Attire Accessories - Jul/Aug 2019 (Issue 77)

PROFILE 91 Although people do love to buy British, they are only prepared to do so if the price is right! What challenges were overcome when the company was starting out? Lots of people like to design and make jewellery that they wear themselves and sell to friends, and initially it was a real challenge shaking that stereotype and convincing retailers that I was serious and capable of doing this on a much bigger scale. I had to prove to customers that I could continually bring out new and exciting products and deliver reliably and quickly but also try to get the most out of the suppliers. The supplier element was (and continues to be) the most challenging aspect. In the earlier days, I only bought small quantities of beads so was a tiny fish in a very large pond. As the company grew this changed, and many of the smaller companies I sourced beads from could not supply in the volumes I needed. Today I buy direct from bead manufacturers whenever possible and often get beads made specifically for us to make it harder for other companies to copy us and to ensure that the shops who sell and the people who wear the jewellery get exclusive and beautifully made designs they cannot get anywhere else. What sets Carrie Elspeth apart from your competitors? In short, by primarily focusing on bringing colour to people’s lives. I like to think of us as a pleasant reprieve from the standard whitewash you can sometimes find on the High Street. All our products are also made locally in Wales, so every time someone buys my jewellery, they are directly supporting the British economy. Anyone who goes around the jewellery halls at Spring Fair knows how competitive the market is, so setting ourselves apart from other designers is essential. I am my own biggest critic and encourage myself and my team to continually challenge ourselves to always look for better ways of doing things and to see how we can give better service to our customers. We set ourselves targets based on previous performances, like trying to bring down how long on average it takes to get complete orders to our customers. We pride ourselves on our excellent customer service, which has been recognised through industry awards, and we are delighted to be able to provide the personal service of a small company with the capacity of a larger company. Of course, the best customer service in the world would be pointless without a strong selling product line, so for me it’s all about the jewellery. We make life very difficult for ourselves from a manufacturing point of view by sourcing beads from all over the world, often enduring lead times for raw materials of more than three months. Therefore, I have to really trust my instincts, and our forecasting has to be spot on as it is all paid for months before our customers even see the ranges. We always start new product releases with lots of stock, which is replenished on a weekly basis. This is the only way we can dispatch orders within a day or two and ensure our customers get the jewellery they want when they want it. We have more than a dozen local people who make our jewellery, so we have absolute control over what is made and when. How important is the location and history of the company to its success? I am very proud of my Welsh roots, so location is very important to me. The fact that all our jewellery is made in Wales is of the utmost importance and forms the cornerstone of our marketing. It also adds credibility to our products, and it enables us to manufacture to a higher standard than most imported jewellery and, of course, much quicker too. History is important to any company, and over the years we have worked hard to establish ourselves as a trusted and innovative company with design and colour at the forefront of what we do. I suspect this has helped us over the past few years, as retailers have been more cautious and more risk-averse, taking fewer chances than they would at other times. However, because of a crowded marketplace, suppliers to the gift industry can only be as good as their last range or even their last delivered order, so we have to be at the top of our game at all times. How would you describe your current collection? Summer 2019 was released at the beginning of April, and I think it’s the best collection I have ever produced. It’s vibrant, an explosion of colour yet subtly elegant. We have some timeless classic pieces, new marbled necklace and bracelet sets, but the runaway best-elling designs so far have been my bridal designs. Sentiment jewellery (elasticated bracelets on a card with sentiments such as “I love you” or “best friend”, etc.) is a big growth area for us, which has increased recently with sub-ranges like our Wellbeing and Chakra ranges. Our latest range of high-quality gemstone bracelets has also been a huge success. How often does Carrie Elspeth launch new lines and what are your bestselling designs? Around 40 percent of the designs we sell are from our latest collection, so we are continually designing. We generally bring out three main ranges a year, but over the past few years we have introduced different product categories too, which have been a great success. Our leather