The New J. Mills Studio: Taking Our Modern Handmade Jewelry to the Next Level
Who knew that one of the consequences of launching our beautiful website to showcase our modern handmade jewelry would be learning what friends say about you when you’re not around?
For the past 6 months, we’ve gone through a transformation. We’re not changing what we do best – creating handmade artisan jewelry – we’re just telling our story from a different perspective.
The entire process has been a rewarding journey of self-discovery. It started with research and interviews, and resulted in a new brand and e-commerce site that we are thrilled to share with you.
Along the way, Juli Mills became privy to what some of the friends and fans most closely associated with her work really thought about it. We can’t thank them enough for their kind words and support and would like to share a little bit about who they are, what they mean to us and how their insights shaped the next chapter of J. Mills Studio.
Subtle Elegance
J. Mills friend Barb owns 2 successful gift and apparel shops at a popular resort & golf destination on the coast of SC. She’s been wearing J. Mills for more than 10 years and has carried the line in her store for nearly as long. Barb explains her customers unwavering attraction to the pieces: “It's a subtle elegance to me, at a really great price. That's what our customers, why they're attracted to it, they like the subtlety and the elegance of hers, and the creativity. She’s really, really talented, I haven’t found anybody that’s a competitor for her.” We really feel that “subtle elegance” captures the essence of J. Mills jewelry and is a wonderful inspiration for us as we handcraft pieces going forward.
Classic, Never Trendy
Roxanne used to work at Lulu Burgess in Beaufort which was the first store to carry the J. Mills line. She soon noticed that Juli had developed an incredible following and fell in love with her designs. When she launched her own sales rep business the first line she wanted to sell was J. Mills Studio. Roxanne describes the line as: “Always classic, never trendy” and believes what makes J. Mills really different is: “Juli’s an artist, she has a degree in metal-smithing. Not everybody knows how to take a raw piece of 14 karat gold-filled or sterling silver metal and forge it into a piece of jewelry. It’s all handcrafted.” We are so grateful for our friendship and business relationship with Roxanne. She has helped us immensely in getting to where we are today. 
Unique and Versatile
Dawn was an advisor and major source of encouragement during the J. Mills studio early years. She’s been a fan and collector for many years and has many pieces dating back to Juli’s early designs. Dawn has been familiar with Juli’s process and skills through the years and says “I’ve seen her jewelry and creativity evolve over the years. It’s amazing. She’s very talented.” Dawn feels that the versatility of Juli’s designs is something she loves: “Any of her jewelry is so versatile it can be worn in any situation. It’s the only jewelry I wear no matter the occasion.” Without Dawn’s support during our early years, we don’t know where we’d be!
We feel honored and are extremely grateful for these kind words from friends and fans and hope you will become a loyal fan and friend too :). You can share the excitement and join our community by becoming a J. Mills Insider today. You’ll be one of the first to see the new designs, special deals, unique events and all the news about the products, process and happenings that we share with our Insiders. We look forward to seeing you on the Inside!
