Attire Accessories - Dec 2017/Jan 2018 (Issue 67)

focus on our niche was a toughie for me personally – and continues to be. If you also factor in relocating the business, rebranding and generally starting with almost a clean slate – that’s a whole lot of challenges. On top of those, let’s not forget, the collapse of sterling in 2016, that Brexit vote, and the decline in the price of silver. All in all, it was a balancing act worthy of a whole acrobatic troupe. Creating silver jewellery is not a cheap procedure – not only does the design process take a long time, but the manufacturing process is around six to eight weeks after the moulds are signed off. You’re essentially casting your net into the future with ideas that you think people might like, based on a hunch – so getting your first orders for a product is as much a relief as a thrill.There’s a lot of up-front investment involved in silver jewellery; the return on investment being a four to six- month cycle. Managing cashflow is vital. What is it that sets you apart from your competitors ? Our USP in our market in that our sentiment driven products are sterling silver, rather than silver plated. I love silver as a working metal; it has both the malleability that makes it easy to work with and the base price point and longevity that make it attractive to a designer. Originality is a key factor in our success. We design our own products, as well as everything accompanying them – logos, branding and packaging, as well as promotional photography.This can be both a blessing and curse, because we’re so close to the items that it’s hard to stay dispassionate about them – I for one, am loathe to discontinue any item. Once you’ve invested into moulds for a design and the whole production process for silver jewellery then you don’t really want to let things go. Part of the reason for moving was to create our design studio – we currently support a good number of high street brands with jewellery design, production and direct dispatch. How important is the location and history of the company to its success? We’re lucky enough to be based in the Rutland countryside; I love the location. Our studio’s housed in an old barn on a sleepy farm. I find this place very inspiring: we have views of rolling countryside, and the peace of farm life surrounding us. It’s a panacea for a busy brain and it’s brilliant for my focus. In terms of my own history, I have more than 23 years’ experience in this industry, so for our new venture I’m drawing on countless experiences and lessons. How has the product offering changed over the years and how would you describe your current collection? With a jewellery collection you’re either offering colour, price, sentiment, occasion, material, branding or some combination of all of these. Our collections today are more cohesive and curated. Essentially, we want to make it easier for the person buying the gift to find something unusual, appropriate and on-trend, backed up with pretty point of sale and packaging. Across the whole gift industry there’s been a shift towards sentiment and personalisation. Our jewellery collections allow the recipient to tell their own stories. How often do you launch new lines? Twice a year – in spring and autumn – we launch new lines, although recently we’ve started to bring in sub-collections around key gifting occasions, such as Mother’s Day, Easter and Christmas. What are the current bestselling designs? One Wish is our bestselling collection – 68 ATTIRE