Jane Says What - ETTA JANE

Pandemic Pivot - New Directions/New Collections

5/9/2020

Like every other business on the planet, the COVID-19 pandemic brought a new set of challenges to our business. When the pandemic first hit, we felt paralyzed. As a start-up, finding followers and making sales was already a challenge. And now with everyone quarantined in their homes, it felt like a new piece of jewelry was the LAST thing anyone needed! That turned out to be not quite true, but we essentially stopped pushing for sales and started focusing more on spreading positivity and hope among our small circle of devoted followers. Our plan was to keep working behind the scenes to round out our inventory and patiently wait this thing out.

Accepting Reality

Even before the pandemic hit, getting our designs produced was extremely difficult and painfully slow. Cuff bracelets like ours, with intricate patterns and cut-outs, are extremely hard to make. Most casting houses aren't set up to handle such large pieces - much less at the level of detail we were looking for. We went through protyping with jewelers all over the world until we finally found a casting house that could produce our pieces at the quality and price we were looking for. Still, we were a small fish in a big pond and were always at the back of the line as our pieces moved through production. When the pandemic hit, everything came to screeching halt. Nothing moved for weeks and when work started again, it was extremely slow. Faced with the reality of a less than reliable supply chain, we decided it was time to switch gears.

New Directions & New Collections

It was early April. Mother's Day was coming up fast. We knew our customers were wanting to shop for gifts and we wanted to give them something fresh and new. With no time to wait for complicated production, we designed a mini-collection of hand crafted earrings. Our TOGETHER collection is series of fun dangle earrings built from interlocking sterling silver rings. They are cute, fun, and a symbol of friendship, love, and support. And they are made by us ❤. Below are a few of favorites from the collection.

TOGETHER COLLECTION

We have also started releasing pieces from our new MIN/MOD collection. This is a collection of sterling silver earrings, pendants, and bracelets that make bold statements through simple lines and shapes. We are thrilled to partner with an exceptional South Dakota-based jeweler to produce this line. Here is a sample of a few of the pieces that are in the works for this line.

MIN/MOD COLLECTION

Our EMPOWER Collection is still in the works. We pared back the selection of cuffs that will release this year, but are adding a few sets of earrings to pair with specific styles. Here are few of the styles that are available in the shop.

EMPOWER COLLECTION

GREETING CARDS COLLECTION

People love giving ETTA JANE jewelry as gifts. To make gifting extra special, we designed a full collection of greeting cards for just about every occasion - including 'just because'. Greeting cards are free with any purchase. Each is customized with your own personal message. Whether your shopping for yourself or someone special, our orders are packaged beautifully in special packaging & paper. A beautiful card is the icing on top.