Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Soechting.
Hi Elizabeth, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Fresh from graduating from the University of Iowa summer 1981, I headed to Dallas seeking employment in a very “new to me” and different place than Iowa. I loved the excitement of Dallas and was soon employed by the Zales Corporation. I landed in the manager trainee program with their fine jewelry guild stores, known as Corrigan’s way back in the day. From there, I accepted a buying position with a small chain of fine jewelry stores and next worked as a buyer and designer for a South African company. After I married my husband, Charles, we moved to San Marcos and I started to branch out on my own. I felt comfortable to create my own fine jewelry design business using the knowledge I gained from over 13 years in the fine jewelry industry. In fact, many of the practices I use today I learned early on as they are still the basic ropes of the jewelry business. Mainly, always listen to your customer, as they will often explain what it is they are needing which is the first step of any custom design.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Yes, the road has been smooth, however many breaks were taken along the way. I have a beautiful family and when my children were young, I was fortunate enough devoting the majority of my time to my family and home. But all the while, I still did a fair amount of fine jewelry design. When college took over the lives of my children, I was able to dive deeper into my creativity.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I so enjoy creating and (re)designing fine jewelry. My business is a bit unusual, as I work on a personal basis with each customer. I create engagement rings, wedding bands, anniversary gifts, as well as birthday and Christmas gifts. Almost everything I create are special designs, just a bit different than if you shopped at a retail luxury fine jewelry store and without the hassle of venturing out to the mall. I believe I save my customers much of their precious time, as once I know their interests, I’m on a roll! One of my most favorite aspects of my business is to take that a piece of jewelry gathering dust in the jewelry box and then design a new lovely item which can be enjoyed every day. These typically end up being very special pieces because many of them have a strong sentimental value to the customer.
What’s next?
At this time, I plan to continue growing my business and discovering new ways to create unique but timeless pieces for my clients. I am adding to my equestrian collection as well, which is one of my favorite collections as I am able to draw from one of my dearest passions, riding and showing horses.
I’ll of course continue to market my work and pieces on social media as it is a wonderful platform to display my designs and connect to new and old customers, which is my favorite part of my work.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/emstradingco?r=nametag
