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Boston-based Melissa Wallace began making jewelry as a way to unwind from her job working with young children. She had no idea it could eventually become a business!
When friends caught wind of her hobby and began asking for pieces, she launched Little Pancakes and taught herself to craft with metal. Today, she sells handmade items in her Etsy shop and in stores around the United States.
We spoke with Melissa about being a self-starting maker, how she came up with her trusty pricing formula and the story behind her company's adorable name.
Name: Melissa Wallace
Business: Little Pancakes
Started: 2013
How did you get started as a jewelry maker?
I started making jewelry as a hobby while doing early-intervention work with young children. It was a stressful job and I needed something to help me relax when I came home. I began with really simple pieces and sold them to friends before I launched an Etsy shop. I didn’t know how to craft with metal at first, but I learned so that I could hone my skills and improve the quality of my designs and finished pieces.
I started pitching my products to stores about a year later, and now I sell to several shops in the Boston area and beyond. I also do shows like Renegade Craft Fair and the South End Open Market. Taking my work to these events helped me get a lot of business with single customers, as well as boutiques and shops in other parts of the country. Doing craft fairs is what transformed Little Pancakes into a full-fledged business!
I get a lot of questions as to why I named my shop Little Pancakes. I suppose people ask because my jewelry has nothing to do with breakfast! Really, I just thought it was cute. Everyone likes pancakes!
Who was your very first customer?
My first customer was a friend who knew I was making jewelry. But my first big client was a boutique called Magpie in Massachusetts.
In the early days of my business, when I was making really simple pieces, I emailed Magpie because it was a shop I knew and liked. They responded with interest and asked me to bring by my work.
When did you know Little Pancakes was going to work?
When I could no longer fill orders in my free time! I was working part-time and going to school, and it got to a point where I couldn’t meet my demand without giving myself an unreasonable schedule.
When I saw the demand at shows from customers and realized they were interested in my jewelry, it gave me the confidence and drive to keep going. I had no idea my hobby could be a full-time job when I first started making jewelry, but turning it into a career has been an amazing evolution.
What has been the biggest surprise so far after starting your own business?
I was surprised at the amount of paperwork involved and how much time I needed to spend on the computer. I imagined jewelry makers made new pieces all day!
There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work happening in bookkeeping and marketing. Making is really only half of the business, and that came as a bit of a shock.
What have you learned about pricing your jewelry?
Probably the biggest lesson I've had to learn in pricing has been to pay attention to the profit I make versus what I spend on overheads when I take on a wholesale order. The formula I typically use for pricing is to take the cost of the materials and multiply it by four. That wouldn't work for a lot of makers, but it does for me.
However, I don’t believe any formula should be used absolutely. I have to look at the end result to decide if my products will sell at that price, and I’m careful to make adjustments when necessary.
What does a typical day look like for you?
One thing I really love about working for myself is that every day is different. I like to enjoy my coffee in the morning and relax before approaching my to-do list for the rest of the week. I don’t have a metalsmith studio set up in my house, so I often spend whole days at my workshop outside of my home.
I also set aside time for emails and marketing. Instagram has been my strongest marketing tool, so I make sure to update it regularly. If I have orders from Etsy, I give those priority because I pride my shop on having a fast turnaround. The creative work, like making new designs and honing my craft, often gets put on the back burner. Sometimes I have to make sure to integrate designing into my schedule!
Is there anything you would change about your business if you could go back in time?
I wish I'd learned how to craft with metal sooner. A lot of my friends in the jewelry business have fine arts majors in metalsmithing. I don’t necessarily wish I had a qualification, but I wish I’d gotten more training from the outset. At this point I’m happy to be self-educated, although having access to a community of makers who also taught themselves their craft would be a great resource to have.
What would you like to learn today from a community of other small business owners?
Right now I’m working on including more expensive items into a part of my line. I took a stone-setting class with the aim of making higher-end products.
My other goal is to get more wholesale orders so I’m not as dependent on selling at shows. I believe that wholesaling is a more dependable way to guarantee a solid income for Little Pancakes.
Tell us! Do *you* identify with Melissa's story?
Are you a self-starting maker? Are you passionate about your craft, and do you have similar experience with transitioning a hobby into a full-time small business?
If you have tips for Melissa on how to transition into selling higher end pieces *and* how to get more wholesale orders, share them below! We can't wait to hear your stories. :-)
