In this episode, we talk with Amber Gustafson and David Baker, recorded live at the recent RJO show in Minneapolis. Amber, the owner of Amber’s Designs Fine Jewelry, talks about her 43 years as a bench jeweler and her challenges when she opened her own jewelry store 21 years ago. Amber goes on about the importance of relationships and changing with the times in order to stay connected with her customers.
Don’t compete on price! This is one of the main points Amber wants jewelers to learn and implement in their stores. “If they don’t trust you, they won’t come back to you!” Teach you staff to establish and grow the relationships which will benefit you long-term.
Amber says you will lose if you are not doing social media and utilizing technology in your business. Get a social media manager to handle all of the platforms and constantly reinvent yourself! She advises to get on all of the social platforms including TikTok which is really powerful right now.
As a wax carver, Amber’s design vision allows her to see the jewelry in the wax but pays attention to CAD and laser welders to take your abilities to the next step. Any well-rounded jeweler should be able to work with wax, cad, and more.
