114 When did you start up and why? I’ve been working in the jewellery trade on and off for 40 years but always for other people; first selling for my mother’s jewellery business in my teens and, after graduating as a silversmith, as an in-house designer in Birmingham’s jewellery quarter. Subsequently I worked for the British Jewellery and Giftware Federation, now known as the British Allied Trades Federation (BATF), assisting UK companies to export and attended trade shows round the world. Later, when raising my son, I moved into adult education teaching jewellery and craft subjects. It was a life changing car accident in 2014 that forced early retirement and it was the slow road to mobility that made me resolve to do something just for myself. In 2017 we bought a house in Northumberland, a county I have loved since childhood, and I got my creative spark back. I wanted to draw and play with metal again, so my partner bought me a jeweller’s bench for Christmas in 2019. I unpacked my tools that had been gathering dust and set up a workshop on the top floor of our house, which overlooks the old quayside of BerwickUpon-Tweed. I started work on designs for QuayStones in 2020 and in 2022 will be showing my jewellery collections for the first time at the British Craft Trade Fair (BCTF), Harrogate in the post newcomers section stand P38. What prompted you to launch the business? I am a people person, I love working with metal and enjoy selling so starting a business seems an obvious thing to do. The last two years of global chaos have given me time to think; time to learn and experiment; time to research and, most of all, time to design and make ranges of themed jewellery that I am proud to share. What challenges have you overcome since the company’s launch? Being from a slightly older generation than most of the designer/makers launching at BCTF I have found online marketing alien territory. I am a self-confessed digital dinosaur. So, the lack of physical trade shows and restrictions on face to face meetings, the ways of selling that I was used to, meant that over the past two years I have had to learn a whole new set of skills such as product photography, website building, social media, analytics, etc... Tell us about your product offering. QuayStones Jewellery is predominantly aimed at the more mature jewellery buyer. I design jewellery that I could see my friends either buying or wearing. Classic designs that can be worn day or night as well as quirky statement pieces. I have tried where possible to use sustainable, reclaimed or recycled materials. The jewellery is cast from certified recycled sterling silver from designs inspired by nature, the landscape, colours and history of Northumberland. There are four main collections: Beach, Quayside, Bees and Cats. For 2022 I have added semiprecious stones to the range to make limited edition items. What are your most popular products? The sleeping cats have sold well online, especially the larger size, which has room to be engraved on the back. The beach collection, particularly the starfish, have been popular with retailers in coastal areas. Have any styles taken you by surprise with their popularity? The Celtic Cross was made on a whim after overhearing a conversation in a local shop about the lack of gifts suitable for an older person getting Christened. It has proven to be surprisingly popular and is now available in two sizes. A stone set Saint Cuthbert’s style cross is joining the range in 2022. How do you keep your designs fresh and current? Do you follow trends? I suppose I unconsciously follow trends. I made bee designs because of the local honey farm and a tin of their bees wax made me think of friends who keep bees and the
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