This year I took part in #MarchMeetTheMaker, a social media challenge for small creative businesses to post a themed story about their work each day in March (you can find out more about it here). Here are my contributions.

Story

#marchmeetthemaker seems to feature more on Instagram, but since I haven’t done it before and since I’ve always thought it’s such a great way to get to know more about some of the amazing creatives I follow. I have accepted the challenge and I thought I’d share on Facebook as well as Instagram. I hope it helps you to know me and my business better. X

The first post prompt is - STORY...

So, I have been making jewellery for 25 years now. But I never imagined this would be my career while growing up on a farm in the Shetland Islands. At school I always loved art and yet never had any desire to follow that into further education. Yet while in high school, after loving a weeks work experience in a jewellery workshop on the islands, which then lead to a job in a jewellery workshop; I began to consider studying jewellery in order to learn more about this amazing craft.

After studying jewellery design, manufacture and business management in Glasgow, I worked in a couple of different jewellery workshops both in Glasgow and London where I got to learn from some of the best in the trade as well as create beautiful jewellery for some amazing people as well as for some of the rich and famous. This was an amazing grounding for stepping out on my own in 2008, when I began working for myself and renting a bench in London’s historic jewellery quarter - Hatton Garden.

In the last 12 years of running my business, things have changed massively both in the way people shop and the new opportunities for reaching my audience as a business. It has given me the opportunity to re-think how I work, to the point that, at the end of last year I took the huge step of moving myself and the main base of my business back to the beautiful Shetland Islands where I grew up. I am very fortunate to still have space in the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London where I meet clients, connect with others in the trade and benefit from the amazing training available. But day today, I now get to work from a beautiful workshop close to the beach in the creative village of Hoswick.

The picture I have chosen for day 1 is of me and some of my family exploring beautiful Shetland in the summer.

HANDS AT WORK...

I couldn’t do what I do without them but that could also be said of my tools.

I remember being told back in 1994 when I first started, that my tools would become an extension of my hands, and at the time I couldn’t imagine it since it was all so new to me. But it’s completely true!

#lovemytools

TIME...

Creating a bespoke piece of jewellery takes TIME...

Choosing stones...

Working through designs...

Thinking about any future additions...

Finalising design...

Hand crafting the chosen piece...

Getting all the details right...

But it’s worth it!

#lovemyjob

#marchmeetthemaker

BRANDING...

Even after 12 years (this month) in business, I’m still getting my head around branding. It should shape everything, and yet I struggle with being that intentional about everything...because it can feel so staged.

But the more I grow in my understanding of it, the more I realise that actually when it does shape everything about the business, then it means others can understand my business and my product more easily. And that’s a good thing.

So, my brand is about creating high quality, fine jewellery in a way that is personal and unique to you. And actually, because I care about what you want when I create something for you, then I do want that to shape everything. X

CLOSE UP

There are lots of ways to take a prompt like that, but I decided to go with a close up of the detail in one of my favourite commissions. I have a few favourite commissions (maybe all of them ) but the detail in this one was particularly beautiful.

A platinum flower ring to celebrate the birth of their first daughter, set with a 1ct yellow diamond in the centre and small round white diamonds in the petals. I made it a few years ago now, but I still love it. X

REDUCING WASTE

There are many ways we can be reducing waste, but one of my favourites is collecting up the offcuts from a job and recycling them. Precious metal can be melted and re-formed into new pieces which is good for the environment and good for making the most out of what we have.

YOU

Always a little daunting speaking about myself, but that’s part of the deal here and it’s good to step out of my comfort zone!

I started with a picture of me here with my Triumph motorbike because she is my baby! But actually, people are the most important to me and family are a huge part of why I relocated back to Shetland - because all my family are here in the islands. As well as my family, I am blessed with loads of amazing people in my life and trying to find pictures of them all for this post was difficult...so I’ve missed out some key ones. But my loved ones - family, and friends are hugely important to me and I wish I could gather them all together in one place. As it is, they are up and down the country, so now I’m based up in Shetland I’ll need to have holidays all over the UK. Love you all!

LOVE TO MAKE

I love to make anything by carving it first in wax. For me, it’s a really therapeutic process - starting with a lump of wax, visualising what I want the piece to look like and then taking away any wax which isn’t part of the piece I’ve imagined. Jewellery sculptures appear before my eyes, and I could do it all day every day!

ROUGH/MOCK UP

Those of you who know me well, know that rough is not something I do very well. I’m a bit of a perfectionist...which works out well when it comes to creating beautifully crafted jewellery. But if you asked my Mum if it was a positive when I was little, she might say sometimes not so much

I always draw up the design I’m going to create before I go ahead and make it. Mostly it’s for my clients - so they can visualise it, but it’s also a lovely record of the pieces I have made. Sometimes the sketches can be fairly rough other times they’ll be technical drawings, and sometimes like in this picture I’ll go ahead and paint the piece.

AUTHENTIC SPACE

I’m usually quite tidy and like everything in it’s place, but when I’m working, my bench can end up looking like there’s been an explosion - tools everywhere. This is my bench just now and I think it’s time to order some tool storage for my new studio.

PROUD OF

In the 13 years of building my business I have had some cool workspaces from renting a bench in Hatton Garden with great friends, to a small studio of my own in the Goldsmiths’ Centre. Now to have a space where I can grow and expand my business - a building of my own with a great location and an inspiring view. I’m proud of that and I am proud of all the people who have helped me in so many ways over the years. The help and contribution of each person has meant so much to me and I’m proud of the great friends I’ve made along the way. Here’s to finishing the inside of the workshop so I can welcome visitors in (whenever that’ll be allowed) and everything that’s yet to come. X

TECHNIQUE/SKILLS

I’d love to say this is me and these are my SKILLS , along with being able to wheelie my street twin...but alas, I’m still working on that. I stole this picture from @vc_london . Can’t wait to get along to campVC when we’re all allowed to gather again.

My skills ...I have ridden the length of the UK solo 3 times. 2 years ago - London to Shetland and back again (through Orkney) and last year I ride from London to Shetland on my big move north. Put all my belongings on pallets and sent them north while I hopped on the motorbike and enjoyed the open road all the way to the northern isles. Loved every mile!

by @jamesagrant and rider in the picture @ghwfive

PACKAGING

I love my boxes - they are soft feel, grey to match my branding and are beautifully soft inside. It’s always a pleasure to package up each new piece to send out in these!

MARKETING

As a designer maker who does a lot of her own promotion, I find the whole marketing thing really tricky. Like many others, promoting my products means promoting what I create from my head and my hands, and that can feel really uncomfortable sometimes. Finding the line between giving potential customers the information they need to make a purchase and blowing your own trumpet, is hard...especially when you’re really uncomfortable with blowing your own trumpet.

I made this short video before the craft fair in Shetland last year to let people know about my new piece - the Oppenwark ring holder necklace. Again like many, hearing/seeing myself on video is cringe, but I shared it anyway. The amount of people who came to my stand asking to see the ring holder was amazing! It was such a worthwhile thing to do, as I’ve had such good feedback from those who bought this piece about how helpful it’s been recently with all the hand washing. It’s also been a worthwhile lesson for me - I need to bite the bullet more and get over the cringing at myself. Because for my clients - being able to see the piece on really helps them know what they are buying. So be prepared, there may be more videos of me coming soon!