Corkie Bolton
Educator, jeweler and founder of Metalsmith Society.
*This article contains a few affiliate links, support of these links allows me to continue to provide free content on the daily! Updated October 18th, 2023.
Whether you are thinking about starting a jewelry business or you already have you will need to figure out your packaging and shipping materials. Today I wanted to share some of my favorite resources for both my jewelry business Corkie Bolton Jewelry and Metalsmith Society! I hope you find this helpful!
APPAREL, STICKERS AND OTHER MERCH.
STICKER APP
I have used Sticker App to create sparkly, holographic, even glow in the dark special edition stickers for my Patreons as well as vinyl stickers I sell in my shop.
A woman owned sticker business, made in California!
PRINTFUL
I have been using Printful since I offered my first coffee mug with the Metalsmith Society logo two years ago! They are my manufacturer of drop-shipped items. This means when you place an order they create your item and ship it directly to you. Here are some pros + cons:
Pros
-You make no investment in stock, you simply create a digital mockup, place in your store in whatever colors and sizes you would like.
-They carry some great brands that have transparency about their factory practices.
-The order is shipped directly to the customer and it makes selling internationally a breeze.
Cons
-I don’t personally inspect orders prior to shipping and mistakes happen. Crooked prints, incorrect items etc. (however with photo proof they send replacements.)
-You are paying a higher cost, so there is less profit.
-Since you have no stock you can’t do size exchanges, your only option is to buy the customer a new shirt which I often do because I don’t want anyone to be bummed out with a shirt that doesn’t fit.
For a jewelry brand this could mean selling a coffee mug or tote bag with your awesome logo. It is a great way to provide additional merchandise and ways for your dedicated customers to support you! Printful works with Shopify, Etsy, Big Cartel, Squarespace and many, many more. Doesn't cost anything to sign up, you only get charged when you get an order!
READ MY OTHER BLOG ARTICLE WHERE I GO DEEP INTO STARTING WITH PRINTFUL
BONFIRE
Let's say you want to raise money, either for your business or for a charity by selling t-shirts or other merchandise...Bonfire allows you to do this with ease. The way it works is you create a campaign (the average is two weeks) then you use your social media and email list to let your followers know you are selling items. At the end of the campaign Bonfire ships each order directly to your customers and you get paid. You don't have to invest in inventory. The cost of each item can be very high though.
EMAIL MARKETING + WEBSITE
FLODESK
Email marketing is SOOOOOO important. My only regret in business is that I didn't start and utilize my email list sooner for both my jewelry company and Metalsmith Society. I have a whole article on email marketing you can read here.
Flodesk is my favorite email marketing provider I've tried because the emails are effortlessly beautiful. That saves me so much time! You can get grandfathered into a $19 a month rate ( 50% off) when you use my code! This does end 11/2/21
SHOPIFY
Shopify has been my preferred e-commerce hosting provider for four years now. I wrote an article about my experience here. There are many choices out there that frankly, I have no experience with but I have found Shopify to be an awesome option for those selling products. To get people to your Shopify website you want to use your email list and Instagram! Shopify has a nice integration that allows you to tag products on Instagram which I have found led to an increase in sales!
PACKAGING + SHIPPING SUPPLIES
MOO
I'm obsessed with MOO, they are a local business here in Rhode Island that prints all my business cards, note cards and promotional items. I love their gold foil options and I also love the matte finish option on the business cards. I don't use the word "love" lightly! Orders are quick and customer service is fantastic, anytime things haven't been perfect they have worked with me. As jewelers I think it is a nice touch to add a little card with purchase that describes how to care for your jewelry and/or a thank you note that maybe even mentions sharing their purchase on Instagram. You can get 25% off your first order with my code!
ZAZZLE
My jewelry care instruction cards are printed by Zazzle. I also had earring cards printed by them and what I love is they come with the holes printed so that you can punch them or push a pin through them and your earrings will always be perfectly centered and equidistant.
SAVE $25 OFF YOUR ZAZZLE ORDER
COMPOSTABLE MAILERS
100% biodegradable padded shipping envelopes. The bubble cushioning wrap is made of PBAT and modified corn starch. The envelope is made of kraft. I have started shipping my enamel pins and small items with these.
ECOENCLOSE
I love this eco-friendly company and use their custom boxes, rigid mailers and bubble mailers. You can order a sample kit to get started and it's definitely worth it, they have all types of recycled and recyclable options to make your shipping more eco-friendly. They also have custom branding options!
RIO GRANDE
I get asked all the time about my beautiful packaging for Corkie Bolton Jewelry. I love the soft touch boxes from Rio Grande and the velvet pouches both with hot foil impressions on them. Purchased in volume these lovely packaging options only end up adding a few dollars cost per order and I think they are well worth it.
STULLER
Stuller also has AMAZING packaging options, I get my custom printed polishing cloths from them. I include one in every order ;) For the added cost of a few dollars I'm providing a really nice tool for my customers to keep their jewelry looking amazing and they think of me every time they use it! Win win!
DYMO LabelWriter 5XL
I have been using this thermal printer (no ink) for two years and it is AMAZING. Before I had this I would print out shipping labels, cut them out and tape them, which once it got to a certain volume of orders was very annoying. This machine plugs into my computer and integrates super easy with Shopify. It saves me trips to the post office when i can print my own USPS labels and drop things in the mailbox.
