BUSINESS
Kent
SMALL BUSINESSES
START YOUR NEW YEAR DISCOVERING KENT ’ S SMALL BUSINESSES COURTESY OF JESS MARSHALL ...
Solvi Jewellery
Libby Berman had always had a burning creativity inside of her , and after losing her job ( thanks Covid !) she decided to take a leap of faith and indulge her passion by founding Solvi Jewellery . Teaching herself everything from the ground up , this talented entrepreneur ’ s aim was to bring high quality , affordable jewellery to the masses . Mission accomplished , Libby decided to take Solvi Jewellery in a more personal and more meaningful direction by pledging to give 10 % of all her profits to a UK-based mental health charity , and spending weeks rebranding her entire collection to become ‘… tokens of self belief , progress and power to those who feel they need it .’
When we asked Libby why her brand focuses so heavily on mental health she told us : ‘ My overall aim with Solvi is to show the world that mental health is non-negotiable , that self-care and belief should be an integral part of our interior systems - with no compromise .’ Speaking about advice for anyone opening a small business Libby explains : ‘ I was so worried about messing it up , but honestly the more mistakes you make the quicker you grow as a brand and an owner .’
www . solvijewellery . com SolviJewellery solvi . jewellery
Miss Ava ’ s Millinery
After an exciting previous life as an archaeologist and professional burlesque performer , the multitalented Sarah Blacker-Barrowman found herself wondering what next . Having had a life-long love affair with vintage fashion , she turned her hand to designing and creating costumes and , paired with the knowledge that her ancestors were milliners , a spark of creativity bloomed and Sarah embraced her newfound talent by taking the plunge and opening Miss Ava ’ s Millinery in 2014 .
© Nia Rose Photography
Seven years on , Sarah spends her days hat making , which involves everything from sketching out ideas to hand-sewing every item . When we asked Sarah what lies ahead for Miss Ava ’ s in the coming year she told us excitedly that she will be focusing on growing the bespoke side of her business , and , with plans to design a brand new collection of ready-to-wear bridal pieces . And the best thing about her job ? ‘... has to be the way a client ’ s face lights up when they see their dream headwear brought to life and they try it on for the first time .’
www . MissAvasMillinery . com missavas MissAvasMillinery missavasmillinery
Kind Regards
Conceived and founded during a 45-minute train journey to London , Kind Regards didn ’ t have a traditional start in life , but that hasn ’ t stopped business savvy siblings Samantha and Gemma Dobbin proving that sisters really are doing it for themselves ! Their mission ? To provide everyone and anyone with a hand embroidered 100 % organic white tee - perfect for that relaxed effortless look . Now over a year later , and having hit an impressive 200 sales mark , the sisters have branched out into providing the people of Kent with cosy sweatshirts and adorable kids ’ clothing .
When asked what owning a small business had taught them , the pair told us about how running their shop had made them realise how important it is to support other small and local creators . ‘ We get so excited when we get an order and we can imagine it ' s the same for others too ’. And it seems that the local love doesn ’ t stop there for these two as when we spoke about tips and tricks for budding businesses the sisters strongly advised reaching out to the community of small business owners on social media that are more than willing to lend a helping hand .
Kind Regards kindregards _ uk Etsy : www . etsy . com / uk / shop / kindregardsuk
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