I Signed A Commercial Lease For My First Jewellery Studio (Part 1)

In 2025 I became really eager to start teaching people in person. After having thousands of students enrol into my online lost wax jewellery course, I thought it was finally time to take the next step and create a real jewellery studio space. I was SO excited at the thought.

So I started putting on my big girl pants and looking around for commercial spaces that could work as a jewellery making studio.

The thing is… commercial rent is NOT cheap. And on top of that, most commercial leases want a minimum 3 year commitment, which is extremely scary when you're trying something new for the first time.

Anyway, I looked at a few spaces around Nambour. There were some okay options, but it just didn’t feel right for me personally. I really wanted the area to feel inspiring and beautiful.

Then I found a space in Yandina. I organised an inspection immediately.

The second I saw it I thought, OH MY GOD. This place is perfect.

It was just a single room with a sink and high ceilings… but the BEST part was that it had its own private toilet. Not shared with anyone. That genuinely excited me... the idea of my very own space and toilet, ahh how wonderful. My own little jewellery studio.

But again… the rent was still high, and it was still a 3 year lease.

Four months went by, and one day I randomly checked realestate.com again and saw the property was STILL available. I honestly wasn’t too surprised, because I didn’t think it would lease super quickly.

Yandina isn’t exactly known for lots of foot traffic, but it was perfect for someone like me who planned on using it as a creative studio for wax carving workshops and private jewellery showing appointments.

I thought oooh… I wonder if I could maybe put forward a lower offer?...

But I assumed commercial properties probably don’t really negotiate much, so I let it go.

Then the NEXT DAY (I genuinely am not kidding) I got an email from the woman who originally showed me through the property saying the owner wanted to discuss potential negotiations if I was still interested.

At that point I thought OK, this is a sign.

So anyway… I put forward my offer. And they accepted it.

Suddenly this was all becoming real. I was getting my own commercial lease for my own jewellery studio in beautiful Yandina, only 20 minutes from my house, along one of my favourite drives on the Sunshine Coast.

Then came all the other scary adult things… insurance, deposits, legal fees, lease paperwork. If you’re ever thinking about opening a shop or studio, there is truly SO much that goes into it behind the scenes.

But it was happening.

Next week I’ll talk about what the experience with real estate was actually like.