You dreamed of having your favorite celebrity wearing your creations on the red carpet. But your reality is very different? You are not alone and there is hope for you; you lovely beautiful creative unsuccessful jewelry designer!
One day I'll be famous kind of jewelry designer
Whatever your situation is, you most probably will be aware that the path to gain recognition, isn't as smooth as you hoped. Some of you will work for a long time for a jeweler or a brand. You may have put your-once brilliant and fresh-ideas into a drawer, and over time, they remained just there.
In your dreams, you may have pictured how people-one day- would admire your ideas and would be eager to buy and wear your jewelry. Pssst, perhaps you even imagined your brand been picked up by the latest big influencer, jewelry blogger, or let's get wilder; be worn by your favorite celebrity on the red carpet.
If today you find yourself feeling a tummy ache when you scroll Instagram and see all these successful "others," or you hear yourself a little too many times condemning such and such artist for having become a commercial "whore" or having "tricked' others into buying jewelry that isn't really worth it. If you hear yourself blame others for your unsuccessful attempt to fame, then read this article.
There is no shortage of brilliant jewelry designers
First of all, there is no shortage of jewelry designers with great ideas. It's the truth. Every now and then, someone stands up with a new and innovative concept, yet it may not bring him or her all the fame he/she deserves. Sometimes they were too early, sometimes ideas get stolen by more prominent companies with much more power to push this to the public than you will ever have. Something not uncommon in the fashion design world. Fair? No. Reality? Yes.
But are you ready to dive a little deeper with me? The whole idea of fair is lovely but a fairytale, to say the least. In the Western world, especially, we live in a meritocracy. It's a beautiful idea that we all have the same chances, but in reality, this is not entirely true. Also, the whole concept of a meritocracy makes people clap for your success and often rightfully so. Yet, it makes you also feel responsible for your failures at the very same time.
You might say that this is right and just. But is it? It's the cause of much unhappiness in this world. The idea that you are to blame entirely for being "unsuccessful" as you had the same opportunities everyone else had. You are to blame for either being all your mistakes or for being just merely lazy.
We think so much of ourselves these days that we are convinced that we control everything and every outcome.
Luck
We tend to forget that often luck is perhaps the most crucial factor for someone's success. Either as a jewelry designer or just in life itself. Luck and not sheer merit for working hard? Yes.
Having said that, it's far fairer, if you like, to not see the people who succeeded as heroes but only as people who just were luckier sometimes. Luck is more random than you think.
It is far more constructive to be mindful about how much luck has to do with it all, than keeping blaming yourself or other less successful jewelry designers of being simply not good enough.
Be more realistic and compassionate. For a start.
What to do?
If you aren't as successful as you would like to be, stop the blame game. Stop moaning, stop feeling sorry for yourself. Stop also thinking that this is all your fault. It probably isn't.
Just start fresh. What are you doing well right now? What do others think you are good at? Your spouse, partner, children, family, and friends, what do they think you are good at, what skills and traits do they admire in you?
If you know to lack skills in certain areas, then try to think which skills will help you most to reach your short term goal. Wait, stop! Short term? No " dream bigger''?
Start with not thinking BIG
Try not to think too big. I know this is a world of: 'dream big 'or 'the sky is the limit, but if this was true for everyone who thought this, there would be far more companies, people, and brands in that sky. And this is not the case. We now know that luck is perhaps the most significant factor of every successful jewelry designer (brand, company, or person). So, where does this put you? Well, luck isn't in your hands to toss around, so set short term goals then. Many gain following and fame on platforms such as Instagram. More into b2b? Try LinkedIn or a mix of social platforms.
Marketing your product (or service or name) is essential. Maybe this is the skill you lack, and you need to either hire someone or take matters in your own hands and create a strategy on social media. Because however, curated your own website is, almost no one will find you 'organically' there.
Set small goals. From 2 new followers every week to try setting up a shoppable account on Pinterest. If you need to improve your digital or artisanal skills, try to find mentors or enroll in classes that help you further.
Embrace reality more than dreams
Just a quick trip to YouTube, and you'll find thousands of videos of people telling you what the habits of billionaires are, what 5 things you should do to gain wealth, and so on. The list is endless. And I once too, watched tons of them. Hoping to find that one habit, that one bright insight that would help me to gain the success of 'my dreams.'
I read so many books, and although each one taught me something, it was never the thing it promised on its cover.
Richard Branson, Steve Jobs, they are always mentioned, but they have/had luck, vision, dedication, support, or even the right amount of struggle that pushed them to go further and bigger. Observe them, but realize that they are unique and not the rule. And there are not you or me.
For me, the moment of realizing what my reality was and how much I loved it came when I walked along the beach, one sunny early morning on the Costa Brava, Spain. I stopped dreaming. Right there and then. I stopped watching all these videos and reading all the books on this topic. I think they have taught me lots, but as I mentioned before, not the things they claimed to show me.
I stopped looking at others, even at my colleagues. And I felt calm.
Limits are sometimes blessings in disguise
What matters genuinely to me are my views and broad interest in culture, philosophy, psychology, nature, and business. My opinions are my set of moral standards and points of view, which I carefully examine now and then. Because of the nature of life and our planet, everything is always changing. I am all about the grey and not much about the black and white when it comes to opinions. And as I stepped more into my daily reality, I understood that the challenges of working from home were also my blessings. I can be there for my son, I take daily walks in nature with my dog. I have coffee and long chats with my husband before my work starts. These are my beautiful distractions, yet I had also seen then as my limits to fly higher.
That early morning, watching the sunrise and feeling its glow sliding on my face, I decided to see all that I perceived as holding me from reaching my dreams to embrace them wholeheartedly as my beautiful reality.
Of course, this sounds very romantic and just something out of the many books I read myself, hahaha, but it always starts, every change we consciously make, with a moment of awareness.
I am cheering you on, you not (yet)successful jewelry designer
Now back to you. What is the reality of your life? What is holding you back? Is that truly what holds you back? What if you stopped dreaming and sought the end of your comfort zone? What tiny step could you do today to make something happen? What if it was only creating an account on a social network? Don't post anything yet. Just create it. What if you reached out to your favorite blogger, vlogger, influencer online? She or he might not respond but just do it. And then again.
Smaller? Buy a new pencil today for your drawings :-) Bigger? Make a mind map of where you are and what actual pragmatic steps you need to take in the next weeks are to get your design noticed. ( or whatever your obtainable goal is)
I am here to cheer you on. And yes, I publish mostly oh and ah pieces on my blog. But in daily life, people don't wear this kind of jewelry. I will start to write and show more jewelry that is affordable, smaller, and for a much larger audience too. So share your stories with me, share your work, your journey. Be genuine and authentic and not shy to be very pragmatic and real. Embrace being normal, embrace even being mediocre at times. We are all unique; therefore, we are certainly also all mediocre too.
You'll find that reaching for the stars, or thinking the sky is the limit a much more limiting thought than it claims to be. And I hope that like me and many others, you'll find joy in the much smaller steps. One day you'll realize that by doing so, you have reached far more than any dream would have brought you.
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Maico
Love Bizzita.com and I think people should start to hire you! So many insights to share :-)
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