At the start of Lockdown1 I recall blogging that this period of history would lend itself to incredible creative thinking and innovation. I never thought that would prove to be so true for me personally. But on Monday 13th July, at 3.30pm I was in another Groundhog Day. Yet another day of sitting in the sun (thank goodness we had that sun to help with sanity in that first lockdown… least said about the horrific Lockdown3 weather the better!) and reading my millionth book, I accepted that my brain was fast turning to cauliflower and knew I needed to do something that inspired me and set my soul on fire. And then it hit me! I’d always said that I’d follow my dream of starting a jewellery business one day, and that was what I knew I needed to do.
As a Mary I’ve often been called Fairy (at times lairy, but we digress) so I adapted that fairy into a sprite, and the name was born. Of course it was always going to be all about silver & stones, as I’ve been so obsessed with both since I was very young. I was the child with the stone tumbler machine, who always bought the little pots of semi-precious stones at museum gift shops and who was – as my mum always says – like a little magpie for anything that glittered. As a teenager I was always making jewellery and spending money on pliers, findings and beads by the hundred. My first job (assuming a paper round and some babysitting don’t count?) was as a sales assistant for a local jewellery shop, where I stayed for 9 years. After university I became full time, initially working on boosting their presence in a PR role, but mostly I was working as the Area Manager overseeing the shops and teams. I loved being surrounded by the collections, and had the most wonderful time creating beautiful window displays and seeing how sales shot up. In time I started working on buying and merchandising and would go to Mexico a couple of times a year to select new ranges, and purchase repeats of the bestsellers. And the strangest thing is that – despite having left in 2004 – I still dreamt about those days several times a week. Yes, a week! It was like my subconscious was always calling.
So back to Summer 2020…I knew instantly that The Silver Sprite would have a series of collections spanning the plain silver pieces, a semi-precious stone range, lines dedicated to amber and to pearls, and a sparkly twinkly collection. I quickly decided names for them too, and everything started to come together. Within a few hours I had identified a few perfect suppliers for the Mexican silver, pearls and amber and placed my first orders – I remember feeling that my veins were fizzing, I was so excited by it all! The semi-precious stone collection was harder to nail; I knew I needed to be sourcing from India, but it was challenging finding the right business. I stumbled at one point and fell victim to a fraudster (who ironically had the most slick and impressive website!) but thanks to the Paypal rules I was fully reimbursed. But in the main I encountered some really professional and friendly companies, and received incredible service, and was impressed at how these jewellers who are used to dealing face-to-face with clients had adapted to working against a Covid backdrop.
I was aware that branding would be key to success, but it all came to me quickly. I knew that I wanted the logo to be a lavender tone, and to be either feathers or wings – a design perfectly created by the fabulous Flora via my creative agency Khemistry (who I already had a strong relationship with from my other business). We met on a sunny day in my garden, and – over mini Haagen Dazs ice creams – selected a Squarespace template and decided on how the site would look. Over the following weeks I was receiving jewellery from all over the world and photographing it, then sending the images to Khemistry as they built the site. I was using crystals and flowers as backdrops to display the pieces, and that look is something that has really built as time has gone on. I love the organic vibe it creates. A friend suggested that I name each piece, as opposed to simply describing it – that was definitely a turning point in terms of creating a personality to the jewellery, and I can instantly picture the item when I think of the name; it adds a bit of a story to an otherwise simple bangle or ring. I selected a packaging supplier in Germany, and picked a range of boxes and pouches to accommodate every design I would be selling. Ironically the jewellery itself takes up very little space, but boxes of boxes now fill the loft.
By late September I was chomping at the bit to go live, and after some testing we finally pressed the button on 6th October. I was out having a lunch at a favourite Italian restaurant in Kingston when it happened, and I will always remember that moment - and the sheer excitement as the orders rolled in.
