So this is my first official blog post. A lot of you may not know this but up to very recently I was working part-time with a jewellery manufacturing company in Dublin. I started Miriam Wade Jewellery back in 2014 after a lot encouragement from my boyfriend (now husband) to start designing a jewellery range. I was very nervous about this but as I was only working part-time I could spend the other days researching and designing. I did notice that there was a gap in the market for well made affordable precious metal jewellery. So using this as my brief I started designing. It took about a year to finalise my collection and I launched with three small ranges.
Fast forward to three years and my collection had expanded and I started getting enquiries for commissions. This started with friends and family looking to support me but also to have something made specially for them. I found I loved doing these commissions, working with each client to develop the design and then bring to life the idea that they had. Through recommendations I started getting more and more commissions. It was when I was planning my own wedding did I join a few wedding Facebook pages, one in particular “Help! I’m getting married” caught my eye. I saw so many brides looking to get shaped wedding rings, but couldn’t find anything that suited them in jewellery shops. This is where I came in. This particular Facebook page was part of the Wedding online magazine, so I enquired about becoming a supplier and have been a member ever since. This really opened the doors to me advertising the commission side of my business and to let people know that they could get a jewellery piece made and it wouldn’t cost them a fortune. That I could work within their budget.
This gave me the opportunity to make some really beautiful rings, pendants, and cufflinks for couples. Each design different to the next and each one as exciting as the previous. So as I got busier with both the retail collection and the commissions I found my time scarce as I was still working part-time. I couldn’t balance the two and even though I loved the job with the company, the people and the security of having a consent wage coming in, I knew that this was something needed to change. I needed to put all my efforts into my business. I’ll admit it was a tough decision, and I was nervous but I felt it was now or never. I do really miss my old colleagues as they are a great bunch, often messing, teasing but also encouraging and when I let them know I was leaving to go full time the support from them was amazing and still is!
So here I am now, full time at Miriam Wade Jewellery in the midst of a pandemic but with all this extra time, I am finally putting plans in place, designing new ranges (that I have been wanting to do for over a year but hadn’t the time) and looking forward to what will come. We have just re-design the website, focusing hugely on the commission side of the business. Showcasing some of the pieces I have made over the last few years and really highlighting this service that people may not know is available. I love what I do, what I can create and working with people to bring to life their ideas. It’s a tough time for so many at the moment but positivity is key, so that’s where I’m at. I’m excited about the future and hopefully through this blog I can can share stories, commissions I have done and exciting prospects for the future. Would love for you to check out my site and to share it with your friends and family.
Thank you for reading ( and sorry it’s a little long winded )
Mir Xx
