Pictured: Amanda Waring and son Finley
Nottingham based business Mama Jewels is taking centre stage
with its child-friendly, gorgeous jewellery for Mums.
The business was started by mum and jewellery designer Amanda
Waring whose passion for wearing stylish jewellery had to be put on
hold when she had her first child. "When my son was born my
life changed in a wonderful way. Unfortunately, at least for a
while, my love affair with jewellery was put on hold as I was
unable to wear my own designs for fear of them being broken, sucked
chewed and pulled."
Unique, fashionable and practical
After two years of research and testing, Amanda decided to
design her own collection and the result is eye-catching jewellery
designed with mum, carer and baby in mind. "I spoke to a lot of
local stylish mums and carers to find out what they were looking
for and as a result focused on creating unique designs that were
beautiful, stylish and practical. The aim is to provide jewellery
that is glamorous, great quality, strong, non-toxic, washable and
able to put in the steriliser."
Mama Jewels was launched and continues to go from strength to
strength with a collection including matching earrings, necklaces,
bracelets and personalised items. Amanda contacted EMB Ltd, the
leading enterprise and economic development company that delivers a
range of business improvement services - which includes the
regional Business Link service, for support. They arranged for an
adviser to contact Amanda to discuss business development. Amanda
explains "It's great to have an impartial expert who can act as a
sounding board and the voice of reason when I have the next 'idea'
spinning round in my head.
"EMB gave me assistance with grant applications, contacts to
improve my supply chain and access to impartial advice for business
development."
Teamwork
Amanda says that you can be the most disciplined person in the
world, but when you become self-employed, you suddenly become
responsible for everything. "It can be hard to know whether you are
making the right decisions and it is great to have the input of
someone who is totally not involved.
"Without the help of EMB and the services they provide, Mama
Jewels may not have progressed so quickly. They helped me to focus,
set targets, prioritise and produce a sound business plan."
Promising future
With her background as a jewellery designer and the research she
has carried out, Amanda knows a great deal about her product and
her market but acknowledges that she had gaps in her knowledge of
the best business contacts for Mama Jewels. By accessing EMB's
network she has found out about many relevant projects, events and
initiatives available to help boost her business.
"It's great to have someone to encourage you to push the
boundaries and work with you to identify ways to improve the
business," she adds.
"With the encouragement of EMB I recently entered the national
Mumpreneur awards, reached the finals and then could not believe
that I won a bronze award for my products. I feel as though the sky
is the limit now!"
Amanda's top tips:
• Access professional sources of support
• Choose suppliers that you can rely on and build a good
relationship with.
• Network and build contacts.
• Push the boundaries and think big.