Andy Jensen
Director of Marketing
Fortunate for Amber, she had started making and selling her own jewelry in 2013, which supplemented her family's income. But in 2024 Amber's situation changed with a divorce. Suddenly, Amber had to find a way to support herself and her children.
"Permanent jewelry is a great option in my circumstance, being a single parent and recently divorced," she says. "Permanent jewelry gives me the option to work my own hours, providing an opportunity to be successful and make the money I need to pay the bills and take care of my teenagers. And they love it. They've had me make permanent jewelry for them and they love it and their bracelets. They tell their friends and they're excited about it."
Amber's story is not unique. Many single mothers have shared similar experiences, that permanent jewelry is a source of significant income—if not the sole source of income—for them and their families.
Many PJ artists get into the business with the help of a training organization, who usually bundle a welder with their training. In her current predicament, Amber saw value in getting trained quickly while getting the tools she would need to operate her business. While the training company she chose may have provided Amber with the know-how she needed it lacked expertise in providing a dependable welder.
"The customer service was great," Amber recounts. "But, once I got my machine it didn't work. There were weeks of waiting for another machine to come and it wouldn't work. I went through that process four times. So, my confidence in the machine has really changed and I don't feel comfortable or safe using it. I feel like I work hard to sign up for an event, but if the machine is not working that's detrimental to my business. In the long run people will think I'm not reliable and won't trust me."
Finding herself stuck with an unreliable welder and darkening lens that proved to be difficult to use in real life, Amber knew she had to take quick action in order to keep her permanent jewelry dream alive. That's when Amber turned to Sunstone for welding expertise and reliability.
"I'm really excited to get start with the Orion mPulse," she says. "It's a reliable machine. I know that my welds are going to look good and the machine will fire when I need it to. I'm really excited to start my journey with the Orion mPulse."
With about 10 years of operational history, the Orion mPulse gave Amber more than just a source of confidence, it also gave her the opportunity to relaunch her business.
"Business is looking good!" Amber says confidently. "I have events lined up. Since I was working in jewelry before, I'm making my own custom charms and connectors. I'm looking forward to adding engraving as well in the future, to provide personalized charms with names."
Though she had no complaints about the customer service she had received with the training company she initially chose, Amber was immediately impressed by the Sunstone customer service experience.
"Sunstone has been wonderful!" she says. "When I came in everyone was super awesome with 'hi, how are you' and personable. They wanted to know about me and what I'm up to. They showed me what they had with their chain options and best sellers and really pointed me in the right direction to be successful."
Every day Sunstone is helping permanent jewelry artists like Amber choose a reliable welder, like the Orion mPulse, and start or continue their dream to build a successful permanent jewelry business.
"Amber's story is motivating in so many ways," adds Jonathan Young, who directs Sunstone as CEO. "First, she chose a welder that failed her, but she didn't let that stop her from realizing her dream. Instead, she pivoted and found a welder she could trust. Second, Amber is leveraging Sunstone to build her business and making things happen. I'm impressed by her story and the thousands of other stories I hear from permanent jewelry artists all over the world—all of which validates our simple message: With Sunstone you can do this."
Sunstone and Orion are registered trademarks, Orion mPulse and Permanent Jewelry Welder are trademarks of Sunstone Engineering LLC.