Gem Gossip Turns 10 Years Old

I never thought I’d be sitting here typing a blog post reflecting on my 10 year career as a blogger, but here I am. An entire decade has gone by since the first time I even had a thought about having my own blog, and oddly enough I can vividly remember the very beginnings of Gem Gossip like it was yesterday. From the phone calls between my ex-boyfriend and I over all the emails I sent him with links to jewelry I wanted him to look at while he was busy at work…to him telling me I should channel my passion for jewelry into something bigger, some place where I can share it with others. He obviously meant “go get some jewelry friends and stop bothering me about it” but in that moment my world changed forever.

As with anything in life, when you do something for 10 years you naturally have ups and downs. There are days where I have so many ideas my brain feels like it is going to explode. And there are days when I have things going on in my personal life that get the best of me and my time, and Gem Gossip gets put on the back burner. But when I look back, I can honestly count the number of times the later has happened on two hands. And I know this because I can genuinely NOT STOP thinking about jewelry. There’s no pause button and my mind is great at never stopping.

I really just want to thank everyone who has connected with me and my words, whether you came to my website to learn more about jewelry, or you like my posts on Instagram, or you’re interested in what I do as a gemologist, I am thankful. It is you and your interest that has gotten me this far and most importantly, helps motivate me to continue to create content that I am proud of.  10 years later I am still just as excited as I was on day one of launching, and not that I need proof that I’m on the right track in life, because I undoubtedly know I am, but it helps.

I’ve met SO many amazing people through this space, which is truly the reason why I started Gem Gossip: to connect with other like-minded, jewelry obsessed people.  Really, some of my closest friends found my blog years ago and have been reading it ever since. In fact, the video you see above was created by Xiao Wang, the beauty and brains behind Xiao Wang Jewelry and Ice Cream Candy. She has been an avid fan of Gem Gossip since the very beginning! We met for the first time when she exhibited at Couture…and then she attended my museum event at Doyle & Doyle…and whenever I visited NYC I made sure to get together. She had the idea of filming me, as her interest in film directing has been growing and as they say, once you put the idea out there into the world, it often comes to fruition. So her and Tiff Pemberton, photographer extraordinaire, got on a plane to Nashville for a weekend and came to my house! They got to spend two days with me and it was a lot of fun. Above is just a small clip of all that was filmed.

Top Ten Favorite Moments of my Ten Year Career of Gem Gossip:

1 — Rebranding and relaunching the new website after 8 months of working on it. So thankful for the team at Project M+ for making all my dreams come true!

2 — Going to London with LoveGold and visiting some amazing jewelry shops and designers, including Stephen Webster, Hancocks, S J Phillips, to name a few.

3 — Getting contacted by MTV to be on their show Made within the first year of having my blog. The episode I was supposed to “coach” the aspiring jewelry designer never was filmed.

4 — Launching my passion project, Jewelry Road Trip and documenting all the incredible designers and stores across America. To date, I’ve visited nearly 100 stores or designer studios across 16 states. More trips in the works!

5 — Getting to visit some of the most iconic museums like the Smithsonian, Boston’s MFA, and Harvard’s Museum of Natural History–getting a behind-the-scenes backstage pass and learning one-on-one with curators.

6 — Connecting with people who come to any of my pop-up shops! Meeting everyone is so fun. Especially love collaborating on pop-ups with different stores and when I co-host them with Arrow & Anchor Antiques.

7 — Growing as a person through independent travel, solo speaking engagements, making business deals and decisions, and finding my own path. When I started, there weren’t any jewelry blogs at all, so I forged my own way, writing about what spoke to me and followed my heart/gut instinct. I carry this lesson with me everyday!

8 — All the treasure hunting adventures I’ve been on, from Brimfield to Portobello Road, Miami to Vegas, and everywhere in between.  My most memorable being the road trips with my dad and having him see me in action making buying deals!

9 — Going to Italy for VicenzaOro and visiting such a special country that is so close to my heart for the first time ever.

10 — All the jewelry in my personal collection has a unique story and many pieces come from collectors I’ve connected with over on Instagram. I love buying/supporting independent sellers and family-owned businesses.