The Trust-First Approach Behind Carter Eve Jewelry’s Rapid Rise

Speaker A: Trust is a huge part of the luxury business. It doesn't matter what type of product you're selling, trust comes first. And that high touch level customer service where you feel like you can text that person if a question arises or you just want to make sure of something and having that person respond right away as almost a friend. It's through that high touch level customer customer service and that concierge type of experience.

Speaker B: It's the E Commerce Master Plan podcast here to help you solve your marketing problems and grow your e commerce business. Cutting through the hype to bring you inspiration and advice from the e commerce sector and beyond. Here's your host, Chloe Thomas.

Speaker C: Hello and welcome. It's great to have you here. Thank you for hitting play and choosing to listen to another of our inspiring guests. Our guest for this episode is here because they applied to be on the show.

Speaker D: As simple as that. So if you've got something you'd love

Speaker C: to chat with me about, share with the audience, go to ecmp.infoguest to apply and maybe you and I will be chatting very soon. In this episode we're going into the world of jewellery and we're going into the world of luxury and we'll be talking about product sourcing, we'll be talking

Speaker D: about the link between offline and online

Speaker C: sales and um, we'll talk about what

Speaker D: it takes to sell luxury jewelry online.

Speaker C: Lots of insight from this guest. She's fascinating. Make sure you listen to the end of the episode so you don't miss

Speaker D: out on her top tips.

Speaker C: If you're looking to stay ahead in

Speaker D: E commerce, then don't miss E Commerce Expo taking place on the 23rd and 24th of September 2026 at UH Excel London. Discover the latest innovations, hear from industry leading speakers and connect with thousands of retailers, brands, agencies and technolog providers. Whether you're looking for new ideas, practical strategies or valuable business connections, Ecommerce Expo is the place to be. Register for your free ticket today and join the UK's leading event dedicated to e commerce and digital retail. You can sign up now via ECMP um.info Expo, that's E X P O And when you're there make sure you don't miss out on my two sessions. On day one I'll be hosting a panel and at about midday all about on site AI. And on day two I'm delivering a presentation all about working out the right secondhand product strategy for your business. Get your ticket now via ecmp.info expo. That's E C M M for mother, P for papa.info expoexpo. See you there.

Speaker E: Most people don't realize how much their personal information is being bought and sold every day. Data brokers are making billions, pulling details about you from public records and the Internet and then packaging and selling it, usually without your consent. That's how your information lands in the hands of scammers, spammers, even stalkers. It's why you get endless robocalls and why ads seem to follow you everywhere. That's where Aura comes in. Aura actively removes your data from broker sites and keeps it off. They also instantly alert you if your information shows up in a breach or on the dark web. But Aura goes beyond data protection. With one app you get a vpn, antivirus, password manager, spam call protection, dark web monitoring and even up to $5 million in identity theft insurance. All backed by 24, 7 US based fraud support. Other companies might sell just credit monitoring or just a vpn. Aura gives you all of it together at the same price. Competitors charge for just one service. Start your free trial today at aura.com remove protect yourself now@aura.com remove

Speaker C: and now

Speaker D: to introduce our uh, special guest.

Speaker C: Carter Eve is the founder and designer

Speaker D: at Carter Eve Jewellery.

Speaker C: A brand committed to sustain ability and ethical practices creating delicate fine jewelry and distinctive Designs.

Speaker D: Founded in 2020, they now have annual

Speaker C: sales of $1.2 million with a 25%

Speaker D: year on year growth rate, selling exclusively via their Shopify site.

Speaker C: Hello Carter.

Speaker A: Hi. Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker C: That's uh, awesome to have you on. Congratulations with what you've done with the business so far. How did you end up in E commerce?

Speaker A: So I originally started my business in 2013 uh, after I finished my degree in jewelry and objects. And I started out as a maker designer in a very traditional, very small scale physical way where e commerce was not a part of my business at all. However, over time I eventually created my first website in 2016 which was actually a Shopify site and, and I have iterated many different times throughout the years, um, constantly improving that website. But it didn't start generating traffic for me in terms of sales until 2018, 2019 and then in 2020 I decided to really spend a lot of time resources making that website the most user friendly that I possibly could. And we've been operating ever since in that capacity through Shopify.

Speaker C: How has it felt for you going from like I'm assuming before you were like the hands on individual customized pieces for people, trade shows, you know, craft events that Kind of thing. And now being in charge of a million pound business where I'm assuming you don't make, you yourself are not the one creating the jewelry every single day. How has it felt to go on that journey?

Speaker A: Well, I design every single piece still to this day, so I am very involved in the design and I oversee all of the manufacturing process. So there's not a single piece of jewelry that I don't have my hand in, in some way, shape or form. And that is very important to me. Although I'm a very busy person because making jewelry is so time consuming, um, so I am still involved in that way. I'm not making every single pie from start to finish. I'm m mostly managing the Shopify site. But a big part of our business through Shopify is all of our products are made to order. So we don't have an extensive inventory and that's done by design. Mostly because fine jewelry is extremely expensive to produce and we have hundreds of skus. So for me to keep all of those skus in stock, in every ring size, in every metal variation, and every gemstone variation would be insane.

Speaker C: It would be an insane amount of cash, wouldn't it, just to have sitting around in the stockroom.

Speaker A: Absolutely. And you don't know what's going to sell. So sometimes people want to customize something or sometimes a particular style will be very popular, like size 714 karat rose gold with moonstone version. But the other variants will not perform as well. And so being made to order not only helps us keep our inventory in a, uh, in a more healthy way. We're not, you know, we're not wasting and we're not making an excess, but it also allows us to keep that attention to detail and that craftsmanship intact.

Speaker C: I suppose by its very nature, you're therefore not creating mass market pieces, are you? You're creating the perfect ring for that person each time. Yeah.

Speaker A: Yes, yes. And that's something that our clients love. Knowing that each piece is actually made specifically for them. So it's special. It's very rare in today's day and age to know that that piece is made for you. And that way also, if there's any customization that people want, oh, hey, can you engrave my, you know, partner's initials in on the inside of uh, that ring? Or can you change the center stone from a diamond to a Montana sapphire?

Speaker C: We can do that because you're going to create it from scratch anyway, so it doesn't matter that there's a different stone going in it's not, uh, oh, shit, we've got to take the diamond out. You can actually build it around from the ground up in the right way. So the product is all types of jewelry, isn't it? It's rings through to necklaces and so on. So tell us a bit more about the product if you can.

Speaker A: Yeah, so we have a few different offerings in terms of category. We have our everyday fine jewelry pieces, which consist of diamond earrings, studs. You know, a lot of our clients have multiple ear piercings. So we like to create our ear curations, um, with layered, you know, diamond hoops and dangling studs and a really just very cool and individual ear stack. We also sell necklaces meant to be layered and worn every day, everyday bracelets, tennis bracelets, emerald bracelets, gemstones, a lot of rings. We're known for our delicate stacking rings. So we have our everyday, luxury everyday fine jewelry pieces. And then we also have our engagement ring and wedding band line, which I would say 95% of our clients customize those. So what you see on, um, the site is merely a starting point. And then most of our clients get in touch, whether it's via email or they book a virtual consultation to modify, whether it's a slight modification or a much larger modification. And then we also have a new offering which is our couture collection. And that is 18 karat, uh, with lab created diamonds. So it's a very unique combination of 18 karat and lab. And the reason for that is that it's so diamond heavy that to do those pieces with natural would also. I mean, the retail price would probably be 50,000 and up. And now they're more in like the $12,000 to $15,000 range. But those are more statement kind of red carpet style pieces. So that's a new collection that we've been working on for the last year and it's recently gone live on the site and it's gotten a lot of positive, uh, feedback.

Speaker C: Excellent. And you mentioned there that you're using the lab bought diamonds and you're also sourcing everything in an ethical and conscious way, which is quite new in the jewelry industry, isn't it?

Speaker A: Yes, well, it's something that I've always sourced ethically in the sense that I want to know where my stones are coming from. I've always just taken a lot of interest in, you know, pale blue sapphires, pale purple. I love my pastel sapphires. So they come from Sri Lanka and so I've wanted to know where they come from. So I can look specifically for these stones from Sri Lanka because those are the prettiest ones that I, you know, that I like. Or for example, you know, the rubies that have like a more pinkish tone, they come from Burma, you know, and so there's specific Burmese rubies. So I've always been interested in the provenance of my gemstones and that they are sourced in an ethical way. But nowadays it has become something that the consumer really looks for. And I find that a lot of my clients are asking questions now about the sourcing of materials in a way that they had never asked before. It was just something I always, I always said, oh, there, you know, it's ethically sourced gemstones and fair mind gold. And a lot of my clients just, they were like, great. They didn't really, they didn't really care. But now they, they care and it matters, which is exciting.

Speaker C: Do you think they're coming to you because they know they can get that from you or they're seeing the jewelry and then they're checking it's ethically done before they purchase?

Speaker A: Yes, they, they come to me first. I would say they, they're drawn to the designs or they're drawn to the custom service that I provide, or they see, you know, a ring that someone else is wearing and oh, who, who made that? And then they find me and then they find out that it's ethically sourced and sustainably made too. And that's just, it's just the perfect package at that point.

Speaker D: Nice.

Speaker C: And what does your team look like? How many of you are there? Um, and what are you all up to?

Speaker A: So the full time team is just me, which is kind of crazy.

Speaker B: Wow.

Speaker A: I know. Yeah, it's been wild. But I have a team of about 10 to 15 independent contractors. So they're not full time per se, but they do work a lot on my brand and my business and you know, my manufacturing team, they're all independent contractors, so they are working on other people's projects or their own projects or a lot of, uh, you know, my goldsmith team, they are working for factories. My CAD designer has a full time job working for a factory and he does all of my 3D cads in the middle of the night. So, you know, we, we're flexible. Um, I don't need my staff to be 9 to 5 Monday through Friday every day. I am very flexible about when people work as long as are getting the work done. So Carter of Jewelry is really a seven day a week, um, 24 hour type of organization, which I think is really cool because there's always somebody there to answer questions as they arise. And it's very important to us to get back to our clients almost immediately. Customer service is super important to me. And so a big feedback that we get is, um, you know, thank you so much for the quick response. You know, you're very responsive, we really appreciate that. So.

Speaker C: And are you handling the customer service yourself still, or have you got other team members doing that too?

Speaker A: I handle all the customer service.

Speaker C: Wow. Do you have plans to delegate that to outsource that at some point or for the time being, is it just too critical to the brand USP for you?

Speaker A: Um, I do have plans to outsource that in the future, I think since we are still a fairly new brand in the sense that people didn't know us before, we only officially became a, uh, brand in 2020, even though this was a project that I had started, you know, many years prior. And I think that having that interface with me as the designer, the face of the brand, it's so important at this point stage of things. I do anticipate a time when I can be a little bit more hands off in, in terms of like the day to day operations and handling every single, um, situation that arises. But as of now, you know, I get clients that will text me at 11pm at night and 5 o' clock in the morning if they're on the east coast and I respond to every single one promptly.

Speaker C: I suppose that's kind of critical when you're selling luxury online. You know, if we think about buying luxury items and I'm sure many of us are going, wow, I'd never buy that product without touching it, seeing it, meeting the people first. There is that greater need for trust to be built out. And um, part of the way you build trust is by being responsive, isn't it?

Speaker A: Yes, yes. I think trust is a huge part of the luxury business. It doesn't matter what type of product, product you're selling, trust comes first. And that high touch level customer service where you feel like you can text that person, you know, if a question arises or you just want to make sure of something and having that person respond right away as almost a friend, because I have all of my clients, they start as clients and then we become friends and you know, they let me know when their babies are born and they come back for, you know, anniversary gifts. And it really is a family that we have kind of built through this, which is so special to me. But it's through that high Touch level customer service and that concierge type of experience.

Speaker C: I always find it fascinating how businesses manage to build sufficient trust with someone that they are up for spending luxury amounts, uh, per order and buying luxury items via the online channel. So how do you. Obviously once you've got the, the comms going, it's easy to build the trust because of how you're handling all the communications. What do you do to get people to take the first step of contacting you or of placing the order? What do you do to build trust in that part of the journey?

Speaker A: So I still do a lot of in person events. I think that is always something that's going to be important no matter how big our business gets. Uh, because that is sort of the initial point of contact where people either they are interfacing with the brand for the first time or they have been following us online for sometimes years and they'll make a special trip to one of our events because they've always wanted to see the fairy crown ring in person and try it on. And they come with a list of pieces that they have been looking at and following online but they just wanted to try them on. And sometimes they come with um, a very specific idea of what piece they want and then they try a piece that they had never seen before and they end up either purchasing it on the spot or they wait for a big event like a birthday, an anniversary, a holiday and then they purchase it online through our Shopify site. So I look at ah, you know, in person events as it's an omnichannel experience that it all ties together.

Speaker C: Got you. And those events, are they you doing your own pop up somewhere or are they going to big fairs and events and having a table and that sort of thing? What sort of events are you doing in the face to face world?

Speaker A: So I do a variety of events. For example, in three weeks we are doing a pop up at uh, Love Shack Fancy in Palm Beach. And this is our second event that we've done in collaboration with Love Shack Fancy Palm Beach. We've also done one at their Melrose store. And I love collaborating with brands that are different than like in conversation with my jewelry because it's just, it's, it makes it really fun. You try on dresses and jewelry all together and it's just, it's a whole experience. But I've also done events at luxury hotels. Um, recently I did a pop up at the Delamar Hotel in West Hartford, Connecticut which had really has nothing to do with jewelry. It um, is just A gorgeous hotel. And I think hotels are something that we kind of have a niche with hotels because it's a luxury experience. So the whole thing is it's all about the experience. It's about going to the spa and relaxing and trying on jewelry and it's just this wonderful, just full immersive experience. It's relaxing and memorable and special. But we have done a few different craft fairs as well. The Renegade Craft Fair is, is one that originally I thought oh, we can just start out doing things like Renegade and eventually we won't need to be doing that anymore. But we see so much success at those types of craft fairs and even just growing our email list alone, you know, there's hundreds of people that are walking around and you just, you're able to cast a really wide net and expose a lot of different types of people to the brand that otherwise would never know about us. Us.

Speaker C: So what's got you excited about 2026?

Speaker A: Well, um, a lot of growth. We um, we're currently in three different luxury retail stores with a plan to expand. So that's really exciting. And um, our couture collection, we're expanding that as well. I'm really hoping that the price of gold comes down just a little bit to, to allow, to allow the expansion

Speaker C: of the, of the luxury couture line.

Speaker A: Um, but I haven't seen sales slow as a result of the rising price cost of gold. It's just been a little bit more difficult to produce in a non made to order way. But every year brings growth and success in so many different ways. And um, we're, yeah, we're just, we're excited to keep growing and our SEO efforts have really started taking off. So I'm looking forward to bringing in even more sales and hopefully growing the team so that I can actually focus a little bit more on the design element again rather than um, just wearing so many hats all the time.

Speaker B: E Commerce Master Plan is supported by some of the greatest companies in the E commerce sector. Here's a reminder of who they are.

Speaker C: If you're looking to stay ahead in

Speaker D: E commerce, then don't miss E Commerce Expo taking place on the 23rd and 24th of September 2026 at ExCel London. Discover the latest innovations, hear from industry leading speakers and connect with thousands of retailers, brands, agencies and technology providers. Whether you're looking for new ideas, practical strategies or valuable business connections, E Commerce Expo is the place to be. Register for your free ticket today and join the UK's leading event dedicated to E commerce and digital Retail. You can sign up now via ecmpm.info expo. That's E X P O. And when you're there, make sure you don't miss out on my two sessions. On day one, I'll be hosting a panel at about midday all about on site AI. And on day two, I'm delivering a presentation all about working out the right second hand product strategy for your business. Get your ticket now via ecmp.info expo. That's ECM M for mother. Pforpapa.info expoexpo. See you there.

Speaker E: Most people don't realize how much their personal information is being bought and sold every day. Data brokers are making billions, pulling details about you from public records and the Internet and then packaging and selling it, usually without your consent. That's how your information lands in the hands of scammers, spammers, even stalkers. It's why you get endless robocalls and why ads seem to follow you everywhere. That's where Aura comes in. Aura actively removes your data from broker sites and keeps it off. They also instantly alert you if your information shows up in a breach or on the dark web. But Aura goes beyond data protection. With one app you get a vpn, antivirus, password manager, spam, call protection, dark web monitoring, and even up to $5 million in identity theft insurance. All backed by 24, 7 US based fraud support. Other companies might sell just credit monitoring or just a vpn. Aura gives you all of it together at the same price competitors charge for just one service. Start your free trial today at aura.com remove protect yourself now@aura.com remove

Speaker B: it's ty time for the top tips round.

Speaker C: Okay. I love this section because it gives me and our listeners some really quick ideas for taking our businesses to the next level. Carter, are you ready for the top tips?

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker C: Okay.

Speaker D: The book Top Tip.

Speaker C: If everyone listening to this podcast agreed to take Friday off and read a book to make their business better, which book would you recommend?

Speaker A: So never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. It's kind of like a bible to me and our team. I think that it could help any business with any situation. It's very important to know how to negotiate. Um, that's my first book. My second recommendation would be Secrets of Question Based Selling by Thomas Fries. Also, anything you're selling, whatever type of product. This book is so helpful, um, in order to understand selling by asking questions rather than pushing a product. So you're just asking open ended questions and figuring out what the client is really looking for. And then having an answer to those questions rather than, here's my product, it's great. This is why you should buy it. So that's been those. I love those. Both of those books.

Speaker C: Those two fit so well together. I love those recommendations. Okay, traffic, top tip. Which marketing method do you either prize above all others or think doesn't get the press it deserves?

Speaker A: So in today's day and age where everything is focused on social media marketing, Google Ads, you know, online marketing, I think that there is nothing quite like in person grassroots doing events to generate leads and generate traffic, even though it's on a smaller scale. I think that as we go forward into the future, people are going to look for that in person connection more and more.

Speaker C: I think you're spot on with that tool. Top tip, Maybe a collaboration tool, a social media plugin, a phone app, or just a way of working. Is there a cool little tool you use that makes you and your team more efficient from day to day?

Speaker A: I love Unum, which is an app for social media grid planning. So basically for your Instagram grid, you're able to plan out your next 9 to 12 posts and see exactly how they're going to look visually before you post them. And then you can schedule your posts that way too. But as a visual person and a designer, it is very important to me how my grid looks. And um, I swear by Unum, and I've been using it for at least seven years now.

Speaker C: Wow. And how do we spell it?

Speaker A: U N U M M U. Um,

Speaker D: N U M. That simple everyone.

Speaker C: Cool. Great. I hadn't heard of that one. So loving that carbon.

Speaker D: Top tip.

Speaker C: What's your favorite way to reduce the carbon footprint of an E commerce store?

Speaker A: For us, it's made to order. So each product is made specifically for the client, which is our way of reducing waste, reducing resources too, because you know, every product, you know that that's made, you're using electricity, you're using, you know, so many resources. Um, and it's our way of participating in what I like to call conscious commerce. So it's making products with intention. Um, and I think that's, that's just very important to our personal brand.

Speaker C: I love that one. And yeah, there's no better way to remove waste from the E commerce retail chain. Thank you. Not making the product until you know someone actually wants to buy it. Revolutionary. Thank you, Carter. Now, before we say goodbye, could you please let listeners know where they can find you and your business on the web and social media?

Speaker A: Sure. You can find us@carterevejewelry.com which is our e commerce website. You can also find us on Instagram at carterevejewelry. Also on TikTok Arter Eve jewelry and on Facebook Carter Eve Jewelry.

Speaker C: Congratulations on getting all the handles, uh, because I know many a business hasn't, so nice work on that one. Um, and Carter, thank you so much for being on the podcast. It's been a real pleasure chatting with you and I wish you all the best for the business in the coming year.

Speaker A: Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.

Speaker C: I loved Carter's focus on really delivering the experience and the product that her customer wants. She is a lady who really knows her customer I guess partly because she's done so much of that face to face activity with them and those it's kind of no surprise. Those the two books she recommended at the end totally fit in with how she's gone about learning about her customers and selling to them. So really fascinated to talk to her there and love her approach to sourcing as well. You can get your hands on our notes from this episode, including the top tips and links to what we've mentioned by heading over to ecommerce masterplan.com you can also use our direct to episode Short links. That's ecmp.info Ah, the number of the episode. When you get to the website, why not put yourself on our email list as well? If you liked this episode, then make sure you check out episode 355 where Larissa Loden, another jewelry designer, shares how she built her jewelry store to over $2 million. You can also find all our jewelry and fashion episodes on the website@ecmp um.info fashion. Thank you for tuning in to this

Speaker D: every episode of the Ecommerce Master Plan Podcast. I bring you a new interview every

Speaker C: week because I want to inspire and

Speaker D: help E Commerce business owners to succeed and thrive with their businesses, including progressing along the path to net zero.

Speaker C: So if you know someone this show can help.

Speaker D: Please tell them to listen to the E Commerce Master Plan Podcast.

Speaker C: Hope you have a brilliant week and

Speaker D: don't forget to keep optimizing.

Speaker B: Thank you for listening to the E Commerce Master Plan Podcast. Find out more@ecommercemasterplan.com podcast.

Speaker C: If you're looking to stay ahead in

Speaker D: E Commerce, then don't miss E Commerce Expo taking place on the 23rd and 24th of September 2026 at uh, Excel London. Discover the latest innovations, hear from industry leading speakers and connect with thousands of retailers, brands, agencies and and technology providers. Whether you're looking for new ideas, practical strategies or valuable business connections, E Commerce Expo is the place to be. Register for your free ticket today and join the UK's leading event dedicated to E commerce and digital retail. You can sign up now via ECMP um.info expo. That's expo. And when you're there, make sure you don't miss out on my two sessions. On day one I'll be hosting a panel at about midday all about on site AI and on day two I'm delivering a presentation all about working out the right second hand product strategy for your business. Get your ticket now via ecmp.info expo. That's E C M M for mother, P for papa.info expoexpo See you hm there.

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