Attire Accessories - Jul/Aug 2019 (Issue 77)

90 beads A childhood passion has turned into a successful business model for Carrie Elspeth. Here she tells us more about how her company has become the thriving industry stalwart it is today FOR THE LOVE OF Tell me a bit about how Carrie Elspeth was started. What was the aim of the label when it was launched? As a child I was really into beads, and I remember going on holiday to London, where we would visit the bead shop in Covent Garden. I can remember walking around in awe looking at all the different colour options – there were hundreds! It was like being in the best sweet shop! I would choose a selection and then look forward to getting back to where we were staying so that I could make my own jewellery. It was the highlight of my holiday, and I was always very passionate about it. In some sense things have not changed, as I still get just as excited when I find a new bead supplier and get those first samples into my studio!  The catalyst that changed my passion into a business was probably the year I spent travelling after university with my husband, Steve. We kept bumping into people who were entrepreneurs who had grown their own businesses from scratch, and I saw in those people a drive and passion I recognised in myself. After returning to Wales in 1999, I knew I wanted to have my own business and that it had to be creative! I started making cards and wrapping paper. However, my passion for beads soon came bubbling to the surface, and I began to make beaded jewellery on wire, which is what Carrie Elspeth is known for today. When I first started the business, my main aim was to create beautiful products that would excite people as much as they did me! While I wanted my company to be big, I started slowly doing everything myself – I was a one-man-band; I designed the jewellery, made the jewellery and visited the shops to sell direct. I am very proud that I still sell to some of those first few accounts 20 years later. This can only be because I still hold true to the values I set in the beginning, of keeping my designs colourful, handmade in Wales, striving to produce exclusive but accessible designs and to focus on exceptional levels of customer service. How were the initial products developed, and what was the response? I still design today as I did in the beginning, by making things I love! Of course, much more analysis goes into design these days, looking at customer buying trends, keeping on top of colour forecasts and even getting beads made specifically and exclusively for us. My jewellery always sold well, but the biggest challenges have sometimes been keeping up with the demand so that I can always dispatch full orders within a few days while maintaining the highest possible standards in quality. Above all, designing is my most enjoyable and favoured job. However, it’s also one of the hardest. Achieving the right price sometimes means abandoning designs that aesthetically are amazing but don’t hit the right price point.