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 --> 00:00:35,000 tune in on these topics and get golden. The best parts about being a jeweler to me are 5 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:42,360 the storytelling, the nostalgia, and the fondness for both clients and projects. Most of the 6 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:50,560 people I know can recall their favorite commission at the drop of a hat. In fact, if you meet 7 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:58,440 somebody who doesn't have that tail at their fingertips, either it didn't happen or maybe 8 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:03,200 they really just don't like this job. I'm not one of those, and neither are the people 9 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:09,280 that are my favorite colleagues. In today's talk, I'm going to share my top ten projects 10 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:15,440 and what they taught me. Now, that may sound very romantic. I assure you, not all of these 11 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:24,400 went well or according to plan. And that's the magic of what we do, is the alchemy of 12 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:32,000 having to turn straw into gold and in a way become our own fairytale of taking something 13 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:43,600 useless and transforming it into value. So the first one isn't just chronological when 14 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:47,720 I was younger in my career, but you've heard about it before because it's really what 15 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:56,080 started my entire trajectory. It was the client who got me into making in gold. When I graduated 16 00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:02,440 undergrad, I was just a kid making metal things, and somebody approached me and said, 17 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:05,840 will you make my wedding rings? If you're listening to this one in more of a standalone 18 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:12,880 format, I said, I don't work in gold. And her response was, gold schmold, it's metal, 19 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:20,280 why don't you give it a shot? Short story, I came up with some sketches, I got the go-ahead, 20 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:27,200 bought the stones, reserved the gold, and then was told, hey, we're going to save some 21 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:34,880 money and use our family rings instead. I had already graduated early to cut costs and 22 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:43,640 still left with debt. So to add another $1,500 as a 21-year-old on top of that was not a 23 00:02:43,640 --> 00:02:52,120 good omen. Fast forward to how this resolved itself. I met somebody who encouraged me to 24 00:02:52,120 --> 00:03:01,200 finish the rings, the money would be loaned, and it was the beginning of my relationship 25 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:11,160 with awards and competitions for design and craftsmanship abilities. 26 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:19,720 The project that became one of my favorites as far as cluster of clients was a Chicago 27 00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:26,280 recruiter, and she found me through the only ad I've ever run in a magazine. Most of my 28 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:35,640 visibility was word of mouth or referrals or me networking. It was her 20th anniversary, 29 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:42,400 she had gotten the center stone from a different jeweler, however they weren't very skilled 30 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:49,120 at design and couldn't bring a vision for her pieces to life using her old wedding set. 31 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:55,680 That's pretty much what I do best. Not only did she show her ring generously to several 32 00:03:55,680 --> 00:04:02,720 of her colleagues, not just in Chicago, but also in Dallas. But they all became my clients 33 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:08,600 too with the same type of project. Here's all my old stuff. I don't want to buy more 34 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:14,960 jewelry or at the time I can't buy more jewelry. How can this get reinvented? Not only do I 35 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:23,000 have beautiful portfolio pieces of before and after, but I also dubbed this type of program 36 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:29,880 and sometimes we would even take the exact same metal and recast it into its new project. 37 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:37,960 So it became this running joke called have a meltdown. 38 00:04:37,960 --> 00:04:45,000 That same sponsor, the one who said make the rings mentioned previously, had a mother-in-law 39 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:51,000 who in her travels came back with a pair of incredibly well matched, highly saturated 40 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:56,400 as far as color, Colombian emeralds. And she had been through a few designers and retail 41 00:04:56,400 --> 00:05:03,760 stores and she wasn't finding that fit. They weren't her artists and the ideas that were 42 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:10,280 getting suggested did no justice to these beautiful stones. My business sponsor said 43 00:05:10,280 --> 00:05:15,920 I'm going to put you in front of my mother-in-law and not knowing what to expect because I was 44 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:21,600 young, I didn't have a mother-in-law, it wasn't an intimidation factor for me. Two different 45 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:26,640 generations got along swimmingly. And because of my art background, because I had done so 46 00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:32,360 much life drawing, because I had done architecture before I was into jewelry, because I took 47 00:05:32,360 --> 00:05:38,960 a lot of studio arts as my minor in undergrad, I was able to envision something for her that 48 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:45,960 was going to work with the color that she brought to the table in the gem. The design 49 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:51,960 of her ear to jaw line and the timeline in which she expected this to be completed. What 50 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:57,280 came out of it is I had it professionally photographed, which back then was quite the 51 00:05:57,280 --> 00:06:03,160 expense. When I partnered with the gallery that made me their house designer, I had a 52 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:09,560 print of this. It was that print that the gallery owner submitted in a PR blast that 53 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:20,400 led to an article on me in the local newspaper. The set of wedding rings that I did for a 54 00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:27,280 couple came out of me having my business cards at the local crystal and gem shop. Dave's 55 00:06:27,280 --> 00:06:33,280 Rock Shop in Evanston, Illinois is pretty famous. It has a prehistoric museum in its 56 00:06:33,280 --> 00:06:41,480 basement, so it's not your typical New Age place. It's geological in nature. And this 57 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:48,800 particular couple had gone shopping for stones. And now we're looking for an artist to put 58 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:56,200 them into their commitment rings. I had been doing a lot of large diamond engagement rings 59 00:06:56,200 --> 00:07:04,880 for the North Shore type of clientele. And so to get a phone call saying hi, I got your 60 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:13,600 name and information from the Rock Shop, and we're looking to do something extremely symbolic. 61 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:21,760 Great, you have my attention. When I called her back, her voicemail had the most intriguing 62 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:27,160 recording on it. I'm not available right now. Please answer two questions that are very 63 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:36,320 important. Who are you? What do you want? And it was so much more philosophical than just, 64 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:44,400 yeah, leave your name and your business. So when I met these two, I was expecting something 65 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:50,360 out of the ordinary. And they delivered. It just so happened that this was the paradigm 66 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:56,640 shift for the type of clientele that I would be helping. I went exactly from their project 67 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:05,680 into the arena of working with extremely creative types, professional artists, alternative lifestyles. 68 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:12,520 And it just so happened that this couple would end up introducing me to landmark education, 69 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:22,080 which would profoundly accelerate my personal growth as well as my business direction. 70 00:08:22,080 --> 00:08:29,680 This next couple will always held a special place in my heart because of their sweetness. 71 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:35,360 But more importantly, I learned to become a master at keeping secrets, helping him retain 72 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:42,320 a certain level of surprise. During our collaboration, there were times where I'd have to call him 73 00:08:42,320 --> 00:08:48,280 except his girlfriend was always around. And so you can't just walk into the other room 74 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:54,360 and take all these strange phone calls that are in hushed voices and coded words because 75 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:59,160 you will raise suspicion. My client called me one day as we were wrapping up and getting 76 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:06,920 ready to have him pick up his piece to go get engaged on their vacation. What do I do? 77 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:13,520 I think she's on to me. I said, I've got you covered. When you two come by as you're leaving 78 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:21,360 town, I want you to ask me to go to the bathroom, go upstairs. I'll leave my door open. Put 79 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:27,040 the check on my workbench. Take the ring. I'll talk to her. So as he did that when they 80 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:35,840 stopped by, she had what we call a shit eating grin. And my response to her was, I hope you 81 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:43,320 have the world's best vacation. I am so excited for you to have some real rest and relaxation. 82 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:50,640 And when you get back, we can start working on your ring designs. There is no phrase strong 83 00:09:50,640 --> 00:10:00,320 enough for the defeat that became her new expression. The engagement went so well that 84 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:09,600 she burst into tears. And to this day, 20 years later, still wearing that ring. My transition 85 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:16,840 into working in non-profit was completely unexpected. I had been doing wedding jewelry 86 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:25,640 for a philanthropic couple. And at one point she asked me, can you make some cuff links 87 00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:32,680 that we can give to some of our strongest advocates on the board? And so it was one 88 00:10:32,680 --> 00:10:40,040 of those opportunities to interpret their logo or their icon or their symbol into something 89 00:10:40,040 --> 00:10:46,000 wearable. And that's what I did. It was for the CARA program. The visual that we used 90 00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:53,720 for them was part of their branding, which was a deconstructed outline of a butterfly 91 00:10:53,720 --> 00:11:02,480 from a profile view. This became circular pendants, tie tacks, and for the director, 92 00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:09,960 it was a pair of cuff links. I was there at the presentation, and this program is to rehabilitate 93 00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:17,000 people who have been homeless or have felonies back into a workforce so that they can be 94 00:11:17,000 --> 00:11:25,760 self-sufficient. And the director was one of their best cases of success. The letter that 95 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:32,040 I got and the way that he honored himself and acknowledged his entire journey and how 96 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:39,440 much this gift meant to him and that this is really just the beginning of a new beginning 97 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:46,160 for him was something I will forever cherish. And it really made me want to continue working 98 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:53,520 with non-for-profits, which I did do. There was a project for Bodie Spiritual Center that 99 00:11:53,520 --> 00:12:02,160 was a fundraiser to get the kids to spiritual camp. And there were charms that became part 100 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:19,320 of the Pet Me project to match rescue animals with ideal owners. As far as unusual requests, 101 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:26,120 conversations are free. So when a colleague came to me and said, I've got a strange one, 102 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:33,000 my client went on vacation with his girlfriend, they panned for gold, and found a bunch of 103 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:40,240 nuggets. Do you think you can make their engagement ring out of these? It took partnering with 104 00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:44,920 the right casting house to do so, and it had been a good 20 years since I had to make my 105 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:52,600 own alloy, but we were able to figure out what the carriage was of these composite gold 106 00:12:52,600 --> 00:13:00,040 nuggets and what it would take to make it a workable 18 karat gold blend for the engagement 107 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:07,400 ring. And to this day, that's probably one of my favorite projects to talk about because 108 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:14,320 I can't think of any other clients, not just in my business, but in anybody's business, 109 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:22,400 you can say that their fiancee, now wife, is wearing the ring from the gold they panned 110 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:33,320 for on a vacation when they were dating. You know that I started in non-precious metals. 111 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:43,000 So when a brewmaster and his fiancee said, we want to make his wedding band out of found 112 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:51,680 objects at the brewery, naturally, I had to go find out what they meant. In the process, 113 00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:58,840 we walked the entire facility and looked at all that we had to work with. There were wood 114 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:07,920 staves for aging barrels, there was copper piping for some of the fermentation vats, 115 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:13,440 and there were also steel rings that were holding the barrels together. The project 116 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:23,440 was an energy of trial and error, discovery, and the intersecting of worlds of two careers 117 00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:34,040 that came together as a final totem to an absolutely wonderful love story. 118 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:42,320 At one point, I ventured into the B2B world, or business to business. The client had been 119 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:49,840 a previous private jewelry patron, so I had done her engagement ring, her wedding ring, 120 00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:56,960 her husband's wedding ring, gifts for the family, and a few personal pieces. When it 121 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:05,920 came time to create a line for her new company, it was a more formal process as far as the 122 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:14,720 ideation and creation. There were sketches, meetings, line sheets, gathering contractors, 123 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:21,920 finding suppliers, the expected. The original deal was make me 500 pieces, and I'll pay 124 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:28,360 you for them. I made the 500 pieces and, because it was a start-up, she said, I don't have 125 00:15:28,360 --> 00:15:34,240 the money for it, loan it to me, and I'll pay you when they sell. I'm sure you know 126 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:41,720 where this is going. What I got out of this adventure and why it's on my top ten list 127 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:49,120 is because it turned me into being resourceful when you have unwanted inventory or product. 128 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:57,200 Do you know how many other people could possibly desire this? I gamified it. It became an adventure 129 00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:05,720 of here is her industry, here is jewelry slash accessories for that industry. Let's move 130 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:12,320 the rings out of the dartboard. This was that project for her business. How about this for 131 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:20,440 the industry? How about adjacent industries? How about organic referrals? How about people 132 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:27,840 who have nothing to do with the business itself who just love this kind of motif? 133 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:36,200 And the last project to talk about is making a ring for yourself when you're ready to step 134 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:44,600 away from the bench. Having designed for over 20 years, having made 10,000 rings, and of 135 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:50,640 course, there are multiple opportunities, often daily, to come across beautiful ideas 136 00:16:50,640 --> 00:16:59,800 and try things on and envision if it was my glass slipper or not. Does this express how 137 00:16:59,800 --> 00:17:09,080 I am under my skin and in the world? At some point later than sooner, the muse came to 138 00:17:09,080 --> 00:17:16,560 me and I was able to create a quote unquote retirement ring for myself. Obviously, I wasn't 139 00:17:16,560 --> 00:17:24,120 going to stop creating, but it was time to shift from being full time professional artist 140 00:17:24,120 --> 00:17:34,560 to by appointment. That ring is what you see as the emblem for this podcast. It is a violetish 141 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:43,960 blue sapphire I traded a fantastic colleague for and the rose gold framework is an homage 142 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:52,200 to the metalwork and decor of the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago on Wabash and Adams, 143 00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:59,560 the very same corner that a 21 year old who didn't know what she was going to do after 144 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:07,920 not taking a deposit or getting a contract on a ring. That same person would find herself 145 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:13,520 standing on that corner getting ready to meet her future business sponsor at his office 146 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:19,720 address. 147 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:23,520 Thank you for listening and learning with me. I would love you to share this project 148 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:27,960 with people finding rare beauty in today's world and throughout our times. Until the 149 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:51,960 next episode, keep your own stories sparkling.