Sarena Marrisa Sohan/Fourth Estate
An inside look into a Mason student’s jewelry business
BY SARENA MARRISA SOHAN, STAFF WRITER
Styled with Toria Jewelry, junior Victoria “Tori” Demario met me at the Johnson Center to share more about her jewelry business. Demario, a self-taught jeweler and TikTok content creator, began making jewelry at the end of 2022 and opened her website in March 2023.
It all began during quarantine. In her free time, Demario used resin to make ashtrays and coasters. But after some time, she discovered a new craft she wanted to try: jewelry.
“I saw people doing the type of jewelry I wanted to do on Instagram… I put it off for a while because it was going to cost a lot of money to start, but then eventually, I was like I need to do that. I just knew that once I did it, I was going to like it,” said Demario.
Demario knew she wanted to sell her jewelry from the very beginning, but waited until she learned a lot more. “It definitely took a long period to perfect everything and build my website, take pictures, [and] really have everything set on the business side before I started selling,” said Demario.
She describes her style of jewelry as “dainty”. She also loves pearls. “Something I’m more into now is mixed metals, so I like to do gold and silver together. ‘Why choose?’ is what I like to say,” said Demario.
Toria Jewelry uses gold-filled and sterling silver material. Demario emphasized many people are unfamiliar with the details of gold-filled jewelry. “There’s solid gold and then right under solid gold would be gold-filled. At least five percent of its weight has to be real gold, and it’s bonded over a base metal, usually brass. But it’s much different than gold-plated. Gold-plated is just a thin layer [of gold] over another base metal,” said Demario.
“If I were to use gold-plated material it would be much cheaper, but I’d be selling things that people couldn’t wear swimming or in the shower. It would probably turn them green or people would start having allergic reactions and I just didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to sell lower quality things that people couldn’t keep,” said Demario.
Demario’s favorite Toria Jewelry piece is the Casey Necklace. “I think it’s just a perfect everyday necklace,” she said after expressing that the inspiration comes from her dog, Casey. Not every jewelry name has a backstory, but she likes the names “to come from somewhere”.
“An obstacle is that it’s expensive and so I can’t really keep inventory. It’s hard to design things and then put them on my website because my suppliers are always kind of changing. So there are some things on my website that if someone were to order and I would need to go get the supplies in it, they would be gone.” Demario discussed the challenges of running her jewelry business. “And that’s hard because I can’t just make things, have inventory, and then sell them. I make things, list them, and then hope that all the pieces are there when I need to buy them.”
“Persistence” is a key skill Demario developed through her business and it has helped her in other areas of her life. “It has been over two years of me doing this and it’s very slow. It’s gonna take awhile and it’s a good reminder that not everything is just immediate.”
When asked how she persists on days she feels less motivated or less creative, she said, “Making things is always fun… I don’t always want to work on my website or pictures, marketing, or TikTok, but I always want to make something. If I don’t feel like doing any of the more productive things I’ll just do some wire wrapping or soldering and enjoy that.
”Those interested in Toria Jewelry should connect with Demario through the Toria Jewelry website or TikTok.
