Help me gather tools to further my craft!

Brief description: I've come across a retired jeweler who's selling all his tools off for cheap, I'm in desperate need of his tools but I don't have any money to invest into it. 100% of the donations are going towards buying tools for the shop and helping me create more intricate pieces of jewelry. Many of you have been asking me to put up a gofundme to help support but I believe it's not fair to ask you to cover living expenses. I received most of my equipment last winter from another retired jeweler and I wouldn't want to pass up this opportunity due to my own pride not accepting a helping hand.

For thoses of you who are interested in my story, I've layed out a detailed summary of my journey as well as the morals and values that have shaped the way and lead me up to where I am today, I'm eternally grateful for any help whether it be financial or even just to share this link and spread the word!

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Hi, my name is Xeno and I'm a Canadian/Turkish Jeweler chasing the dream of becoming a master jeweler while simultaneously documenting the process in the hopes of inspiring the future generation of artists & entrepreneurs to follow their dreams and ambitions regardless of the hurdles that lie between them and their goals.

I've been committed to this vision since 2020, my curiosity and drive often guide me down unconventional paths and lead me toward unorthodox approaches which make for a lengthy and complicated process. Among my peers I'm known as the one to "reinvent the wheel" in areas that appear to not need any change to begin with, I find joy in the little things and prefer to give my undivided attention to details that I deem mundane due to my core belief that nothing involving my art should ever associate with the feeling of complacency.

This attitude has taken me far already, I've traveled to Turkey in the hopes of finding an experienced Jeweler in the midst of covid to teach me the craft firsthand in February 2021 and documented everything on my YouTube channel. The same year I kickstarted a window cleaning business to support my craft and take control of my time, although it came to a slow start I learned the ins and outs of business and built up my work ethic along with it, every year since then I've tripled my income and through it and I reinvested everything I could back into my jewelry tools and education.

In the winter of 2022, I became an apprentice for a local Jeweler who took me in without payment, or any sort of compensation at all, he hoped to teach a class of students someday and I helped him break the ice by developing his teaching style, once again everything documented on my YouTube channel. This is where I felt real traction for the first time, I was overwhelmed with options since it's the first time I've been in the presence of a fully equipped shop and everything was at my disposal. I showed up every day and applied myself as much as I could but it came to a bittersweet end as the window cleaning season approached and I was forced to direct my focus within it in the hopes of making enough to survive the next winter as a full-time Jeweler.

By the winter of 2023, I had moved out of my parent's home at 20 years old with an old friend I had reunited with and needed to put up most of my window cleaning money to support myself initially (Furnishing an entire house is not a cheap task as I came to learn). I went back to the shop and kept making jewelry until I came across an opportunity, a retired Jeweler selling ALL of his equipment for 5000$, later on I valued everything well over 20,000$ worth of equipment. Everybody chipped in to help but it left me in financial ruins and for 5 months of awaiting summer I struggled to find my next meals, avoided driving since I couldn't afford gas, and went through the most traumatic financial experience of my life (So far haha).

I made a promise from within I wouldn't allow another winter to feel so helpless and starve myself the way I did, I focused as hard as I could and worked to make as much money as I could from the business. I set a highly ambitious goal to make 6 figures for the first time in my life and reinvested all of my initial earnings towards new equipment to speed up my cleaning process and allow me to charge more. I financed 20,000$ worth of equipment in late June and they promised I'd receive everything by late July latest, I didn't receive anything until end of September and they lied about many things which lead to me having to spend another 30,000$ to build a trailer and buy more equipment just to have the ability to use it all. I started a series on TikTok & Instagram documenting the process because I wanted to both hold myself accountable, but also raise awareness and inspire other entrepreneurs to take on similar work (Not take on massive debt, I would never condone taking nearly this much risk it's just plain foolish). I was told the trailer might take a week or two to build starting in September, by November winter came and I hadn't had the opportunity to put any of it to use.

This leads us to the present day, thankfully I still have all the jewelry crafting equipment from the previous winter and I got to work on that and took advantage of the safety net I've built up although it's running dry quickly and with current expenses I won't make it far without generating a sale. I should've learned from my prior mistakes, nothing ever goes according to plan and things naturally take more time than you anticipate/plan for, my kryptonite at the moment is awaiting shipping for the things needed to package my jewelry and the fact that I chose the most difficult chain I could think of chain to create, in other words I've put all my eggs in one basket.

I still plan to make and sell more simple pieces from here on out to smarten up while it's not too late, I've come across another retired jeweler who I'm meeting with very shortly and I'm reaching my hand out not for help with rent or food, I'm going to use all donations towards acquiring new tools and furthering my craft. It's my understanding that there are good people out there who have a genuine interest and respect for what I do that wish to see me thrive and I'm more grateful than words can express. I hope you can see from my short history that money is not my drive, those who want to make money within the jewelry industry mass produce and manufacture and they're rewarded 10x more, I'm sticking to my roots and continuing to further my craft by hand with great pride and dedication, whether or not you're among the patrons that wish to help financially I'm thankful and honored to have come across your attention.

I've been to Europe, built a 6 figure service based business, found an apprenticeship, invested 150,000$ into a fully equipped shop and Window cleaning equipment, I've got a bulletproof mindset, meaningful relationships with like-minded people and still I only feel like I'm just getting started.

My story remains forever evolving, molding my present state based upon today's circumstances, using all the resources, knowledge and experience at my disposal. I don't believe in cutting corners, I commit to cleaning windows for income because my passion for jewelry runs too deep to water it down and speed up the process just for money. I've made many mistakes throughout the process, many have been costly financially, many have costed me precious time, in some ways I've even deteriorated my own health to keep this ship afloat but none of theses mistakes overshadow the confidence, integrity, self-awareness, courage and resilience that I've built along the way.

The day you find the very thing you'd be willing to give up sleep for, something you'd be willing to go hungry for, something that makes you feel borderline crazy at times, something you'd be willing to block all distractions and walk alone for years at a time in search of something greater than yourself, you'll realize that aside from family and your close relationships you have everything in this life you'll ever need.

Kind Regards,

Xeno