How I started New Stone Age Cabochons
Hello there! Rosa here, the founder and co-owner of New Stone Age Cabochons. I just wanted to take a few moments to tell you folks about how this whole business got started!
Though New Stone Age Cabochons officially started in 2016, I have spent my entire life around stones. Ever since I can remember, my family travelled between Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia and Southern Mexico buying and selling cabochons. In many ways, we were a picture perfect hippie family. We travelled across North America selling amber that my Father's family produced in Colombia. Indeed, some of my first memories were helping my parents sell amber and later other stones at the Tucson Gem Show, Denver, and Quartzite.
My mom, little sister and myself in the blue dress on our way to Tucson
When I turned 5, my mom insisted that I start elementary school and we stopped our nomadic lifestyle. My life took a more "normal" trajectory, including lots of tobogganing and free-ranging on our farm in Cape Breton. Though my Dad maintained his life selling stones, for the most part I was not involved. This all changed once I graduated from college. I was unsure of what professional direction to take and my Dad encouraged me to start selling cabochons. He sent me the cabs, and I sold them to jewelers at markets, I opened an Etsy shop, and I started to sell at gem shows. I had a vision but no formal business training and no prior experience running a business.
2016 at my first gem show - The Victoria Gem and Mineral show
I was hustling to cover my business expenses and trying to pay my rent until one day, I got a lucky break. My angel was a jeweler on Instagram. At the time, I was mostly posting personal photos, with the occasional photo of the cabochons I was selling. She direct messaged me and said "I would like to purchase. Here is my email address". I wrote back "Thank you but what do I do with your email address?". She responded with step by step instructions of how to invoice her through Paypal. I followed her directions and shortly after another jeweler sent me a similar message. I quickly put two and two together and decided I would try having a sale directly on Instagram. It was an immediate success! Overnight, the challenge shifted from finding buyers towards figuring out an efficient system for fulfilling and shipping orders. I honestly could not believe what was happening, my following was growing organically and I was making a living selling cabochons on Instagram! Meanwhile, my friends had a hard time pronouncing the word "cabochons" - let alone understanding my business model!
It was not what I had planned - it was better. I got to share who I was and truly get to know the jewellers I was selling to. I delighted in seeing what they made with my cabochons and genuinely liked the jewellers I was being connected with through the community we built together on Instagram. I was obsessed with building my business and worked long hours, honing the model and the systems behind the Instagram sales. I did not have much of a social life, but felt genuinely connected with the community on Instagram. This was all happening before Instagram was sold to Facebook, before the algorithm changed and before the platform became hyper-monetized. It was, in my opinion, the golden era of the platform. I was enjoying and sharing every moment. To this day, I still feel a strong connection with many of the jewellers that I was first connected to through Instagram.
Traveling to a gem show in 2017
After 1 year of Instagram sales in early 2018 it became clear that I needed to either hire help or find a business partner. The workload was overwhelming and it was too much for just me. I decided to partner with my boyfriend at the time, Graeme, and we started tackling the business together. Overnight, we went from 2 Instagram sales a week to 6 and started traveling across the US and Mexico to source more stones and find more suppliers. We sourced amber, opals, fossilized sand dollars, quartz, amethyst, obsidian and so much more in Mexico and shared our experiences and the stories behind the stones. It was a new adventure together and Instagram made it more than just business, it made it fun to share our story.
2018 - Our first gem show together
These last 6 years have been a journey, but a journey I would take again in a heartbeat. When this all first started, I never could have anticipated selling cabochons directly on Instagram but that is what happened. Ultimately, I am so grateful as it connected me with so many amazing people!
Check out our Instagram page!