The first of our small business features is the lovely Viv from Poppy Sparkles. Viv makes gorgeous jewellery and has been working her socks off to make a viable business. She's also a very lovely lady who supports other businesses!

Can you describe what your business is please?

My business is Poppy Sparkles. I make jewellery, primarily focusing on celebrating life’s special moments from birth with Swarovski crystal birthstones, Jewellery for Christening keepsake gifts, through to jewellery to wear for special occasions such as a wedding or party.

When did you start your business?

Poppy Sparkles was launched in March 2010, but I’ve been making and selling jewellery since my early teens, so I like to think that there’s experience behind my relatively young business.

What inspired you to start your business?

I have always wanted to earn a living creatively, but lacking the formal training and/or financial backing I found myself teaching fulltime. Cliched as it is, after the birth of my second child and whilst on a career break from teaching, I realised that this was a now or never chance and am working hard in the hope that I don’t have to return to fulltime teaching.

How do you organise your time?

With two young children under 3 it’s a bit of a juggle! All jewellery making has to be done by night when my little ones are in bed. During the day I try to keep up with as much as I can in between my role as Mummy, so will spend some time on twitter, update my Facebook page and respond to any emails that I can. I also blog and research my posts during the day.

By night, once I haven’t got small shouty people climbing all over me, I make jewellery and do any things that I couldn’t get done in the day.

What would you consider your most popular product?

Without a doubt my Mummy Necklaces – a necklace for mums (or grandmothers) to celebrate their children. These feature a large focal, most commonly a heart, but a star has been introduced, with Swarovski Crystal birthstone charms of their choice.

Where can people buy your product from?

The full range, including limited edition and one of a kind (OOAK) pieces are available to purchase direct from my website – www.poppysparkles.co.uk

I can also be found on Etsy, Folksy, Kiddiebase and Gift Wrapped and Gorgeous.

What special features does your store have? Do you offer custom orders?

All necklaces are offered with a choice of chain length. Many pieces come with the opportunity to customise with your choice of colour for example. Apart from the OOAK pieces which are made and ready to go to new homes, I make all pieces to order, so am happy to customise all pieces and make it just right for you, whether you want a different colour or a design tweak. For those that would love something a little more original, I offer a bespoke design service.

Since you started your business, what has been the highlight of your business so far?

The run up to Mother’s Day 2011 with its flurry of orders.  It helped me realise that I had created something that mums really did love.  Trying to establish your own business is hard and when you’re selling something that you make yourself, it can be so hard not be disheartened at the slow progress.  Mothers’s Day was shortly after my year’s anniversary of Poppy Sparkles and it was so lovely to enter my second year in business feeling so positive about my designs and ethos of celebrating life’s special moments.

What do you enjoy the most about running a business?
I love all of it.  Ok, I’ll admit it, the book-keeping is neither a favourite aspect or my strong point, so we’ll skip over that, but otherwise I really do love it all. I love designing and creating jewellery, working with sparkly crystals and other gorgeous beads. I love getting involved in social media and the marketing and PR. I love the sense of achievement that it brings.  I love knowing that people all of the UK and even overseas, are wearing my jewellery.

What you consider the most hard work when running your business?
Getting established and building the business up.  A business is not an instant success, it takes time and I’ve found it hard at times to maintain momentum and presence and not become disheartened when progress is not as fast as I’d like. It’s also tough doing it on your own – I’ve had to learn and develop so many skills. 

What’s the best feedback you’ve ever had?

There’s been a number of comments that I recall. Several mums, upon receiving their Mummy necklaces cried – in a good way, I hasten to add - and I find it so touching that my Mummy necklaces are so well received and are treasured by their owners. I’ve recently completed a commission for Bridal Jewellery, which the bride described as ‘exquisite’, but the icing on the cake was when she revealed that she loved her jewellery so much she was wearing it every day on honeymoon!

Links:

www.poppysparkles.co.uk

www.poppysparkles.folksy.com

www.poppysparkles.etsy.com

http://www.kiddiebase.co.uk/storecatalog.asp?userid=43

http://www.giftwrappedandgorgeous.co.uk/supplier_13924-products.htm

www.twitter.com/poppysparkles_

www.facebook.com/poppysparkles