Featured Seller – Mia Belle Jewellery

Hello! This week my Featured Seller is the very fantastic Belinda from Mia Belle Jewellery. She creates simple, elegant and affordable pieces and her shop is crammed full of Swarovski crystal and gemstones in all kinds of beautiful colours. There really is something for everyone!

Mia Belle Jewellery

Introduce yourself…

Hi, I’m Belinda, wife to Simon & mother to Josh, nine, I’m originally from Australia and have been living in the UK for seven years.

How did it all start?

General crafting and making started when I was about ten years old. I would make fabric lavender sachets and sell them on consignment at a local craft & gift shop. My mother has always been a crafty person so it just rubbed off on me and crafting was something we always did. My dad & brother just got used to the mess we’d make. In my teens my mother became involved in millinery and bridal wear which is where my love of Swarovski crystals comes from. Unfortunately crafting and making took a backseat to work, marriage & travel. It was only about nine years ago after my son was born that I revisited jewellery making as a creative outlet.

Have you always sold online?

I’ve moved and travelled a bit so when I started back into jewellery making nine years ago I was living in Australia and was selling online there. I’ve been selling online in the UK for the past six years on and off. Only in the past 18 months have I started working on it more as a business than a hobby and with fabulous marketplaces like Coriandr it gives us designer / makers the perfect outlet to sell from. I have also sold at craft fairs but they can be a bit hit and miss and I am a fair weather maker, so it has to be an indoor event for me. I’m next attending the Handm@de Oxford fair on Nov 29th which I’m really looking forward to, just to get out and meet some fellow crafters will be great.

What inspires you?

That’s quite a broad question. Life inspires me. I like to think of myself as a realistic optimist with absolute determination. I always find the silver lining in every situation so you can’t help but be inspired by even the little things. In terms of my jewellery, supply shopping inspires me. I’m not into shoe shopping, give me bead and supply shopping any day. I love seeing new beads, colours, shapes and textures, getting new supplies back to the studio and creating something. Some things don’t work out first time, it’s trial and error from seeing a design in your mind and making into a wearable piece.

If you had to pick a favourite from all your creations, what would it be?

Whilst I love colour to look at and work with I wear more earthy tones so I would have to say my favourite item would be Silver Floating Crystal Necklace, it’s made from Silver Shade Swarovski rondelles which have a special coating that make them sparkle more than plain crystals, I just think it’s classy and glitzy without being too OTT.

What music is playing in the background right now?

I’m going to seem boring but I don’t listen to music much at home or while working probably because my mind is always ticking and thinking of new things. I usually listen to music most when I drive and I have a fairly diverse range of favourites, mostly older styles and some Australian bands as well. It usually goes with my mood so I can take a bit of pop sometimes and rock other. Anything from Manic Street Preachers, Girls Aloud, Faithless to old Aussie bands like Baby Animals and Powderfinger.

Do you have a favourite seller or item on Coriandr at the moment?

OMG, that’s like saying you can only have one chocolate from a large box…mmmm, I have been lucky enough to see a few Coriandr designers work whilst recently organising a promotion giveaway via Shop Handmade UK. I have to say Creativesque has the most gorgeous gift tags that are so professionally made and packaged. I also love Mrs Toad Designs Forget-me-not brooch, the detail in it was amazing.

What does the future hold?

Oh now to my big to do list. I’m currently working on my own website, and over the next 6-12 months would like to expand to wholesaling. I also have started importing jewellery supplies like brass charms, swallows & dragonflies so this is another side to my business that I’m working on. In addition to Mia Belle Jewellery I also run Shop Handmade UK which is a directory to promote UK designers, crafters & makers. I’ve quite a few promotional ideas for the site to help promote handmade goods in the UK so between the three sites I will be quite busy.

If you could have a new feature on Coriandr, what would it be?

I’d really like to be able to rearrange my shop products and the images within each listing and it would be great to be able to search by seller ID’s. I know some of these are being worked on so I’m looking forward to these & other new features. Sorry that’s three new features!

Thank you Belinda, good luck with your Coriandr shop and all of those promotional ideas you have up your sleeve! For more information on any of the featured products, just click the images above for a direct link to the Mia Belle Jewellery shop.

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