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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

...

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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

...

Send a text

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

...