Yesterday’s post about the challenges of combining art and commerce reminded me of an essay about small business that I wrote for the Huffington Post in 2012. And, like I said recently, it’s occurred to me that I need to republish all my Huffington Post pieces on this blog, because they could vanish at any…
get smart
Fashion Repeats Itself: High-Heel Flip Flops
Emilia Petrarca, fashion writer for New York Magazine’s The Cut blog, recently alerted Twitter to two pairs of high-heel flip flops. Heeled flip-flops are coming pic.twitter.com/3xqOvLN3Kx — Emilia Petrarca (@EmiliaPetrarca) April 2, 2019 Both pairs are made out of leather, so it’s probably more accurate to call them “thong sandals” than “high-heel flip flops,” which…
Wednesday’s Video: BS Your Way Through a Business Plan
People considering entrepreneurship often ask me if they need a business plan. My answer is, yes, you should have one. My caveat is that it will probably be complete bullshit. Yep, lots of business plans that are full of optimistic bullshit, and that’s true whether they are drawn up by a one-person company or by…
Wednesday’s Video: Career Advice for Disruptive Times
My latest YouTube video is a continuation of my series of job and business tips. This time, I’m sharing what I’ve learned from the my own surprising career path, which took me from journalism to jewelry design. Today I reveal the faulty logic behind two bits of conventional wisdom: That NOT having a Plan B…
Wednesday’s Video: Jewelry Industry Career Advice
I had such a good response to last Friday’s talk at the Gemological Institute of America Career Fair that I decided to redo it on video for people who couldn’t attend the event in person. Whether you’re a bench jewelry or a would-be designer, I’ve got recommendations for you. There are also some thoughts that…
Recommended Reading: Fine Jewelry in the News
There were two good articles about fine jewelry in consumer-oriented publications recently. I’m excited because it’s relatively rare to find interesting stories about my industry outside the trade press. Laurie Brookins’s article in the September 20 issue of The Hollywood Reporter was called “Hollywood’s Pay-to-Wear Jewelry Wars” (in the print edition). This is far from…
Get Smart About Manufacturing, Take Two
In 2010, I explained that it’s much more expensive to manufacture goods in the U.S. compared to manufacturing overseas, which results in U.S.-made goods being more expensive for consumers. CLICK HERE TO READ THE 2010 POST. I wrote that post to explain why my limited-edition jewelry designs — 99% of which are made in New…
Recommended Reading: Manufacturing Realities
I’ve been meaning to share this for so long! Back in July, Michael Hobbes wrote an enlightening story called “The Myth of the Ethical Shopper” for the Huffington Post. There’s a cycle here in the U.S. (and other Western countries). We as consumers want inexpensive goods, which means manufacturers need to avoid steep U.S. /local…
The Agony and Ecstasy of a Small Business, Revisited
Last year, I wrote a story for the Huffington Post called “The Agony and Ecstasy of a Small Business.” It dealt with economies of scale, which is something I’ve also discussed on this blog here, here and here. In manufacturing, economies of scale means that the bigger the order (of widgets, iPhones, pens or jewelry),…
Get Smart (About $4,000 Suits and $10,000 Rings)
I’ve written plenty about the classic small-business issue of economy of scale: the high cost of producing low quantity (and the even higher cost of producing low quality without a way to distribute the goods). My Huffington Post story, “The Agony and Ecstasy of Small Business,” offers the most concise explanation, but you can get…