'You don't know what you don't know': Lessons from a jewellery maker in business

Gilded Poppy Makery owner Storm Rise.

Gilded Poppy Makery owner Storm Rise says that the most beneficial thing a new business owner can do is to start exploring local programs.

Raised in New Zealand and later living in the United States for 11 years, Storm opened her Boronia-based jewellery studio in 2020 – just two weeks before Melbourne’s first COVID-19 lockdown.

“The first four years were pretty much of a muchness. It was very much focused on the teaching,” she said.

Storm, whose business is the culmination of a life spent making, crafting, and teaching others how they can make their own jewellery, said she noticed a “real change” in sales and customer behaviour in late 2024.

Fewer customers were coming through the door and fewer people were signing up for her classes.

Acknowledging that this may be partly due to the Makery's location – a walk-through arcade – it was this drop-off that motivated her to change how she did business.

“It was that [drop-off] that drove me to start looking for business alternatives, because up until that time, I hadn’t had any formal business training other than what I’d observed working in fine jewellery.”

Storm Rise works with a range of metals, including copper, brass, silver and gold, as well as gemstones and semi-precious stones like amethyst and quartz.

After researching online, Storm attended an International Women’s Day event hosted by the Monash Women’s Business Network, a program run by the Monash City Council.

There, she met people who recommended a range of different programs, events, and business support initiatives, including Eastern Innovation.

After attending several of Eastern Innovation’s Entrepreneur Exchange networking nights, Storm applied for and was selected for Eastern Innovation’s pilot women-led program, the Empowering Women Entrepreneurs (EWE) program.

“I had no idea that these programs were out there, so once I started looking…I realised that this was the resource that I needed.”

Storm at Eastern Innovation's EWE end of program celebration.

Storm credits the welcoming community as a positive experience both during and after the EWE program.

“As a jeweller, we tend to get very used to being on our own...So I was out of practice with networking and the business side of communication.

“Having that community of people – we’re all still connected, we still all text each other – has been absolutely invaluable.”

After celebrating the end of the EWE program in October last year, Storm is already putting the learnings from the EWE program into her business practices.

This year, Storm says she’s “branched out” into a few different areas, with three distinct programs now on offer at the Gilded Poppy Makery, alongside her regular classes and retail jewellery.

Gilded Poppy Makery now offers a range of programs this year.

The first, an area Storm is passionate about, is called ‘Mindful Crafting’, which is all about making things as a way of relaxing and processing.

The other two programs take place over the course of several weeks.

‘Beginner Basics’, and ‘Beyond Basics’, are for people looking to create multiple jewellery items at home, either at a beginner level or at an advanced level that introduces new techniques and materials that the student might not yet be familiar with.

Reflecting on her experience and business journey, Storm says it’s vital for businesses to connect with their local community and look into nearby events and programs.

“Take advantage of the wonderful programs that are in your area provided by local councils and business centres, because the most important thing I’ve learned is: ‘You don’t know what you don’t know!’”