My Story

ne question I’m always asked, is how did I get into beads and designing jewelry? My relationship with art started in childhood, which led to my majoring in art in college. After getting married and becoming a devoted wife and mother, I realized I had lost myself in the process. I never dreamed that I would find what I so desperately needed in a vintage necklace that had been my mothers. The beads were truly beautiful but the necklace was in desperate need of repair. Knowing absolutely nothing about how to put a broken necklace back together, I went to the library and found a book on jewelry making. A few days later I had a beautiful necklace and a pair of earrings. That’s all it took to know that I had finally found my true passion.

Making jewelry allowed me to utilize all the things I’d learned in my art classes, like color, balance, light, harmony etc. I started examining all the pieces of jewelry I had in my jewelry box and decided that I would discover all there was to know about designing. I found a local bead store, which was really hard to find at the time and it became my second home.

I poured my heart and soul into my jewelry. The compliments I got boosted my self esteem and gave me confidence that I didn’t know I had. Eventually I started selling a few of my creations to friends and relatives. It wasn’t long before I decided to see if I could make money with my designs. Even in the beginning, I knew that transferring what I loved into money would not be easy.

Using vintage beads and Swarovksi crystals as primary components, one piece at a time, I labored over my first line that I tore apart and reassembled at least a dozen times before I had a style that I loved. It wasn’t easy keeping myself motivated without any outside positive reinforcement. Believing in yourself and your dream is hardest in the beginning stages of converting your passion into a business. This is when you have to breath it, imagine it, feel it and desire it almost every waking moment. At those low inspiration points when my beads and what I was making with them weren’t talking to me, I would draw on my dream and it always got me through.

In the end my line consisted of 40 necklaces and earrings. I knew early on that I wanted to manufacture a wholesale production line. I wanted my jewelry in Nordstrom’s, which was one of my favorite stores but had no idea how I would do it. In my quest to market my jewelry, I was told about a professional jewelry show at the Los Angeles Convention Center that I signed up for. It was at that show that I not only picked up several high-end boutique accounts but I met and hired my first rep. She simply adorned my jewelry and gave me pointers on pricing and perfecting my line; I will always be indebted to her for helping me find my way.   

A year later, my rep became ill and retired from representing designers, but I was up and running by then. She’d gotten my jewelry into some of Los Angeles top boutiques, including many in Beverly Hills and Hollywood so finding a new rep with my track record was fairly easy. As destiny would have it, I signed on with one of the most sought after reps in Los Angeles. They got my jewelry to numerous celebrities and television shows including several soap opera television shows and Starsearch, which was a talent search show. Before long I was featured in major magazines and my dream of seeing my items in Nordstrom’s, Saks, Horchow catalog, Neiman’s, Cache and many upscale boutiques was realized. Eventually I grew my business into a half- million-dollar business a year.

The huge learning curve I mastered was filled with numerous scrapes, bumps and falls but I not only survived…I thrived. My staff grew to over 20 employees and the vision I’d had for my business became a reality. It is my hope that this book and my experience can help guide you into a successful jewelry career or whatever your desires are with your jewelry.

Sincerely

Susie Bradford Edwards