Today we’d like to introduce you to Summer Joy Holladay.
Summer Joy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’ve been exposed to gems and jewelry since before I could walk. As a child, I remember going to gem shows with my parents. My mom has always had an eye for nice gem specimens, and my dad went so far as to dabble in faceting and lapidary work. I started out with simple bead designs, but then my aunt, who knows my penchant for creating, sent me to a silver class. It’s funny…it came at a really low point in my life. I thought to myself, “Yeah, maybe it’ll be fun, but I’ll never use this. It’s an expensive hobby to get into, I don’t know why I’m doing this….” Then I took the class, and it was truly a game-changer. I gathered my tools, and flying by the seat of my pants, started posting some of the pieces I made. My pictures were horrible!! And then someone bought one of those first pieces, and I’ve been doing it ever since. During the past several years, I’ve started teaching beginning silver classes – a dialed-down version of what I first learned, with simple safety practices, soldering and basic stone setting. It’s truly become a passion for me… My greatest motivation in any field I’ve ever worked in has been helping and empowering other people and being able to pour my knowledge into my students and for them to leave after a short time with a beautiful piece of jewelry and a new skill, THAT is where it’s at for me.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Until I focused on silver, creating wasn’t my priority. I’ve dabbled in side hustles as a maker. CoVID hit around the time I started selling locally, and all the stores shut down. My time is extremely limited with three kids under the age of 10, so it has been normal for me to work late into the night or early in the morning to complete pieces for clients or to stay on top of inventory. I wouldn’t say my struggles are any greater than anyone else’s – I admire people who have overcome great adversity to successfully pursue their passions.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My mom joked with me when I first started making silver jewelry. She said, “You’ll be so famous, you can go by your first name, just like Cher.” From that conversation though, came the idea for my company’s name – using my name as the basis. I specialize in crafting sterling silver jewelry, from bolos to traditional pieces to hat pins. With the influence of my parents has come a careful eye for high-quality stones. I also try to support North American mines, and only use turquoise sourced from the United States and Northern Mexico. At this point in my journey, I’m most proud of teaching others. I’ve always loved sharing information that helps people. I don’t feel threatened – if anything, it’s become sort of micro-community of makers. Many of my students text or email questions, months or years after taking my classes. With regard to my finished work, I want people to know that my aim is to offer the very best of myself in every piece, whether it’s a collection I have made or if I’m working with a client to bring their idea to life. I’ve scrapped more than one piece because it wasn’t the caliber I considered worthy of selling. Every time I meet a new customer, or a new client, it is a deeply personal experience for me – I’d say that I derive as much joy seeing someone wear my pieces as they do when they first put it on. At my wedding a few months ago, many of the guests had either purchased from me or received my pieces as gifts, and everyone who had something I created wore theirs. It was a subtle but beautiful show of solidarity and support. I offer custom jewelry services as well as classes – I’m slowly working toward offering classes in multiple cities in the Hill Country.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My advice to anyone is to mess up. A LOT. Every time you mess up, you’re going to learn something new, that makes you more skillful, faster, neater, etc. Don’t be afraid to mess up. If you allow that fear to hold you back, you’ll never be able to grow as a maker.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.summerjoysilver.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/summerjoysilver
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/summerjoysilver
Image Credits
Photo with Carhartt shirt: Maker’s Leather Supply
All others: Summer Joy Silver
