CJ Allen- A Teenage Jewelry Designer

When CJ Allen first began what would later become his thriving jewelry business, CJA Designs, he was only 9 years old. Helping his grandparents, Nancy Fisher and the late Lester Fisher, CJ learned all he could about the lapidary industry and how to create beautiful art from simple stones. “Over time I absolutely fell in love with helping my grandparents and then a few years ago, my grandparents were not able to continue the business, so they let me take over. That’s when I started CJA Designs.”

With jewelry being a family business, it’s clear to see why CJ had such a devotion to his craft at an early age. During the first five years learning lapidary, CJ and his grandparents were a part of many craft shows, fairs, and markets which allowed him to hone his craft, branch out, and prepare himself for the future where he would run his own successful jewelry business on his own. 

When he was 14, the time came for CJ to take his entrepreneurial nature along with his love for art and creation and use it to start more than the typical teen business venture. “I worked with my Grandparents from age 9 to 14, doing craft shows with them and selling on their online stores.Then, my Grandfather encouraged me to branch out on my own and create a name for myself.”

Passing the Torch

However, just as being a young individual selling jewelry to adults is an upwards battle in and of itself, CJ would now have to face the struggles that come with opening a legitimate business as a teenager with less financial and business experience than most handmade sellers have. 

“I worked with my parents, Shawn and Tammy, on the paperwork side of the business. However, it was their decision that I fund as much of my jewelry business as possible on my own. I already had a business making lighted holiday porch pots out of recycled artificial Christmas trees that they supported me financially in. So, when I decided to take my jewelry business to the next level, the financial side was on me.”

CJ devoted himself not only to his academics and to extracurricular activities and sports, but to manual labor that he’d use to fund his business and equipment.

“I did a lot of handyman jobs including landscaping and mulching, returned cans and bottles for people after parties, and continued my Holiday Porch Pots to make enough money to buy my own lapidary tools and equipment, rough materials, stones, fordite, surfite, and silver.

With all of the supplies and financial stability needed, CJ began his business and started making his own jewelry out of surfite, fordite, Turquoise, Larimar, and various Michigan stones.

Although CJ says he doesn’t deal with much hesitancy or judgment from adults purchasing his jewelry, his business hasn’t always been a walk in the park—and finding the balance between his personal and professional lives is an ongoing battle.

Swimming Against the Current

As a junior in high school with college not far off and a swim team that relies on him every season, CJ works hard to make every minute of his day count. Not only does he run his own website but he also has his jewelry in two local stores. Finding the balance between all of his ventures can be difficult, but he still finds ways to navigate both teenage life and handmade seller life ‘swimmingly.’ 

“Life before my business had a lot more down time in it and was a bit less stressful… Because I’m 17 in High School, and an athlete, I don’t always have the time to devote to making jewelry that I would like to. My swim season, which is very demanding on my time, is busiest during the holiday shopping season when I need to have a lot of products ready to sell.” 

In order to still produce enough products for the holiday season, CJ spends all of his spare time making excess jewelry in order to always have products to sell even when he doesn’t have the time to make them. His off-season from the swim team is filled with jewelry making which gives him a bit of freedom during those months to simply be a high school athlete.

Even with college not far behind, CJ is confident he will be able to balance the workload and still find time to promote his sister’s business as well. “I’ll be going to college next year and I want to continue selling my products in the stores and online so I need to get a lot of jewelry made this year so that my mom can stock the stores and ship orders when I am away at college. Also, I would like to expand my sister, Bella Allen's, line of Dichroic Glass pendants in each of my stores and have her take a larger role in my business while I’m away.”

From Background to Foreground

Unlike many other designers that focus on gemstones and pearls, the thing that sets CJ apart isn’t just his determination and maturity as a crafter but his choice of materials. 

Using unique materials like surfite and fordite, CJ has taken ordinary background items found in every field, junkyard, and backyard across America and turned them into captivating, dream-like jewelry.

Surfite or Surfstone is a repurposed material made from resin waste left over during the surfboard glassing process. By taking this material, sanding, and smoothing it down, the beautiful colors beneath are given the opportunity to shine. This is also a zero-waste solution that helps transform materials often discarded into works of art.

Advice for Other New or Young Handcrafters

When it comes to pursuing your dreams as a handmade seller, CJ says, “Just do it!  

It’s stressful, it’s hard work, it’s challenging, but all very worth it.” The three principles that CJ bases his success on are: Practice, communication, and knowledge. 

By working on his craft and honing his skills, CJ believes he has found more opportunities and continues to find them through learning each day. “Knowledge about everything and anything to do with your business is crucial for being successful. I am up many nights researching a new stone or material to cut, how to make a better website, learning new marketing strategies, and more. I believe that knowing as much as possible about your business field gives you an upper hand from your competitors.”

CJ also encourages new handmade sellers to invest in their businesses and work on their face-to-face communication skills. “I was very nervous to invest in my business, I didn’t want to put money into it and take a chance that I wouldn’t get it back. However, once I got over the fear I became more focused in my business because I had more money invested in it.” Being able to put his own money into his business and see results helped to push his business forward and, with the confidence he accrued from crafts fairs and meeting with shop owners and customers, he has been able to expand his opportunities and the future of his business.

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