#80: Part 1: Staying in the Magic: How to Stay Creative While Running a Jewelry Business

Staying in the Magic: Stacy King of Lulu Designs on Process, Tools, and Play in the Jewelry Studio

In this Jewelers View studio conversation, host interviews Stacy King, founder of Lulu Designs, about staying “in the magic” while building a sustainable jewelry business. King describes creativity as presence and flow, shaped by her background in ceramics, dyslexia, and learning through repeated failure before the internet, and emphasizes collaboration and community over working alone.

 She discusses resisting distraction and comparison from social media by keeping a daily grounding practice (reading, natural light, movement, and time in nature). King explains that she rarely sketches, instead letting materials, symbolism, botanicals, and experimentation lead, often supported by teammates like illustrator Christina. 

She details how tools like a laser cutter, laser engraver/welder, and a Bonny Doon press are chosen to solve production, physical strain, and inventory/cash issues amid rising metal prices, and she protects creative R&D with a non-negotiable “Fun Day Friday.”

What we cover:
00:00 Welcome to the Studio
01:37 Staying in the Magic
03:32 Learning Through Failure
05:35 Grounding Rituals and Distractions
08:00 Design Without Sketching
10:00 Where Ideas Begin
10:25 Tools Travel and Botanicals
12:29 Letting Materials Lead
13:33 Just Jewelry Perspective
13:57 Jewelry as Memory
14:45 Energy and Intention
15:33 Ego and Skill Building
16:55 Choosing the Right Tools
17:12 Bonny Doon Press Benefits
20:07 Metal Prices and Creativity
20:36 Fun Day Friday Playtime
23:16 Gratitude Over Comparison
25:35 Closing and Next Episode