This morning I was part of a group and we were asked some questions. They included; What do you do, make, create or sell? Where do you deliver/serve? Who do you sell to? And Why do you want to make this business work, what is your motivation? And so I have been journaling about these questions and decided that It would be great to share with you my lovely customers and followers and see if you agree with me.
First up we have what do I do? Well I'm a goldsmith, I handmade jewellery using precious materials. But I'm more than a goldsmith, I'm an ECO aware goldsmith seeking to make ECO conscious jewellery. Some have described my jewellery as Ethical Jewellery or an Ethical brand but as you will see from pervious blogs I'm not conformable referring to myself as an Ethical jeweller and instead refer to myself as an ECO aware and ECO conscious jeweller or goldsmith and ECO conscious or ECO aware brand or ECO conscious independent businesses (that was a bit of a mouthful!)
What I do is, I handmade jewellery that is made from and made in the most ECO conscious and ECO aware process as possible. I'm always striving to be as ECO as possible and finding ways to do more good than harm to our environment. I'm creating luxury jewellery that doesn't cost the Earth. From the jewellery to the packaging, to the way is made, to the workshop set up, and the list continues. Everything is considered.
A huge part of being an ECO aware jeweller involved me removing my jewellery from shops and galleries and taking my business 100% online. Creating an almost completely virtual jewellery business. This allows me to 100% make to order, stopping valuable resources being used up and sat in stock boxes and in cabinets. As I'm Based in Brighton, outside of COVID restrictions I can meet customer who live locally to Brighton and Hove or those that can travel from the surrounding areas. But I actually service customer from across the UK and worldwide. Huge percentage of my sales come from overseas. I offer free virtual appointments which are bookable direct from my website for a time that is convenient to you. I also work via email with customers sharing photos and videos of stones and materials. I have connected and worked with customers in Europe, USA, Australia, Canada to name but a few. Because I ship world wide I seeked to off set my CO2 emission and have now been working with Ecologi.com to plant trees since summer 2020.
My customers base is almost broken down into three groups. ECO conscious couples looking to buy engagement rings and/or wedding rings that are bespoke to them, made using recycled gold or remodelling family heirlooms. Eco conscious individuals looking to purchase a gift for their partner. And individuals that identify as female looking to invest in jewellery for themselves that will last a lifetime, again using recycled materials or family heirlooms. Their looking for jewellery with a soul, with meaning, with a connection and they that isn't negatively impacting our environment. My customer base also want the personal connection with the jeweller making their jewellery, and this is a large part of my business.
Why do I want my business to work? I want to show there this another way to create and run a jewellery business. Its true, this industry can be incredibly damaging but there are steps we can take to make a positive switch and I am proof of this. Jewellery can be ECO, ECO aware and ECO conscious. Just because something has been done one way for years doesn't mean it can not be changed. It can be and I believe it needs to change. If I can do it, others can, And how incredible would it be.
I'm passionate about what I do, about finding ways to continually improve and to make sure my processes and policy's are crystal clear. Simply saying you are an Ethical company or ECO conscious doesn't make it true, we need to show you our customers how we are. To view my ECO policy please click here.
I could continue, but I don't want this to end up more of chapter of a book than a blog post. I hope it explains a little bit more about me and the ECO jewellery I create. If you'd like to know more, have any question please do reach out, i'm always here.
Sending love, Rx