Part of the ethos of buying something handmade, as opposed to mass produced, is that you are buying something individual from a named designer. So I think it's good to know a little bit about the designer you're buying from.
I began my jewellery "career" by making earrings. I only began by making them because my friend and I were looking at new ways of fundraising for our charity cycle ride across Rajasthan (India) in 2005. As as an earring addict myself, I felt that the one thing I understood was earrings and how they were put together. Luckily friends and family thought so and the sale of these at fundraising events helped swell the fundraising kitty.
After the bike ride I stored away tools and beads in a drawer and thought I might make a few things for myself from time to time. However I'd caught the beading bug and would find myself shopping for different beads and buying beading books. I decided to increase my repertoire and set about expanding my skills with lots of practice and by undertaking several jewellery courses. As a result Beadifferent Designs was born in 2007.
Why "Beadifferent Designs" - well from an early age my mother was always commenting that I would have to "be different". I still think she believes I was just being contrary but actually I just don't like being dictated to about personal choices.
While I keep an eye on fashion and market trends I do not follow them slavishly, but prefer to adapt them to my own style - who wants to be the same as everyone else?
My aim with my designs therefore is to try and offer something different from what is readily available elsewhere. My jewellery is handmade, individual and not mass produced; it is not so high fashion that it dates quickly; and it offers an affordable choice for others like myself who have our own style and cannot find what we want on the High Street.
I am a member of the SRAJD, (founded in the United States) which promotes the work of individuals who design and create their own jewellery. The SRAJD is a growing grassroots movement to raise customer awareness of the difference between those trying to sell their own creations versus middlemen trying to make a profit from cheap labour and/or assembly-line craftsmanship.
When you purchase from an SRAJD member, you are buying directly from and supporting that individual
