Meet Maggie Hinchliffe

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maggie Hinchliffe. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Maggie, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

I definitely get my work ethic from my parents. I’m the daughter of two teachers and they always instilled in me to educate myself and continue to work hard. That working towards your goals is always the way to achieve your dreams. My father was also a foster kid and came from nothing. He is now retired, got his 3rd masters degree while retired and writing everyday. His resilence and drive is in my bones and his constant support still drives me. I also started working when I was 12 babysitting, then was on the books working at 15 in garden center nursery. From there I worked in the service industry mainly bartending until i started working in a high end jewelry shop. That is where I honed my skills to be able to open my own jewelry company.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am a long island based concierge jeweler. My goal is to bring back the value in the family jeweler concierge style. I work very closely with my clients developing real connections while helping them in every jewelry form. My focus is on bespoke fine jewelry specifically redesigning heirlooms into new treasures, engagement rings and wedding bands, appraisals and almost any kind of repair.
I started off in college as an artist at FIT, painting drawing and sculpting. The school at the time didn’t promote art as a career so as my associates was coming to an end I started looking into artisan programs elsewhere. During my search my great uncle zuk had passed away. He was a big costume jewelry designer in the 60s and 70s, he even invented the mood ring. As a kid I use to run around his massive warehouse collecting inexpensive costume bauble. His loss inspired my journey to the University of massachusetts dartmouth where I studied metalsmithing. I not only fell in love with creating jewelry, I became in love with enameling where I could combine my painting skills with jewelry making.
After completing my bachelors I started working in a high end family jewelry store in my hometown of Huntington. This where my keen eye for quality control and design all took flight, I learned everything I possible could while working there and developed beautiful relationships in my community. As i started working more with engagement rings and higher end items I couldn’t stop touching gemstones. This fascination lead me to attend the Gemological Institute of America to obtain my Graduate Gemologist degree. All throughout school and work I never stopped creating jewelry and sold many pieces inside of the shop.
After 9 years working in the same store with no more opportunity to grow, a constant changing of staff I knew i had to change my environment. I took what I had saved for a future home and invested in myself by starting Hinchliffe Jewelry. I began with 4 different silver and vermeil jewelry lines and couldn’t wait to just be a designer. As time creating drifted on my friends started asking me for custom pieces. Then old clients began following me and asking for more custom work and requests. Clients wanted my appraisal services and repairs. I jumped on the path that the universe was sending me and offered everything jewelry related i could. My clients are truly my family, they know me and my family personally and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There are tears shed in my office good and sad but they are always welcome as I strive to keep jewelry sentiments alive. I feel beyond blessed that I wake up everyday loving what I do with an excited energy to start what new project lies before me.
The concierge in my service isn’t intimidating its a luxurious way to describe the services i provide without having the overhead of a major store.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I will firstly say for skills that were impactful to my journey number one is experience. Working inside a jewelry store gave me the skills to work on my own. Im so grateful for that opportunity it gave me, the knowledge and understanding of how a shop and business can successfully be run. As the daughter of two teachers I highly promote education. Each of my degrees gave me skills to make me a unique designer and business owner. I do give credit to UMass Dartmouth as their metalsmithing program taught me to be an artist first not just a metalsmith. Other programs train their jewelers very commercial based and UMass taught us technique while also encouraging us to push our creative minds. I also have a jeweler mentor who is 30 years my senior. He is a master stone setter and I continue to learn from him.
To my fellow entrepreneurs out there never stop learning or asking questions. Even if its small opportunity you never know where it will lead you. Education is always a key but experience and learning from those who know more that you will always big the biggest flex for your future.

Tell us what your ideal client would be like?

My ideal client is anyone that has a love for jewelry, craftmanship and is excited to create something with me. Truly I have clients in all areas of the country, of all ages and the thing they all have in common is a love for jewelry. I always laugh and say your either a jewelry person or your not and the ones that are we just all get it. My clients love knowing me and they are coming to my office to just get their jewelry cleaned and properly inspected. I never charge for this service, my clients sometimes bring me coffee, we mom vent talk about life and just enjoy each others company for a little while i make their baubles look shiny and bright. I want clients that a jeweler and friend for life, not just for a one time purchase.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.hinchliffejewelry.com/
• Instagram: hinchliffejewelry
• Facebook: hinchliffejewelry

Image Credits

Britt lee wedding photos are all of them except the one of me working which is Exo photography