Etsy Seller Interview with Angela of BelmontandBellamy

How BelmontandBellamy got started

Introduce your Etsy shop and tell us your story. How did you begin and decide on what to sell on Etsy, and how d0 you create your products?

Hi, I’m Angela, and I run the Etsy shop: Belmont and Bellamy Ltd (Belmontandbellamy), a Scottish-based company near Glasgow! I run the company, and my husband is the photographer for the shop. Driven by a creative impulse and a passion for the past, we set up shop here on Etsy to sell a variety of unique and fascinating antique and vintage jewelry and collectibles from stylistic time periods ranging from the Victorian to the Edwardian era, the flamboyant Art Nouveau era to Art Deco, and the Retro period through to 2003.

Our hope is that the rare and unique jewelry and collectibles we find will inspire others to look at past decades and give these precious items a new home with a new story to tell. Melting these treasures down for scrap gold is an immense loss and means they will be lost forever to future generations. Beautiful antique and vintage jewelry remind us of those past forgotten eras, and once lost, we will never be able to get them back again, making what we have kept very desirable and therefore more valuable.

We have a keen eye for design and are always on the lookout for special and unique pieces, which we hope will be of great value to you and to those you buy for. We know that every piece of jewelry and collectible is special to the buyer. We love to hear our customers tell us their stories. We've loved hearing about the Victorian silver locket that replaced their lost heirloom and will be passed down to the family through the generations. The gold brooch was purchased as a wedding gift for a special sister, as well as the many bridegrooms-to-be who have purchased that special vintage engagement ring to propose to their brides-to-be. Then there are the customers who have bought a piece of jewelry to remind them of a loved one. A piece of jewelry or a special collectible can mean so much in many different ways, and we are privileged to be able to share this with our customers. We believe that finding something you love could not be easier, all from the comfort of your armchair. Some of our pieces are over a century old, pre-loved, and waiting for a new lease on life in our modern era. 

Favorite items

What are your favorite items? What makes these so special? Why do you think these items might be selling well?

One of my favorite items for sale in my shop is the antique gold onyx locket necklace above. The pendant hangs on an antique gold belcher chain with a dog clip clasp. This stunning, one-of-a-kind antique mourning necklace was made in 1886 during the Victorian era. It has an oval onyx pendant set with tiny seed pearls in gold in the form of an ivy leaf. The ivy leaf symbolizes everlasting love, immortality, and fidelity. Victorian jewelry is very often full of meaning. It’s an almost secret language, which makes this type of jewelry so collectible and desirable. For example, pearls symbolized purity and innocence, which is why you will see mourning jewelry sets with seed pearls. A mother who has lost her beloved child will have pearls set into her jewelry to symbolize the loss of her child.

The pendant has a lock of brown human hair in the locket on the back of the pendant. The locket still has the cover in place and has an inscription on the gold border of the locket. The Victorians desired a lock of their beloved's hair to carry with them or as a keepsake in remembrance of a loved one. When photos of a loved one were not readily available, a lock of hair was a very personal keepsake that could easily be placed either on display in a locket pendant or hidden in the back of a locket. These days, we may find this custom a little strange, but it is still a custom that is carried out by a few. This mourning jewelry is also very collectible, especially pieces with the beloved's name and date of death or a photo alongside the lock of hair. I believe Victorian mourning jewelry will become very rare and valuable in the future when so much of it has been lost and melted down.

Another favorite piece is the Shakudo necklace. It is a piece of Shakudo that I have upcycled by adding it to a silver torsion necklace so it can be worn. Shakduo actually refers to the technique used to make the piece. It is antique Japanese art from the Meiji period, circa 1868–1912. Shakudo is a decorative technique made for the Samuari armor by the Samuari. This particular piece is known in Japan as a Kashira. It is the end cap of the samurai sword. When the Samurai armor was banned, the artisans turned to make jewelry and ornamental items using the same techniques as for the armor.

This Shakudo piece uses the lacquer technique over bronze and is decorated with Japanese houses with foliage and a tree behind them. You can also see the mountain in the background with the silver moon above. There are touches of real gold in this Japanese scene to highlight certain aspects. It also has birds in gold on the side of the piece. Japanese shakudo is also full of meaning. A piece of historical Samurai antique art this ornate deserves to be collected and worn.

Another piece of jewelry that I love is this rare antique Victorian gold lucky brooch depicting three horseshoes. The horseshoes have floral decorations and a green gold leaf decoration. Across the horseshoes are a horse-riding crop and an arrow through a crescent moon. It is said that if they faced upward, it meant the possessor would receive good fortune. If they faced downward, that meant the luck would radiate outward to others.

The horseshoe is a symbol of protection against misfortune and a bringer of good luck, which is why horseshoe jewelry is often given as a wedding gift, especially to the bride. It was often made as part of the wedding bouquet. The symbolism of the three horseshoes together is not quite confirmed, as there are a lot of beliefs about the history of the three horseshoes. I have a very interesting piece of text on this in the listing in my Etsy shop, which involves witches and the devil, no less!

The arrow through the crescent moon is also full of meaning. The crescent moon symbolizes femininity and female empowerment. The crescent moon symbol itself has its origins in ancient times, hearkening to the spiritual power of a moon goddess. It also showed the desire for a new relationship that would develop into marriage, like a crescent moon eventually turning full. This would make the symbol very fitting for a wedding gift for the bride. Another historic piece of jewelry with meaning that could be lost forever if we don't stop it from being melted down for its gold value.

Getting sales on Etsy

How long did it take for you to earn your first sale and how do you currently attract customers to your Etsy shop?

When I created my Etsy shop, Belmont and Bellamy, in 2013, it didn’t take me long to get my first order. It took about a month. It really depends on how many listings you have and how well you market them. Obviously, the more listings you have and the more work you do in your shop to get traction, the quicker you will get your first sale. I admit that when I started, I knew nothing about online selling or antique or vintage jewelry. I started from scratch and learned by making mistakes and sharing information about our shops with other sellers.

I get most of my customers through Etsy. I am not great with social media and had to learn how to use Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram from the basics up, and I am still learning. The advice I hear often is to stick to just one social media type, such as Pinterest and put all your effort into that one until you become an expert in it. Personally, I dabble a bit here and there and only know the basics. I prefer to put my effort into understanding how Etsy works and how I can help Etsy shoppers find my items.

Managing BelmontandBellamy

How do you manage your shop? Are you running solo or do you have any team members? What tools or services do you use to run your shop and how do you handle fulfillment?

I do everything in my shop except photography. My husband enjoys photography as a hobby and has volunteered to photograph all my listings, and who am I to argue with that? It took him a little while to get used to jewelry photography, as it does require a slightly different skill set than photographing nature he was used to. He uses a mobile photographer's setup with a tripod and screens for the backdrop. We have mannequins and even a prosthetic arm, which I bought off eBay. It’s so realistic and perfect to showcase rings and bracelets. Finding a good way to showcase earrings is difficult as the earrings tend not to fit through the mannequin's earlobe properly, and a silicone ear on a stick, as can be found on eBay, is not really the way I would like my earrings to be displayed. As I am in the UK, I use Royal Mail. I find they work just fine for me. I don’t like using couriers as I have had bad experiences with some of them. If I need an item to arrive at a customer on a specific date or if it is very expensive, for example, more than £700, I will use FedEx. Fedex is very costly, but you get what you pay for.

The future of BelmontandBellamy 

What goals do you have for your shop in the future?

My goals for my shop are to bring in a good monthly wage for myself and have wonderful items listed for my customers to really enjoy looking through my listings and buying one or two items. As fashions and trends change over time, I find I have to change what I sell. I started with lots of antique jewelry in 2013, especially mourning jewelry; however, it is not in style at the moment, so I have had to adapt my stock to reflect what I believe will sell. In that sense, it is a moving target. You need to be prepared to change if your stock isn’t selling or if you don’t want to wait years for a specific item to sell. I am always learning more about jewelry and collectibles and what my customers are looking for.

Advice for new sellers

What’s your advice for a new seller starting an Etsy shop?

My advice to a new seller would be to make sure you add a good description of the listing rather than just a sentence, which I do see some sellers doing. Be honest and upfront with your description. After all, if you’re not, there is a much bigger chance of the item being returned. Great customer service is a must. Treat your customer the way you would want to be treated: with respect and honesty. Make sure you ship on time and always accept returns. Give as much advice as the customer requests and requires to ensure that they are confident and happy to make a purchase from you. Make sure your photography is good, especially the main first photo. This is the one that should catch the eye of the customer. Make sure the item is clear in the photo and not lost on a decorative plate, for example, when you cannot make out what is what.