Scared to Show Your Face? How Lauren Gunning Grew to Nearly 30,000 Instagram Followers (Podcast Episode)
Scared to show your face on Instagram? Jewellery designer Lauren Gunning knows the feeling. In this episode of the Jewellers Academy podcast, she shares how showing her personality helped her grow to nearly 30,000 followers.
We explore finding confidence on camera and building connections through honest, imperfect content. Lauren reveals the pricing mistake that almost made her give up her jewellery career. She also shares how she transforms found sea glass into gems and builds her business around family life. An encouraging conversation about being yourself, valuing your work and giving your jewellery business a chance to grow.
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Does the thought of showing your face on Instagram make you want to hide behind your workbench? You’re certainly not alone. For many jewellers, making the jewellery feels far more comfortable than talking about it on camera.
In this episode of the Jewellers Academy podcast, Jess speaks to jewellery designer Lauren Gunning about finding the courage to be visible, building an engaged Instagram community and learning to charge enough for her handmade jewellery.
Lauren set herself a goal of reaching 1,500 Instagram followers by the end of the year. At the time of recording, she was already approaching 30,000.
Her story is an encouraging example of what can happen when you let people meet the maker behind the jewellery, even when showing up feels awkward.
Meet Lauren Gunning: Making Jewellery from Sea Glass
Lauren’s jewellery journey began with her grandmother’s collection of colourful glass beads. As a child, she made little creatures from wire and beads before moving on to rings and necklaces, sometimes selling her creations at school fairs.
At art college, she experimented with copper, soldering and beach stones, continuing her interest in jewellery. Encouraged by a technician who suggested she become a jeweller, Lauren went on to study contemporary crafts in Plymouth, specialising in jewellery.
It was there that she discovered a small beach scattered with glass in an extraordinary range of colours. With sustainability already an important part of her thinking, she began experimenting with turning found sea glass into gems.
Developing the process took years. Lauren had to learn how to make the glass durable and polish the backs of her pieces. Today, that connection to found materials and the landscape is still a very important part for her jewellery.
Alongside her sea glass jewellery, she creates designs using textures from wild clay collected from riverbeds and is exploring gems made from glass found on the street.
Growing a Jewellery Business on Instagram: Show the Maker
When Lauren first shared her jewellery on Instagram, she mainly posted photographs of finished pieces.
People liked the jewellery, but she felt something was missing: a connection with the person making it.
After returning to her business with a new focus, Lauren read Jess’s book, How to Start and Grow a Profitable Jewellery Business. The encouragement to show the maker behind the work helped her take a step she had been dreading: putting her face in her videos.
It wasn’t immediately comfortable. Watching herself back, hearing her own voice and editing those first videos felt difficult.
But as she began sharing more of herself, the response was warm. Her humour, honesty and everyday observations gave people more ways to connect with her.
For jewellers wondering what to post on Instagram, this is a useful starting point. Your finished jewellery is part of the story. Your ideas, personality and experiences can help people understand why they want to follow you—and why your work matters to them.
You Don’t Need to Be Perfect on Camera
One of the most reassuring parts of Lauren’s story is that she didn’t become a polished presenter before she started sharing videos.
She describes herself as slightly awkward, and that’s something her audience responds to. Her reels make room for real life, humour and the days when she simply can’t think of what to post.
As Lauren puts it:
“I just want to see real people.”
That honesty has helped her build what feels to her like a real community, with conversations and playful exchanges in the comments.
The lesson isn’t that every jeweller needs to be funny or share the same kinds of personal stories. It’s that you can give people a sense of who you are in a way that feels natural to you.
If you’re scared to show your face on Instagram, you could start with:
A short introduction explaining what you’re making today.
The story behind a material or design you love.
A glimpse of your process, with a few words to camera.
An answer to a question customers often ask.
Something you’ve learned at the bench this week.
You don’t have to share your whole life. Start with something you’re comfortable talking about and give yourself permission to feel a little awkward.
From a Goal of 1,500 Followers to Nearly 30,000
At the beginning of 2026, Lauren thought reaching 1,500 followers would be a stretch. By the time of this conversation (September 2026), she was nearly at 30,000.
For Lauren, Instagram has also become an important part of her jewellery business: she says it is where all her sales come from.
Her experience offers encouragement to makers who feel that showing up online is beyond them. The videos she initially found so uncomfortable became a way for people to discover her work and get to know her.
Every business will grow differently, but there’s a practical takeaway here: you don’t need to wait until you feel completely confident to begin.
Pricing Handmade Jewellery: The Mistake That Almost Made lauren Quit
Instagram is only one part of Lauren’s business story. Another major change was learning to price her jewellery properly.
Early on, she charged around £30 for a pendant that had taken hours to make. She looked at what other jewellers were charging and worried that asking for more would mean customers felt overcharged.
Those prices made it difficult to see how jewellery could become a viable career. Lauren came close to choosing another path and considered retraining as an art therapist.
When she returned to her business, she decided that charging appropriately had to be part of the plan.
After she raised her prices, her sales increased dramatically. Lauren is careful to acknowledge that several things were changing at once, including her Instagram presence, so she can’t separate out the effect of pricing alone.
What changed for her was recognising that her time, expertise and years of developing her work had value.
For anyone starting a jewellery business, her advice is clear: make sure you are charging enough. Looking at other makers’ prices can’t tell you whether your own prices cover the work involved or support the business you want to build.
Building a Jewellery Business Around Family Life
Lauren’s path into business hasn’t been a straight line.
There were other jobs, children and periods when jewellery took a back seat. She gradually returned to making after her first daughter was born, then took another break when her second child was little.
Working from her dining room has meant navigating the familiar challenge of being physically present at home while also needing time to concentrate.
At the time of recording, access to childcare had made it possible for Lauren to begin her first week as a full-time jeweller.
Her experience is a reminder that taking a break doesn’t have to mean giving up. A jewellery business can develop in stages as your circumstances change.
The Stories Behind Your Jewellery Matter
Lauren’s work has a strong connection to nature, history and personal meaning.
In the episode, she shares the story of a coin design created to represent her ancestors and the generations of people she feels grateful for. The night she finalised the design in clay, her grandfather passed away. The piece became especially meaningful, and she later had a version made in gold.
It’s a moving example of how much meaning a piece of jewellery can hold.
Sharing those stories gives customers a deeper understanding of your work. A photograph shows the finished piece; the story helps someone connect with the thought and feeling that went into making it.
Listen to Lauren Gunning on the Jewellers Academy Podcast
Whether you’re struggling to show your face on Instagram, questioning your jewellery prices or finding your way back to making after a break, this conversation offers plenty of encouragement.
Lauren shares what changed when she began putting herself into her content, valuing her work and giving her jewellery business another chance.
Listen to “Scared to Show Your Face? How Lauren Gunning Grew to Nearly 30,000 Instagram Followers” on the Jewellers Academy podcast.
You can also find Lauren on Instagram to explore her jewellery and see the reels Jess and Lauren discuss in the episode.
resources
Lauren mentioned Jess’ book in the episode. This is a gorgeous picture business book.
Start and Grow a Profitable Jewellery Business is available on Amazon in the UK and it’s also available as a digital download. Find out more on the button below:
Lauren also mentioned pricing. Jess has a FREE Pricing Masterclass which includes a spreadsheet you can use that helps calculate your price.
about lauren
Lauren Gunning is a jewellery designer and maker based in Newport, South Wales, creating sustainable jewellery from sea glass, recycled metals and wild clay. Inspired by ancient jewellery, folklore and the natural landscape, she transforms found materials into meaningful pieces, handcrafting her sea glass gems through a process of melting, sanding and polishing.
Her love of making began with her grandmother’s bead collection and led her to study contemporary crafts in Plymouth, where she specialised in jewellery and began experimenting with sea glass. After taking breaks to raise her two daughters, Lauren returned to building her jewellery business with renewed focus.
Known for her honest, humorous Instagram reels, Lauren shares the person and stories behind her work. At the time of her Jewellers Academy podcast interview, she had grown a community of nearly 30,000 followers, having originally set herself a goal of just 1,500.
www.laurengunningjewellery.com
Instagram @laurengunningjewellery
Jewellery images in this post are all copyright Lauren Gunning 2026