So as you all know I love to support local and started a segment where we could share, learn and inspire! It is so important to support local and share your findings with others.
During lock down, we are going to do a whole lot of these to highlight these businesses – many of which are taking HUGE strain during this time – and shed some awareness and love to all.
I discovered the divine local brand, Lotti Jewellery through a post by our favourite personal shopper, Shopology Girl! If you are in Joburg, you can pop to Kamers at Hyde Park and see these beauties in the flesh. Their jewellery is modern and unique, sophisticated and made from the highest quality materials. Please support this local brand!
Please check out their website to shop online or contact them directly for commissioned pieces. And please don’t forget to give them a follow on Instagram and Facebook! They would appreciate the love. They are also members of the Jewellery Council of South Africa.
We chatted to the lovely Tracey from Lotti Jewellery and she had this to say to us!
Tell us a little bit about your business.
We create jewellery collections inspired by artists, designers and scientists for thoughtful individuals wanting to enhance their natural beauty and style. We also design and make custom-made pieces of jewellery for clients that integrate their inspirations and needs into keepsakes that can be worn for years to come.
Our jewellery is made combining age-old techniques with current technologies and the precious with the non-precious, creating pieces that are imbued with joy, significance and connection.
What are the top 3 learnings you have had to find out the hard way since starting your own business?
• To first test products on the market first before making loads of stock
• To think strategically about criticism or rejection – not take it personally
• To find workable systems and methods for various operations, to be consistent and willing to pivot!
Where do you see your business in 5 years?
I would like to be consistently creating new collections, stocking various stockists in South Africa as well some abroad and for the studio to have a small compliment of makers who are in the process of learning, creating and paving the way forward for future generations of contemporary jewellers in South Africa.
What is your advice to individuals out there wanting to start their own businesses but are too scared?
Start – start on the side – just start. Smalls steps add up and before you know, you will have covered quite some distance. Doing it like this, also gives you a chance to grow organically and the time to figure out what works and what does not.
Tell us 2 things that are the BEST part about owning your own business and make it all worth while?
• The freedom to create something that has meaning and significance
• Adorning people with my creations
How has lock down affected you and your business?
We had just started getting our LOLA Collection out into the market when lockdown happened, so it put the breaks on at our new stockists as well as the new exhibitions we were planning to introduce it to this year. There was a positive outcome, in that it I used the downtime to research and do some online courses. It gave me a chance to consolidate and get systems in place as well as to do those things that I was battling to get to.
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