Q&A: Perlina Jewellery

Today we have a Perlina Jewellery - sooooo beautiful!!!!!

Name   Jess Hackett 

Company  Perlina Jewellery

Website/Facebook   www.Facebook.com/perlinajewellery 

Describe your products:  Designer Made Gemstone Jewellery

When did you start your business? 2010

What inspires you?  Italian art and fashion, hence the name Perlina (Italian for bead)

& Natural beauty around me, both at home and abroad

What did you do before setting up your business?   

Psychology. I worked in various mental health settings as well as with children looked after and leaving care.

What is the best thing about running your business?   

The flexibility it provides me to be creative and to enjoy designing beautiful jewellery with an improved work/life balance.

Your favourite product?   

My signature work: Using wire and gemstones to create statement Perlina necklaces

Best business tip 

To keep in sight your vision of where you want your business to be. 

I believe if you can visualise something clearly enough, with the right drive and passion you can make it happen

Favourite colour   

White,  although my art teacher would remind me that white isn't actually a colour

Biggest business success 

Tough question. For me success has always been something I've measured in terms of professional status and outcomes.  Now my definition of success is much more about being well, happy and inspired. Whilst Perlina continues to do that successfully. . . . .

I'll keep holding out for my designs to feature in London Fashion week :-)

Business dream   

As well as the above, I would love my products to be sold in high end department stores not only in the UK but also in Paris, Milan and New York

Do you prefer tea or coffee?   

Veuve every time, its all about the VC

Q&A: To The Moon Clothing

Today we have the fantastic To The Moon Clothing

Name: Alex Payne

Company: To The Moon Clothing

Website/Facebook:  www.ttmclothing.com / www.facebook.com/tothemoonclothing/  www.twitter.com/ttmclothing   www.redbubble.com/people/ocdpalex 

Describe your products:  A small collection of awesome space themed clothing. We started off with just doing t-shirt designs but have since ventured into badges, sweatshirts and even embroidered hoodies! We don’t plan to stop here, we want to continue producing great designs and also branch out to do more varieties of clothing.

When did you start your business?  The business started around September 2012 when I played around on photoshop editing images of astronauts! (I know how sad that sounds)

What inspires you?  Thinking big, staying positive and being creative is my main inspiration. Pushing to go that extra bit in order to create something that is unique or makes a difference. That’s why the space theme is such an inspiration. Everything about it amazes me. The exploration, the venturing into the unknown, the sheer bravery (astronauts have approximately 1/100 chance of dying on a mission!) and the idea of learning about who and what we are in a Universe that we still don’t fully understand. 

What did you do before setting up your business?  The business is always a part time thing (though hopefully with success that could change) so I work a normal job and then venture into the world of clothing design by night! 

What is the best thing about running your business?  Being creative is by far the best thing. The satisfaction of putting ideas from your mind, through designing software and then out on to tangible clothes is great. Then to see people you do not know wearing what you have created really makes you proud, it is an honour to know that they were willing to spend their money on your ideas. 

Why did you start your business?  My business actually didn’t derive from anything space themed at all. It actually comes from the rather cringe-worthy saying that my girlfriend and I share. We used to end texts and phone conversations by saying ‘I love you to the moon.’ But as lazy as we are, this then was shortened to saying ‘to the moon’ to each other. The more I said it to myself, the more I thought it had a ring to it and would make a cool clothing brand!

Your favourite product?  My favourite product has to be my latest ‘Project Mercury’ t-shirt. Not only do I think it looks great but it is also full of information about space! So now I’m not only offering fashion, I’m offering education too! 

Best business tip:  Stay positive and don’t be discouraged if something doesn’t work. Not everything is meant to end well. Don’t see anything as a failure, see it as a chance taken to succeed.

Favourite colour:  I like the combination of grey and blue!

Biggest business success:  Managing everything on my own!

Business dream:  To have my own store one day that is done out like the inside of the International Space Station. I would love to make it an awesome experience coming into my shop. Like you’re entering a real space ship!

Do you prefer tea or coffee?  Coffee, very strong with a bit of milk and 1 sugar thanks! 

Q&A: Soapy Jones

Another Q&A from another of our fab concessions!!

Name: Wendy Jones

Company: Soapy Jones

Website/Facebook: www.soapy-jones.com  

                               https://www.facebook.com/pages/SoapyJones/148339368565466?fref=ts

Describe your products: Handmade artisan soaps and bathing goods

When did you start your business? January 2011

What inspires you? The british countryside

What did you do before setting up your business?  I was the finance manager of our family run air conditioning business

What is the best thing about running your business?  Doing something you love and getting positive feedback from your customers

Why did you start your business?  It started as a hobby and only became a business when I realised there was a marketplace for the products

Your favourite product?  Currently the 'Milky Way' soap bar, I just love the smell, like fresh watermelon on a summers day.

Best business tip: Join The Federation of Small Businesses - You get great deals on banking, credit card machines and free advice.

Favourite colour: Pink! My lipstick of choice.

Biggest Business Success:  Having my cupcake soaps featured as 'editors choice' in the Sunday Express magazine was great, but still surviving during two years of recession feel like a success in itself.

Business dream:  To have a chain of gift shops across the West Midlands

Do you prefer tea or coffee?  Earl Grey tea, white, no sugar.

Q&A: Serendipity Candles

Good morning!!  We hope you are enjoying our Q&A sessions 

 Here is our next fabulous concession holder:

Name: Tracie Bedwood

Company: Serendipity Candles

Website/Facebook: www.facebook.com/serendipitycandlestracie

Describe your products: Beautifully fragranced candles in vintage vessels

When did you start your business: April 2012

What inspires you?  All things pretty and vintage

What did you do before setting up your business?  I still own a model agency which I have had for 20 years.

What is the best thing about running your business?  I love meeting creative like minded people, the pleasure that you get from people buying and liking products that you have made is unsurpassable.

Why did you start your business? Because I love candles and vintage crockery.  I'm also a very arty creative person and I like to keep myself busy and I needed a new challenge.

Your favourite product:  My vintage jelly mould candles fragranced with freshly cut roses.

Best business tip: Believe in your product and aim high, take risks if you want to achieve.

Favourite colour: PINK

Biggest business success:  Attending the Spring Fair and picking up lots of orders from retailers nationwide.

Business dream: To go global

Do you prefer tea/coffee?  Pink Fizz!

Q&A Session - Your Handmade Home

The Handmade Emporium wants you to get to know the concession holders a 

little better so we have got them all to fill in a little questionnaire for us. 

First up is Melissa from Your Handmade Home

Name: Melissa Davin-Smith

Company: Your Handmade Home

Website/Facebook: www.yourhandmadehome.co.uk www.facebook.com/yourhandmadehome

Describe your products:  I make quirky vintage style and modern home wares and accessories. Placemats/coasters/napkins screen printed onto luxurious linen, tea/coffee/egg cosies in Liberty Print fabrics and featuring free hand machine embroidery and much more.

When did you start your business? I started crafting in late 2011 and started Your Handmade Home in January 2012.

What inspires you?  I am inspired by nature, architecture, vintage designs and get most of my ideas walking around Cornwall or Spain on holiday.

What did you do before starting your business?  I ran my dads flooring company after I finished school and was known for fitting the flooring as well as just selling it!

What is the best thing about running your business?  I love the freedom it gives me to set my own hours and enable me to work from home and from my little studio in the basement of my dads shop - I've always wanted my own studio!

Why did you start your business?  I took a 6 month break after leaving my dads company and my creative side started to develop.  I found myself sketching more and more and after a holiday to a craft hotel I caught the crafting bug!  I started to make more and more homewares and Your Handmade Home was born!

Your favourite product?  I would say my tea cosies, but I adore my stitched pictures at the moment

Best business tip:  Photographs!!  They have to be perfect and investing in a tripod, light box and a decent camera are the best things I ever did!

Favourite colour: Sage green - though it used to be purple and I'm quite partial to grey at the moment!! 

Biggest business success: I'd have to say winning the local Retail Factor Competition run by The Mall in Sutton Coldfield in 2012 was amazing!!!!  

Business dream:  Not world domination!! :) But just to have a steady stream of orders and time to create new designs.

Tea or Coffee? Mmmmmm.........I love both!!  I have a cup of coffee in the morning and White Tea for the rest of the day - Milk and one sugar please!!

LAUNCH!!!!

We are happy to announce the launch of 

This will be a pop up shop opening from 23rd March - 30th March in The Mall, Sutton Coldfield.

Featuring a host of quality handmade items from local crafts people.

Set up by Maria from www.ilovethecakeshop.co.uk and Melissa from www.yourhandmadehome.co.uk

We will add more details here as they become available and please see our Facebook page

www.facebook.com/thehandmadeemporium for details