From Factory Floor to Tate Modern: Building a Jewellery Brand with Kate Stewart

In today’s episode, I’m joined by Kate Stewart, founder of Factory Floor Jewels. Kate creates contemporary jewellery using mixed metals and reclaimed materials, with stories that trace back to her childhood and her father’s engineering background.

 

We dive into:

• How storytelling shapes her collections and makes them stand out to buyers

• The role trade shows have played in building trust and long term stockist relationships

• Why persistence (without pushiness) is key to reorders

• How markets and events feed into product development and retail insights

• Kate’s proudest wholesale moments, from landing major galleries to seeing her work in Tate Modern

 

This is a brilliant listen if you want insight into building a strong wholesale brand that retailers remember and reorder from.

 

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome and introduction

00:23 Upcoming free workshop: Cracking Christmas

01:29 Meet Kate from Factory Floor Jewels

02:50 Kate’s journey and inspiration

04:02 Wholesale and retail strategies

07:16 Trade shows and branding

11:45 Storytelling in jewellery collections

16:08 Building relationships with retailers

18:55 Persistence and motivation

24:17 Proudest moments and conclusion

 

Free Workshop: Cracking Christmas

Build Your Sales Plan for Your Best Q4 Yet

📅 Tuesday 24 September, 11:00 AM UK time

🎟 Free to join: www.smallbusinesscollaborative.co.uk/workshop

 

If you’re feeling behind on Christmas, this session will help you reset, refocus, and create a simple, realistic wholesale sales plan for your busiest quarter.

 

We’ll cover how to:

• Put your existing stockists at the heart of your Q4 strategy

• Scale your outreach using your AW range

• Map out a follow up plan that feels natural (and gets replies)

• Create a wholesale marketing calendar you’ll actually follow

 

Join live for access to a Wholesale Toolkit with time saving templates, live mini audits, and Q&A.

 

Connect with Kate

Website: www.factoryfloorjewels.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/factoryfloorjewels

Buyers: find Factory Floor Jewels on Faire by searching the brand name

 

Work with me

I’m Therese Oertenblad, founder of Small Business Collaborative, and I help product based business owners grow their wholesale with clarity and confidence.

 

Website: www.smallbusinesscollaborative.co.uk

Instagram: www.instagram.com/smallbusinesscollaborative

Free workshop: Cracking Christmas — www.smallbusinesscollaborative.co.uk/workshop