing of that while I was attempting to say it's time to outgrow making things 81 00:09:50,000 --> 00:10:00,840 in non-precious metals and step up into gold. Now it's time to get a job in fine jewelry. 82 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:07,320 Back in that day, employment ads were in newspapers. I showed up and was immediately put into a 83 00:10:07,320 --> 00:10:14,840 drawing audition. Now you know that drawing was my first love, so naturally I got the 84 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:21,920 job. The owner wanted me to be a designer, but more importantly, he couldn't sketch. 85 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:30,000 And so I solved the problem of me almost capturing like a courtroom artist whatever conversation 86 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:35,880 he was having with a client in real time. It was a great run. It gave me the confidence 87 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:45,480 to sell my ideas even at a young age to run custom work projects and continue my education 88 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:51,120 of the industry as well as earn a few more jewelry awards with my personal designs and 89 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:59,880 creations. However, the manager's spite was something that I was quickly outgrowing and 90 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:10,960 it was time to leave. Another example of timing is I went looking for an apprenticeship. I 91 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:18,080 grabbed all that I had created up until then, of course my sketchbook and the first resume 92 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:23,880 I ever wrote for myself and went around my hometown, which was known for having a lot 93 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:33,760 of studio showroom hybrids. I went to the four companies that had that business model 94 00:11:33,760 --> 00:11:40,640 and was accepted by one of them. During that time, I was exposed to gemology equipment 95 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:46,680 and books. I ended up reaching out to the GIA, which is the educational body for the 96 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:54,720 jewelry industry for information and I enrolled in a course. While I was working under that 97 00:11:54,720 --> 00:12:00,640 company, I got to use the studio equipment to study. During all of this, I got a call 98 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:05,680 from my original business mentor to design earrings for his mother-in-law. She had gone 99 00:12:05,680 --> 00:12:11,600 through a few other creatives and wasn't satisfied with their interpretations of her 100 00:12:11,600 --> 00:12:18,080 loose emeralds as a finished jewelry piece. My current boss was very envious of my ambition. 101 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:25,000 Not only was I taking gemology courses, but I was positioning myself to collect or at 102 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:32,040 least compete for yet another design award. During my work with my original business mentor, 103 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:38,920 I discussed with him what it would take to become self-employed. Naturally, it was time 104 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:45,040 to outgrow working for people who wanted to keep me small. While I was laying the groundwork 105 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:51,920 for my own company, I got myself a job in the fitness industry so that I could fund 106 00:12:51,920 --> 00:13:00,840 this idea and have liquid assets to make speculative pieces as well as hire contracts for any commissions 107 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:10,080 I was making so that somebody else could be doing the work while I was at my day job. 108 00:13:10,080 --> 00:13:17,960 As far as timing, I was freelancing for a woman named Bobby and she was someone who 109 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:25,280 was an independent sales representative for ad space in magazines. And one of her accounts 110 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:33,040 was a mixed media gallery. It was her suggestion that I go and meet the owner of this gallery 111 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:40,560 and show that I make jewelry. So I threw together what was a lookbook at the time, made the 112 00:13:40,560 --> 00:13:49,760 appointment, brought my sketchbook and during that conversation I showed samples, discussed 113 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:56,040 what I had done so far and what I thought I could offer as well as where I was looking 114 00:13:56,040 --> 00:14:02,060 to grow. I'll never forget, she asked me, where have you been? And I immediately heard 115 00:14:02,060 --> 00:14:09,160 it through the lens of, uh oh, I'm seeming too green or not enough and I said, oh well 116 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:13,920 let me tell you about what I learned at university. She cut me off and she said, no, no, no, where 117 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:22,600 have you been? You're exactly what we need for us to grow. Let's do this. My time with 118 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:30,560 that owner and her gallery was very prosperous and not just financially. Under her wing, 119 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:37,760 I expanded into philanthropic events, donated a piece for a charity auction and had an appointment-based 120 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:44,760 design and collaboration calendar. She had amazing public relations skills and even got 121 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:50,560 me a feature article in the newspaper, which was a big deal. This was pre-internet. There 122 00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:56,360 were open house shows, there were a chamber of commerce meetings, there were rotating 123 00:14:56,360 --> 00:15:05,240 featured artists, there were neighborhood pairings. This would prepare me for a future of producing 124 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:16,360 my own events. As far as timing, there was an invitation to be the headliner of a show. 125 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:23,680 I pulled together a gem dealer, some vintage ring models and molds and I made a color fusion 126 00:15:23,680 --> 00:15:31,400 replica collection. It absolutely bombed. And I have always wondered why until I recently 127 00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:36,440 had a conversation with the founder of Cirque du Joule's. We talked about the notion of 128 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:43,240 greed in the form of wanting praise and how it can obscure your clarity. And at that time, 129 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:51,840 I was really looking to break away from the fact that my designs were progressive. I was 130 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:58,480 really hoping for the reputation of being innovative and avant-garde. And I thought, 131 00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:05,200 well, this is it. I'll do bold color combinations in the metal techniques of the turn of the 132 00:16:05,200 --> 00:16:12,720 century. Would that have failed today? I don't know. But the timing of that flop would end 133 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:19,720 up being perfect because it made me exactly the person who would be so good at selling 134 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:26,600 what would come out in two years, a line called Takori, which specialized in vintage revival 135 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:34,040 and it would flood the market. As that gallery owner was getting tired and burnt out, I knew 136 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:41,440 the pattern. It was time to seek something else. And I was introduced to the owner of 137 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:48,160 an estate franchise. This would be a natural outgrowth of my vintage collection, the one 138 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:54,720 that did terribly, but set me up to be an excellent salesperson for the vintage bridal 139 00:16:54,720 --> 00:17:01,720 line that would come out two years later and be everywhere. And now to go back and instead 140 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:08,800 of it being a replica, these were the actual objects from all different times and periods 141 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:15,720 in our history. She ended up making me a manager and allowing me to contribute ideas and open 142 00:17:15,720 --> 00:17:23,720 up different revenue streams. While I was looking for a reputable person to help us with some 143 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:29,920 of the restorations of the vintage items and estate pieces that she was buying, I came 144 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:38,120 across a company called Casting House. I was very much in need of someone as a contractor 145 00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:46,200 who had more new school techniques than old school. And as we passed through 2008 recession 146 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:50,840 and I watched the estate company close up, as well as the mixed media gallery I used 147 00:17:50,840 --> 00:17:57,400 to be a part of, it worked its way into my career arc. And before I knew it, there would 148 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:04,120 be a position available. And it was here I started as a project manager for stores across 149 00:18:04,120 --> 00:18:10,900 the country submitting their ideas and their models to be turned into castings or full 150 00:18:10,900 --> 00:18:17,640 finished jewelry. Because of all these steps that were leading up to this perfect moment, 151 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:22,160 it wasn't long before I got recognized as somebody who not only was one of the most 152 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:30,280 successful project managers they'd had, but also was showing potential to become a director 153 00:18:30,280 --> 00:18:37,040 of the retail division, which would merge all of my history of making jewelry, all of 154 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:45,000 my experience as far as retail sales, and that third component, familiarity with the 155 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:56,200 steps in between having been in and out of so many different responsibilities. 156 00:18:56,200 --> 00:19:02,080 The next example of timing was that it was the recession and we were all looking for 157 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:08,720 any extra dollars we could get. My photographer friend Brian was dropping out of an art show 158 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:16,640 and he asked me to fill in. So I brought whatever jewelry I had left and took his place. It 159 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:22,760 was a faded opportunity because the person producing the art show named Liz would become 160 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:29,880 a co-producer with me and I would be her featured creative. Not only would I meet other artistic 161 00:19:29,880 --> 00:19:38,320 colleagues in a variety of media, but Liz and I would go on to create a solid umbrella 162 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:49,740 of connecting venues, causes, creatives, and audiences in the form of a series of art shows 163 00:19:49,740 --> 00:19:55,040 and fundraisers. Now the life of a producer isn't always instantly profitable. It's a 164 00:19:55,040 --> 00:20:01,920 lot of front loading the labor and taking chances. Sometimes you have to corral a bunch 165 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:06,880 of independent creatives who don't really understand what's going on. Naturally, I 166 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:13,520 had to stabilize that. I wound up answering an ad for freelance fitness. Little did I 167 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:19,920 know the account would be teaching mind body wellness for the staff of the Field Museum 168 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:26,640 of Natural History in Chicago. And this was fantastic because while I was there, they 169 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:33,240 were renovating their Hall of Gems. And now it sparked the idea of one day I'd love to 170 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:42,000 have a project that would be featured in their museum store. Well, lo and behold, that eventually 171 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,760 manifested as the podcast you're listening to right now. 172 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:55,200 And as for my last example of timing, I had an absolutely horrible boss at my last job. 173 00:20:55,200 --> 00:21:00,600 And the reason why this podcast came to be, I was pressured into training the staff for 174 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:06,680 no extra compensation. So I said the only way that I'm going to give my knowledge up 175 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:13,560 on top of my job, on top of counterbalancing a manager who's making my life a living hell 176 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:21,360 is if I have some sort of asset after I'm training people. But more importantly, the 177 00:21:21,360 --> 00:21:29,160 tension at work was so high that I made myself available for a bigger, better opportunity. 178 00:21:29,160 --> 00:21:38,200 On LinkedIn, a recruiter found me and we began a dialogue of would you like to continue your 179 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:46,800 adventure in the secondary market? I was valuations manager for luxury consignment. And I finally 180 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:54,000 began to understand that this was it. This was what I was looking for, not just in responsibilities, 181 00:21:54,000 --> 00:22:01,240 but in a mature culture, a collection of colleagues with different backgrounds that were all at 182 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:07,080 the same level of talent and execution. And I gave up trying to convert the culture with 183 00:22:07,080 --> 00:22:13,240 my former management. I white flagged in September of this year. And by October, I was being 184 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:20,080 brought to Manhattan for a three month training. And my biggest takeaway that there is some 185 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:27,640 type of invisible thread weaving through our lives. And it just so happens that I plant 186 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:36,800 the seeds most consistently and recognize the patterns most instantly and consistently 187 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:44,160 in my career. To sum it all up, it's really challenging to be in jewelry if you're a linear 188 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:51,400 mind or if everything is seen through the world of black and white. For me, there's 189 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:57,960 just way too much magic in the materials I use, the creations I make, and the people's 190 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:07,760 lives that I touch. It's an infinite loop, much like time and timing. 191 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:11,600 Thank you for listening and learning with me. I would love you to share this project 192 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:16,040 with people finding rare beauty in today's world and throughout our times. Until the 193 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:29,000 next episode, keep your own story sparkling.