What you’ll learn in this episode:   How Jessica built her accessories business, and when she knew it was time to step away from it  What it was like growing up in a creative household with Vladimir Kagan, a leading mid-century furniture designer, and Erica Wilson, the “Crewel Queen of Needlework” How to build a #neckmess that tells a story How to make the most of Instagram, Etsy and other selling platforms Why a Victorian jewelry padlock inspired Jessica’s most recent work   About Jessica Kagan Cushman   Jessica Kagan Cushman is an independent jewelry and accessories designer who launched her career in 2004 with a line of hand-engraved ivory bracelets. Her line later expanded to necklaces, rings, earrings, and other accessories that were sold at Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, and other high-end retailers.  Today, Jessica is known as the creator of #neckmess, a jewelry trend combining multiple necklaces, charms, and chains to tell a story. Jessica’s latest endeavor is a line of antique-inspired padlocks and connectors that serve as the building blocks of #neckmess. Additional Resources: Jessica’s Instagram Jessica’s Etsy     Transcript: Jessica Kagan Cushman is a jewelry and accessories designer who struck gold not once, but twice: first with her hand-engraved ivory bracelets decorated with sassy slogans, and then with #neckmess, a style of jewelry wearing that layers multiple necklaces, charms and chains. She joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast to talk about what it was like growing up in her exceptionally creative household; how Instagram and Etsy have helped her business thrive; and how to build the perfect #neckmess. Read the episode transcript here.  Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey Podcast. This is the second part of a two-part episode. Today, my guest is Jessica Kagan Cushman. She’s a well-known jewelry and accessories designer who today may be most well-known for her development of “neckmess.” If you haven’t heard part one, please go to TheJewelryJourney.com. Welcome back.    Is it all through Instagram? How did you sell before Instagram, or were you doing this stuff?   Jessica: Before Instagram, I had a salesforce and showrooms. I had people selling my stuff all over the place. I had my things placed in showrooms. I had a sales manager and people who worked with him. I never really had to do my own sales, except when I was at Bergdorf’s, all the designers would go and do personal appearances and I was behind the counter. In terms of doing wholesale sales, I had a team who did that. We did a lot of tradeshows. We did 20, 25 tradeshows a year all over the world.   Sharon: Was it Covid? You were online before Covid, right?   Jessica: No, it wasn’t Covid. It was before that. It was long before that when I decided I wasn’t interested in having that type of business, where I was spending most of my time managing employees.   Sharon: Yes, that happens.    Jessica: Exactly. That stopped being fun.   Sharon: Managing people takes time and patience.   Jessica: It does. It’s fine if that’s what you’re doing, but I wanted to be making things and be creative. That’s why I switched. I had a website for my bracelets and bags and things like that, with stuff in a warehouse. I had a fulfillment center that would manage all of that, but again, I was still dealing with stuff I didn’t want to be doing. So, I closed that down and streamlined it. Then I just started selling through Instagram, which became a fantastic tool.   Sharon: What are your secrets for being successful on Instagram?   Jessica: That’s something that evolves all the time. The new algorithms have really put a damper on sales for small businesses. It’s hard. It used to be much, much easier—I would say six to eight months ago—to have people see your posts. Now there’s a different algorithm and they have different criteria for what they use to push your stuff out there. I think they’re really pressing for people to do Instagram Shopping, where people