Taylor: jewelry maker, businesswoman in equal measure

Six years ago, a broken necklace changed Marybeth Taylor’s life.

The beaded necklace was one she’d worn only three or four times before it broke. “I was ticked,” she says, with a laugh, and one look around her studio makes the reason for her laughter clear: That broken necklace propelled her into a new career of designing, making, and selling jewelry.

“I thought, I can do this better,” she recalls. “So, I took it apart, and put it back together, and I was like, hey, I can do this.”

Taylor, 53, happened to be in-between jobs when inspiration struck, so the timing was perfect. She discovered she could make “a decent living” doing something she loved, and she never looked back. She’d previously worked as a social worker for 20 years (she has a degree in sociology from Carolina), then as an office manager for 15. She had no background in jewelry making.

The Mount Olive native is self-taught, with the exception of having taken one beading class. “It’s trial and error,” she notes. “It’s trying to see what works and doesn’t work. I wear it, and if it falls apart or it itches or something doesn’t feel quite right, I know I didn’t do it right.”

Taylor made her first necklaces while at her family’s vacation home on Taylor’s Creek in Beaufort, hence the company name: Taylor Creek Designs (TCD). Initially, her kitchen table served as her workspace; today, she occupies one of several artist studios housed at First Baptist Church of Mount Olive, under the auspices of the Arts Council of Wayne County.

It wasn’t long, after initially selling on Facebook, that she accepted offers from friends to sell in their (since-closed) Mount Olive boutiques, Especially For You and The Noun. Next, two Goldsboro businesses, Heritage Farms General Store and Bicycle World, also began carrying her creations. Today, TCD is sold in 20 different wholesale locations in eastern North Carolina. With her studio open to the public only on special occasions, she does much of her selling at festivals, with fall being her busiest time of year: She’ll be doing two big shows in both October and November, and another one in December.

When starting out, Taylor stuck with necklaces for a while, before branching out. During the pandemic she noticed that since people were staying home, they were no longer wearing statement necklaces, but were still wearing earrings, so she introduced those.

And since the pandemic, she’s found that jewelry preferences have continued to move from large, beaded pieces (except at Christmas, when, she notes, that look is still popular) to much daintier items, like lightweight chains. Even earrings that have a bold look tend to be lightweight. Many of her designs reflect her love of the coast, although she explores other themes, as well. For example, she tapped into ACC-mania by offering jewelry for Tar Heels, Pack fans, Blue Devils and Pirates.

Staying abreast of trends is key to success in the jewelry business, and Taylor does it by, among other things, spending time on Instagram and paying attention to magazine covers. She’s always on the lookout for interesting color combinations. “Pink and orange don’t normally go together,” she points out, “but when you see it somewhere and then you put it on a necklace and you go, hey, this is terrific.”

One trend taking off now is permanent jewelry, which ties in with the move to lighter-weight materials. Permanent jewelry consists of dainty bracelets, anklets, and necklaces that are welded together on wearers, rather than being secured with a traditional clasp. “They can wear it in the pool, the beach, whatever, and it won’t come off,” explains Taylor. “People like it because they don’t have to worry about it.” She currently has three bracelets on her right wrist that she’s been wearing for about three months and one on her left wrist that she’s had on for six months. The chains are gold-filled or sterling silver and can be adorned with charms, if desired.

Creating jewelry is one thing; turning jewelry-making into a bona fide business is another. A key component of Taylor’s marketing strategy is staying active on social media. “The more you post, the more business you get,” she says.

Taylor’s marketing campaign has gotten a boost from her friend and customer, Kelli Bell, who has become somewhat of an ambassador for the brand. She wears TCD’s jewelry often and has brought so much attention to it that Taylor pulled together all the pieces featuring a pink leopard print design — Bell’s favorite — and calls this the Kelli Collection.

Taylor’s can-do attitude is to be credited with helping her achieve success. During the pandemic, she contacted someone about creating a website and was quoted a fee of $5,000. “I thought, there is no way,” she recalls, “so I sat down, and for two weeks, I did it on a Shopify platform, and I did it myself.

“I’ll try anything,” she continues. “I think that’s the name of the game…You have to be flexible, and you have to be able to try new things. If you don’t, you’re not gonna survive. If we were still making beaded necklaces, we wouldn’t be here right now.”

Illustrating her willingness to try new things she expanded her inventory beyond jewelry to include gift items (like small, decorative plaques and cutting boards), and she began selling a few products by other makers (such as bracelets by Jilzarah). Most recently, she’s started offering candle-making classes.

But Taylor will tell you that the smartest thing she’s done in building her business is to surround herself with a strong support network, starting with her husband, Ernie, and her son, Thomas. “When you own a small business, it is a family affair,” she notes. She describes Ernie as a jack-of-all-trades and jokingly (or not so jokingly) admits, “When I mess something up, that’s when I call Ernie.”

Beyond Ernie and Thomas, several friends have carved out niches for themselves at TCD. Milly Ferrell takes charge of arranging the jewelry and gift items in the studio, giving it a boutique-like feel; Lori Cole takes care of bookkeeping; and Angie Best helps make jewelry and gift items. Best’s father makes the wooden cutting boards the business sells, and Neil and Melinda Weeks do other woodcutting for Taylor.

And when it comes time to sell at a show, it’s all hands on deck. “Everybody does their own thing and they do it very well,” Taylor says. “If it weren’t for Angie and Milly and Lori, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do, and my payment is jewelry. So, when we’re at a show and they see something new, they’ll go ahead and put it on their wrist, and I go, ‘There’s your payment.’” Everybody’s happy — and no one goes home empty-wristed.

For more information, look for Taylor Creek Designs on Facebook or designstaylorcreek on Instagram, or go to taylorcreekdesigns.com.