Scrabbled - To I Do's

On the 31st December 2009 I became redundant from my 'safe' job within financial services. I can still remember my parents telling me to find a job somewhere safe, a so called job for life. No one foresaw the banking crisis and the fallout in the industry which followed.

Having been employed for over 14 years and loved my time working there along with all the friends I made while working. I am extremely fortunate with my position of receiving a good redundancy package and the opportunity to reflect on the direction of my life. I am not being flippant about the period, far from it. The time approaching D-day became stressful, I started a hobby of making jewellery, needing something to switch off completely at night and weekends.

As my leaving date approached I thought more about what I would do that Monday morning, when I didn't jump in my car and drive to the office. Partially because I would be handing back the keys to my company car. 

By this time I began enjoying making my jewellery and even sold a few pieces to friends and family who showed an interest in my new hobby. One evening I made a massive decision, having been employed since leaving school, the words of Dr Pepper rang through my head-"what's the worst that can happen?"

I decided to take the plunge and become a self employed person! I'm sure everyone thought I must be mad, with no experience and clearly no clue what to expect. I paid a firm to build a website, I bought tools, supplies, enrolled on courses to help me hone my skills. I discovered one of the most exciting things to experience is seeing someone go on my website, and pop an item I created into their cart and check out.

My first big break in my new role is the day when I spotted someone on TV wearing a ring I made for them. The ring , a simple scrabble tile superglued to a ring base, cheap and cheerful. My website blew up and I struggled to make them fast enough! 

How is this linked to thrift stores you ask, where do you think the scrabble tiles came from? Every one of my friends and family scoured thrift stores paying a couple of pounds for scrabble sets. and I sold them for on average £10 per ring. Not thousands of pounds but in the volume and with the minimum of effort I did a roaring trade.

I started getting leads for bespoke pieces to be designed and my designs moved away from the scrabble tiles and towards wedding jewellery and tiaras. Displaying at wedding shows, the profits became higher and the volumes lower.

Things continued to go well for my little business, I did a design for a photographer doing a photo shoot and they asked me for something to use. I created my first 'heirloom bouquet' from a mix of modern and vintage brooches which I stumbled across in my scrabble hunting days. The pictures turned out beautifully, I shared them on Facebook and a bride contacted me straight away asking to buy the piece.

Re-tracing my steps back to my thrift stores, most of the sales staff remembered me from my scrabble days. They kindly kept brooches to one side for me to make more creations. Bloggers blogged about my bouquets all over the world and I often made matching bouquets for bridesmaids, along with pieces of jewellery and tiaras or hair combs. One of my proudest moments is when a friend from Twitter, @YemiKosibah asked to use one of my bouquets at a fashion shoot for his bridal gowns. Lucia is still one of my favourite pieces.

Thrift shops will always keep a place in my heart and I can't walk past one without popping in. Yes, I still receive a thrill when I cast my eyes on a scrabble set in one, and this brings a smile to my face. If you ever need any spare scrabble tiles-as long as it's not a K or a J, give me a shout, I have hundreds spare.