More gorgeous sparklies to feast your eyes upon from Kerrie......
When people ask me what I do, I'm a little
shy in telling them that I make wedding jewellery. I'm not sure why that is,
its not like its a new thing, I've been running Wedding And Gems for quite a
few years.
Starting a business wasn't intentional, it was a by product of my own personal
therapy. It began when I was in a
recovering from post natal depression (a chemical imbalance in the brain), I
found that creating took my mind off things, it allowed me to get so focused on
something that I forgot everything else.
It wasn't just immersing myself in something creative that aided my
recovery but it was the ability to see that I could create something from
nothing, something that I would be proud to show off as my own.
The first tiara I created was supposed to
be my own, I had gone to the local craft shop and bought Swarovski crystals,
pearls, wire and an plain headband. I
cut the wire with the kitchen scissors and bent down the ends with my nails. Both my finger nails and the kitchen scissors
were destroyed by the end.
My husband to be was a little surprised
when I told him I wanted to see if I could sell it on Ebay. It sold for £21, more than it cost to make
and at the time I was really pleased. I
took those profits and bought enough raw materials to make another tiara and
when that sold, I bought more raw materials.
I was very strict with the amount of money that I would use to fund this
little hobby, only spending the profits on materials so I could make more.
I quickly got bored with paying Ebay's fees
and decided to create my own website. That was a whole new ball game and there
were a few scary moments when I had accidentally destroyed the entire site by
deleting the wrong file. Back ups, I
didn't really know how to do them so there was no option but to start at the
beginning again creating the site.
That's how the site got to how it is today.
I still find designing a very therapeutic
process, after a stressful day with the kids (it's half term as I write
this) I enjoy relaxing with some wire
and beads. Sometimes I don't even have a
clue what it is I'm about to make, but it grows from a little idea and changes
along the way.
A lot of the time I try to be a bit more
organised so sketch my ideas on paper before I start but I always find that
they evolve as my mind comes up with new ideas so I need to draw it again so I
know exactly how I made it.
Since like to be challenged constantly,
it's a kick for me when a bride asks me to design something bespoke for
her. It's always a very involved process
where the bride gives me a starting point, I flesh out her ideas, create a
rough sketch and we go from there.
Sometimes it gives me a chance to get out of my comfort zone and use new
materials or techniques, so it's an opportunity to teach myself something new.
Recently Wedding and Gems has grown to
offer a drop shipping service, it's still in it's infancy but I'm hoping to
expand it quickly, so if you're interest, just give me a shout.
I'm also on Pinterest and Tumblr where I
collect lots of photos for wedding inspiration.
