The Jeweler's View

Courtney Gray
  • 5.0 (13)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

A podcast not only for Jewelry Makers, but all Creative Movers and Shakers,  connecting entrepreneurs and aspiring creatives in with the resources, knowledge, and mindset support they need to achieve goals they once thought impossible. 

  1. 1D AGO

    #73: How Jewelers Build Relationships With Gem Dealers

    Send us Fan Mail Sourcing Is Relationships: Building Trust With Gem Dealers The episode argues that successful gemstone sourcing is less about finding vendors and more about building relationships with dealers who will support you when problems arise. The host recounts cracking a ruby during engagement ring sizing and needing to replace it at their own cost; because of an established relationship, the dealer helped significantly and the replacement stone was even better, leaving the client thrilled. The script highlights how long-term trust, illustrated by Karen Richards’ decades of relationship-building at the Tucson show leads dealers to know your taste, set stones aside, and source proactively for you. Practical steps include paying on time, clear communication, thoughtful questions, follow-through, sharing finished-piece photos, and saying no professionally, while recognizing dealers evaluate you too. It also discusses ethical sourcing as informed, transparent partnerships rather than perfect traceability. 00:00 Sourcing Is People 01:16 Ruby Ring Disaster 02:13 Saved by Trust 03:36 Tucson Relationship Masterclass 05:38 How to Build Dealer Trust 06:43 Dealers Judge You Too 07:15 Shortcuts for New Jewelers 07:48 Ethical Sourcing Reality 08:36 Final Takeaway and Outro Support the show Visit www.CourtneyGrayArts.com to read more about what I offer.  Be sure to follow The Jeweler’s View so you never miss an episode! Now you can watch on You Tube: @theJeweler'sView. I’d love it if you could subscribe, and leave a rating and review by scrolling down on the main show page, this helps the podcast reach more amazing listeners like you.  💎 Have thoughts to share or just want to say hi? Reach out anytime and be sure to get on my VIP newsletter list. Welcome to the tribe! – Courtney Helping Jewelry Creatives access the knowledge, resources, and mindset they need to achieve goals they once thought impossible. Connect with me or check out the Transform Your Jewelry Business course at  www.CourtneyGrayArts.com 🤗 Linktree: All the Things  🎁 Get your FREE guide: Courage, Clarity, and Customers  and  ...

    10 min

  2. MAR 24

    #72: How to Buy Gemstones Without Getting Burned

    Send us Fan Mail Courtney Gray, metalsmith educator and host of The Jeweler’s View, shifts into practical jewelry industry guidance, starting with gemstone sourcing and buying stones online. Using a real engagement-ring story about a misrepresented “natural” tanzanite that turned out to be synthetic, she explains that lab-grown gemstones aren’t inherently bad; the real risk is lack of transparency. She covers essential stone-buying safeguards for jewelers and clients: always confirm return policies, demand clear treatment disclosure (heated, fracture-filled, irradiated, coated, oiled), and understand the difference between natural gemstones, lab-grown stones, and simulants. Courtney also notes when gem lab reports (GIA, AGL, GRS, IGI, SSEF) matter, why bench testing has limits, and why trusted supplier relationships and reputation are the best quality control for building long-term client trust. Support the show Visit www.CourtneyGrayArts.com to read more about what I offer.  Be sure to follow The Jeweler’s View so you never miss an episode! Now you can watch on You Tube: @theJeweler'sView. I’d love it if you could subscribe, and leave a rating and review by scrolling down on the main show page, this helps the podcast reach more amazing listeners like you.  💎 Have thoughts to share or just want to say hi? Reach out anytime and be sure to get on my VIP newsletter list. Welcome to the tribe! – Courtney Helping Jewelry Creatives access the knowledge, resources, and mindset they need to achieve goals they once thought impossible. Connect with me or check out the Transform Your Jewelry Business course at  www.CourtneyGrayArts.com 🤗 Linktree: All the Things  🎁 Get your FREE guide: Courage, Clarity, and Customers  and  ...

    15 min

  3. MAR 17

    #71: Can You Build This in Six Months?

    Send a text  Courtney Gray introduces The Jeweler’s View and shares a past conversation with a student who had six months to make her jewelry business work before returning to a full-time job. Courtney explains that whether six months is enough depends on starting skill level, available hours and focus, pricing and required sales volume, existing audience, comfort with selling and follow-up, consistency of visibility, and most critically, defining what “working” means as a specific income number. She notes six months can create traction (visibility, conversations, early sales), but predictable sustainability usually takes longer, with real movement often appearing after a year of consistent effort and stabilization commonly taking three to five years. Courtney emphasizes quality is only the floor; makers must educate buyers, ask directly, follow up, and stay visible, using specificity and structure over hope to build something that lasts.  Support the show Visit www.CourtneyGrayArts.com to read more about what I offer. Be sure to follow The Jeweler’s View so you never miss an episode! Now you can watch on You Tube: @theJeweler'sView. I’d love it if you could subscribe, and leave a rating and review by scrolling down on the main show page, this helps the podcast reach more amazing listeners like you. 💎 Have thoughts to share or just want to say hi? Reach out anytime and be sure to get on my VIP newsletter list. Welcome to the tribe! – Courtney Helping Jewelry Creatives access the knowledge, resources, and mindset they need to achieve goals they once thought impossible. Connect with me or check out the Transform Your Jewelry Business course at www.CourtneyGrayArts.com 🤗 Linktree: All the Things 🎁 Get your FREE guide: Courage, Clarity, and Customers and ...

    16 min

  4. MAR 10

    #70- What You Have to Give Up, to Get Something else

    Send us Fan Mail  Courtney Gray shares the second major crossroads in her business: during COVID, she had to choose between storing and waiting out the shutdown of Creative Side Jewelry Academy or selling it, and she sold after recognizing her real capacity, health, and energy could not sustain that version of the business while building what was next. The transition was messy and painful, involving community abandonment, slander, and a prolonged period of depression, illness, and multiple hospitalizations, reinforcing that pushing past capacity eventually forces consequences. She emphasizes that letting go only works when you fully release what no longer fits, and that you can’t build what’s next with your hands full of what was. She offers clear questions to assess capacity and direction, reframes letting go as honesty rather than quitting, and connects these lessons to why she built Transform. The next episode will address time and how long change takes.  Support the show Visit www.CourtneyGrayArts.com to read more about what I offer.  Be sure to follow The Jeweler’s View so you never miss an episode! Now you can watch on You Tube: @theJeweler'sView. I’d love it if you could subscribe, and leave a rating and review by scrolling down on the main show page, this helps the podcast reach more amazing listeners like you.  💎 Have thoughts to share or just want to say hi? Reach out anytime and be sure to get on my VIP newsletter list. Welcome to the tribe! – Courtney Helping Jewelry Creatives access the knowledge, resources, and mindset they need to achieve goals they once thought impossible. Connect with me or check out the Transform Your Jewelry Business course at  www.CourtneyGrayArts.com 🤗 Linktree: All the Things  🎁 Get your FREE guide: Courage, Clarity, and Customers  and  ...

    8 min

  5. MAR 3

    #69 When Momentum Stalls

    Send us Fan Mail Courtney Gray  explains that stalled momentum doesn’t mean a maker isn’t talented or worthy, it usually reflects the sustained effort required to build something from scratch and the work needed to restart after interruption. She recounts starting her jewelry business at 24, then dismantling it to complete a welding technology internship in Germany, and returning home to a year-long struggle to regain traction, which triggered self-doubt.  The turning point was a clear decision to fully commit rather than keep an “easy exit,” followed by consistent action, studio space, creating, visibility, follow-up, marketing, and relationship-building. She encourages listeners to define what they’re building, what sustainability means, their financial threshold, capacity, and a 12-month commitment, and notes real sustainability took about five years for steady income.  Support the show Visit www.CourtneyGrayArts.com to read more about what I offer.  Be sure to follow The Jeweler’s View so you never miss an episode! Now you can watch on You Tube: @theJeweler'sView. I’d love it if you could subscribe, and leave a rating and review by scrolling down on the main show page, this helps the podcast reach more amazing listeners like you.  💎 Have thoughts to share or just want to say hi? Reach out anytime and be sure to get on my VIP newsletter list. Welcome to the tribe! – Courtney Helping Jewelry Creatives access the knowledge, resources, and mindset they need to achieve goals they once thought impossible. Connect with me or check out the Transform Your Jewelry Business course at  www.CourtneyGrayArts.com 🤗 Linktree: All the Things  🎁 Get your FREE guide: Courage, Clarity, and Customers  and  ...

    11 min

  6. FEB 24

    68: Finding Clear Direction in a Changing Jewelry Market

    Send us Fan Mail  Finding Clear Direction in a Changing Jewelry Market Courtney Gray, a metalsmith educator and creative business strategist, introduces The Jeweler’s View and shares guidance for jewelers navigating rising metal prices and broader market shifts. She explains that what many jewelers feel isn’t only financial pressure but “directional pressure,” raising questions about pricing, scaling, narrowing collections, pivoting, and defining success. Gray argues that market changes expose whether a jeweler’s direction is solid or fragile, and that stability comes from choosing a clear lane, pricing tier, output level, margins, audience, capacity, and season of life, rather than trying to predict the future. She describes how vague direction leads to decision fatigue, fear-based reactions, and self-doubt, while clear direction supports steadiness, better decision-making, and strategic adjustments. Gray outlines how her program Transform focuses on helping makers decide what kind of business fits their current life stage and goals (e.g., lower-priced volume vs. fewer high-ticket pieces, custom-only vs. teaching plus production). She invites listeners to join Transform, emphasizing that opportunity remains in changing conditions when jewelers intentionally choose and refine their direction, and closes with resources at courtneygrayarts.com and a request to share the episode. 00:00 Welcome to The Jeweler’s View (Meet Courtney Gray) 00:47 Why This Episode: Market Shifts Beyond Metal Prices 01:11 Directional Pressure: The Questions Jewelers Are Asking 02:47 What “Direction” Really Means (and Why It Stabilizes You) 03:23 Decision Fatigue Without Direction vs. Calm Adjustments With It 04:33 Inside Transform: Choosing Your Lane, Tier, and Season of Life 05:55 What Changes When You Commit to a Direction 06:34 Big Change Season: Opportunity, Not Panic + Transform Invitation 08:04 Closing Thoughts + Share, Resources, and Next Week  Support the show Visit www.CourtneyGrayArts.com to read more about what I offer.  Be sure to follow The Jeweler’s View so you never miss an episode! Now you can watch on You Tube: @theJeweler'sView. I’d love it if you could subscribe, and leave a rating and review by scrolling down on the main show page, this helps the podcast reach more amazing listeners like you.  💎 Have thoughts to share or just want to say hi? Reach out anytime and be sure to get on my VIP newsletter list. Welcome to the tribe! – Courtney Helping Jewelry Creatives access the knowledge, resources, and mindset they need to achieve goals they once thought impossible. Connect with me or check out the Transform Your Jewelry Business course at  www.CourtneyGrayArts.com 🤗 Linktree: All the Things  🎁 Get your FREE guide: Courage, Clarity, and Customers  and  ...

    9 min

  7. FEB 17

    #67: Design with Intention: Adapting to Changing Metal Prices

    Send us Fan Mail Rising Metal Costs: What They’re Revealing (and How to Stay Grounded) Courtney Gray reframes rising metal prices as information, not a reason to panic and shares how cost pressure exposes weak spots in pricing, design choices, and thin margins. She explains why gold and silver behave differently (including silver’s industrial demand), and how constraints can sharpen creativity through more intentional design, smarter metal use, and stronger pricing logic. Courtney shares an example of a metalsmith adapting without cheapening their work, offers a reflection prompt for what to change if prices rise again, and invites listeners to a Feb 24 live panel, “Rising Metal Costs: Now What Do I Do?” plus resources and the Transform program at www.courtneygrayarts.com. 00:00 Welcome to The Jeweler’s View + What This Podcast Is Here to Do 00:46 Rising Metal Prices: A Grounded Approach (No Panic, No Predictions) 02:39 What Higher Costs Reveal: Pricing, Design, and Business Model Strain 03:36 Zooming Out: Why Gold & Silver Move Differently in Uncertain Markets 04:49 The Real Opportunity: Constraints Create Clarity, Craft, and Stronger Identity 05:59 A Maker’s Reframe: Designing Smarter Without Cheapening the Work 07:12 The Question to Sit With: What Becomes Unsustainable—and What You Protect 07:37 Live Panel Invite: “Rising Metal Costs… Now What Do I Do?” (Feb 24) 08:21 Next Steps: Transform as Decision-Making Infrastructure + Closing Thoughts 09:10 Final Send-Off: Share, Resources, and Onward & Upward Support the show Visit www.CourtneyGrayArts.com to read more about what I offer.  Be sure to follow The Jeweler’s View so you never miss an episode! Now you can watch on You Tube: @theJeweler'sView. I’d love it if you could subscribe, and leave a rating and review by scrolling down on the main show page, this helps the podcast reach more amazing listeners like you.  💎 Have thoughts to share or just want to say hi? Reach out anytime and be sure to get on my VIP newsletter list. Welcome to the tribe! – Courtney Helping Jewelry Creatives access the knowledge, resources, and mindset they need to achieve goals they once thought impossible. Connect with me or check out the Transform Your Jewelry Business course at  www.CourtneyGrayArts.com 🤗 Linktree: All the Things  🎁 Get your FREE guide: Courage, Clarity, and Customers  and  ...

    10 min

  8. FEB 10

    #66: Silver Linings: What Rising Metal Prices Are Actually Teaching Us

    Send us Fan Mail Harnessing Constraints to Enhance Your Jewelry Business In this episode of The Jeweler's View, host Courtney Gray, a seasoned metalsmith and business strategist, delves into how rising material costs can actually drive clarity and improvement in the jewelry business. Courtney emphasizes the value of working within limitations to refine design and pricing, shedding light on building a resilient business structure. She advocates for intentionality in material usage, confident pricing strategies, and the importance of clear, repeatable systems. As a precursor to a live panel discussion with experienced jewelers, this episode provides essential insights into navigating industry challenges with perspective and readiness. 00:00 Introduction to The Jeweler's View 00:53 Embracing Constraints in Creative Business 02:58 Design and Pricing Clarity 05:19 Building Resilient Business Structures 06:12 Upcoming Panel and Final Thoughts 07:14 Closing Remarks and Encouragement Support the show Visit www.CourtneyGrayArts.com to read more about what I offer.  Be sure to follow The Jeweler’s View so you never miss an episode! Now you can watch on You Tube: @theJeweler'sView. I’d love it if you could subscribe, and leave a rating and review by scrolling down on the main show page, this helps the podcast reach more amazing listeners like you.  💎 Have thoughts to share or just want to say hi? Reach out anytime and be sure to get on my VIP newsletter list. Welcome to the tribe! – Courtney Helping Jewelry Creatives access the knowledge, resources, and mindset they need to achieve goals they once thought impossible. Connect with me or check out the Transform Your Jewelry Business course at  www.CourtneyGrayArts.com 🤗 Linktree: All the Things  🎁 Get your FREE guide: Courage, Clarity, and Customers  and  ...

    8 min
See All (73)

5
out of 5
13 Ratings

About

A podcast not only for Jewelry Makers, but all Creative Movers and Shakers,  connecting entrepreneurs and aspiring creatives in with the resources, knowledge, and mindset support they need to achieve goals they once thought impossible. 

Information

  • Creator
    Courtney Gray
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    73
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Jeweler's View
  • Show Website
    The Jeweler's View

You Might Also Like