Sapphire's Story

Tray of Earrings
 

Sapphire Frills is a small handmade accessories business based in Norwich, Norfolk.

Hello, my name is Sapphire, I am the designer and maker of all things Sapphire Frills! I hand craft lightweight, statement earrings from both polymer clay, resin and acrylic. After being in business for 5 years now, I have lots of experience with these materials and have perfected my products down to a tee. We now produce a whole range of products including earrings, claw clips, hair clips, key rings, and rings which are handmade by myself and my sister Shantia. Me and my sister both work for Sapphire Frills and run the small business from my home in Mattishall, Norfolk. Each product is designed by myself with the input of my lovely customers and is handmade in small batches of around 5-15 pairs, making every single piece totally unique to the next. We also sell A4 prints, branded earring stands and claw clips which are handmade however, we have had to outsource these to be able to provide you with the very best quality within the small business world. All products have been designed in-house and have been taken from our handmade elements within our earrings. This is the very CORE of our business, so we like to be able to link everything back to our handmade designs.

 

 Why did I start Sapphire Frills you may wonder, well...

After graduating from Norwich University of Arts in 2015 with a 1:1 in Fashion, I moved to London to work on the design team at Ted Baker. London was a lonely place and I found it hard to settle. 5 months later, I moved back to Norwich and started saving to set up my own business. I always knew this was something I wanted to do! Initially, I launched a menswear brand, designing and hand-making clothes. But, after 2 years in April 2019, I found my passion and started making earrings and set up Sapphire Frills. I can honestly say I’ve never looked back.  

Originally, I started my business with my Mum and Sister in mind and at this point, it was only myself working on the business part-time. My mum and sister both have super sensitive ears and can’t wear standard statement jewellery from your usual high street shops. I felt like everyone needed to be able to wear fun earrings and I was on a mission to fix this. It took hours and hours of research, but I was never going to find the answer overnight. I finally found an earring backing material which was NICKEL FREE & HYPOALLERGENIC (Nickel being the material that people are usually allergic to). So even to this very day my standard stud earring backs and hook earrings are still made from surgical steel which is nickel free and hypoallergenic. I have also introduced a sterling silver option for those super sensitive ears but for clarity, my mum and sister can both wear my standard earring backs because they are of much higher grade than what your usual high street shop would use.

I started by selling my creations on my Etsy shop only. I landed my first Wholesale customer in February 2020 and launched my own website in September 2020. I took a leap of faith in May 2020 and quit my part time job to work on my business full time. From June 2020, my sister also started working for my small business and became full time in October 2021. I had my little girl in June 2022 and am so proud that business is still booming even working it around my toddler. I have now sold thousands of earrings via my online shops, at markets and to my 20 stockists across the UK. I have been lucky enough to have had many repeat customers who share their beautiful purchases and experiences over social media which has helped the growth of my business massively. It is the most rewarding part of my job and the reason why I began Sapphire Frills, simply to make people happy.

 If you’d like to continue to follow my journey, check out my INSTAGRAM page @SapphireFrills  or sign up to my email list which is located at the bottom of on my homepage. I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit more information about myself and my business and look forward to welcoming you on my journey, there is still so much more we are going to achieve! Lots of Love S x