The Young Collective’s Founder Lauren Edwards spoke to 21-year-old, Laura Elisa Simpson about the beginning of her beautiful handmade enamel and copper jewellery business.
That moment just after you crawl into bed is when we all begin to develop crazy ideas and draw up optimistic business plans. But, for most of us, we wake up in the morning and almost certainly shrug of the spontaneous ideas thought of the night before.
After a period of ill health last year, Laura Simpson decided she needed something to do in order to occupy her time: “I wanted something to do at home when I felt up to it. I read a lot about jewellery making and enamelling was a technique which caught my eye, mainly because it was possible to add colour to the jewellery.” Even with no previous experience, Laura decided she felt up to the challenge, “I had no jewellery making skills, but once I felt a bit better I taught myself. Before I knew it I had bought a kiln and was bringing my ideas to life.”
Not many people have a hobby they believe they can take to the next level and develop into a business, never mind a young adult who has taken on something entirely new. Yet speaking to Laura she makes it sound so simple: “I enjoyed it so much that I just wanted to share my work with others. I shared some pictures of my jewellery on my personal social media and people seemed to like my work, so I took the leap.” With that began the beginning of ‘Gemwaith Elisa Jewellery’.
“At the start, when I was learning I would just saw out simple shapes and enamel them in one colour, just to get my sawing and enamelling techniques up to scratch. I now have a scrapbook where I put down my ideas.” Although, her jewellery is mostly custom made to order there’s still a very much personal touch to her pieces “My Welsh roots reflect in some of my designs, along with the shapes and colours I love. I also love adding text to my jewellery to add meaning.” Her business has only been up and running since earlier this year but, Laura worked on getting the technique down a couple of months prior to ensure the best possible outcome for her designs: “I saw the shape out of the copper sheet, file it and enamel it in a kiln. Most pieces go into the kiln around 6 times. I also make stud earrings and rings, which is of a similar process.”
Her pieces are up on Etsy, you can also find her on Instagram and on her Facebook page. With social media making it easier to spread the word about upcoming designers, there’s a lot to say when Laura takes her pieces to a local fair not too far from her home town, giving her the chance to interact with her customers for an even more personal touch. When asked about whether Gemwaith Elisa Jewellery is full-time she explains: “At the moment it’s a full-time job as I get ill from time to time. Having my workspace at home means I can rest when I need to. I’m planning to continue with my jewellery making as a side-line business as soon as I am able to work away from home again.”
As I’m someone that gets incredibly enthusiastic about ideas that run around in my head I asked Laura what she would say to other people who wanted to get started on a business or idea of their own. “If you have a business idea you’re passionate about, go for it! You don’t need a swanky workspace to start a small business; you can run it from the comfort of your own home. To be honest, starting my own business was never something I wanted to do, things change and life can be challenging; you have to adapt and carry on the best you can. Determination is all you need.”
Go and check out Laura’s social media’s or Etsy page and see her pretty pieces for yourself!
https://www.facebook.com/gemwaithelisajewellery/
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/JewelleryElisa
https://www.instagram.com/gemwaith_elisa_jewellery/
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