When people ask me what made me want to be a jeweller, my first instinct is to flippantly say, “Oh, I’ve always been creative.” But if I’m honest, it’s deeper than that.
It comes from an inbuilt desire, an innate need, really, to have something that no one can take away from me. A skill that is mine alone. A way of providing for myself if I ever needed to.
I think this independence comes from my Nana, my mum’s mum. Unfortunately, I didn't know the young, beautiful, vibrant lady in the stories; I knew a different lady entirely. But after she passed away 16 years ago, stories surfaced about the strong, fearless businesswoman she once was.
In 1961, in her 30s and with four children, she ran her own successful clothing boutique in Manchester called Ruth’s Fashions, all while running a household and being what society then expected of a “good wife.” She wrote her own cheques, built an impeccable reputation for credit, and carried herself with a sense of independence that was rare for women of her time. I’d like to think she passed some of that determination down to me.
But life didn’t go according to plan. Her beloved shop was compulsorily purchased, and they were shipped off to a newly built council house on the outskirts of Manchester, away from the slums. For a while, it felt like a step forward. But for my strong-willed, independent Nana, it was a backward step. She no longer had her own income or autonomy.
I still remember her telling me how humiliating it was to need my grandad’s signature to buy a washing machine, when just years before she had been signing her own cheques for her own business. That frustration hardened into bitterness over time, and as an adult, I understand why. My grandad was a wonderful man, careful, stable, and secure. But he wasn’t a dreamer or a risk-taker. That was Nana, and her wings had been clipped.
I think some of my motivation, is to make Nana proud.
She passed away just as I was finishing my jewellery training, but knowing her, she’s looking down now, smiling, taking all the credit, and telling anyone who will listen:
“She gets that from me.”