My Jewellery Making Journey
First and foremost I'm a Mother and Wife, I have a fabulous family and all of this revolves around and for them.
Originally a freelance hairdresser, I couldn’t go back to work after the birth of my second child in 2013, due to a serious injury in my left arm. Leaving me unable to do the job I loved. During my recovery I discovered jewellery making and it gave me the creative part of my life back. Additionally, around 9 years ago I studied gemstones and crystal healing, so using my already existing knowledge in my current jewellery pieces is an obvious progression.
Over the last 4 years, I have taken my hobby towards what it is now, an independent small business.
In the beginning, I bought myself an amethyst nugget bundle, a strand of aquamarine faceted wheels, findings and a threading pack. All I made was stretchy bracelets but gradually ordering more strands and tools, I found myself exploring more mediums of jewellery making day by day. I use many different materials in my designs, mainly genuine gemstones as I spend a lot of time sourcing only the best for my business. I have a love for wire work and seed beading mediums, I’m also known for incorporating genuine Swarovski elements in my seed bead medium work.
I first opened my Etsy shop, Giraffe Jewellery Box, in which I photographed and uploaded my most loved items that I wanted to sell. The name Giraffe Jewellery box came from my love of the animals and also the first prop I used to photograph my jewellery was a wooden Giraffe neck. I used marketing strategies and the power of social media to promote my shop, and after a few weeks, my items were appearing on the first pages of Etsy searches and in other sellers Etsy Treasuries. Gaining sales wasn’t something that I expected to happen overnight, but with my own time and effort sales started to come and my little business was underway.
The Next Stage
2 and a half years ago I was featured in 'Let's Make Jewellery' magazine, This was a feature about my discovery of the Jewellery making channel Jewellery Maker TV and from that creating my Etsy business Giraffe Jewellery Box. I also attended Jewellery Maker TV's customer garden party, I got to speak to the jewellery maker team and was encourage to apply for the show. I felt confident in my designs and creative pieces so I took the plunge and applied to become a Guest Designer on the show. My application was successful, and I had my very first Jewellery Maker show on 24th August 2016. I now have regular shows on the channel showcasing the company’s beautiful kits and products. I have my show dates listed under the events menu so please take a look.
I have recently changed the name of my Etsy shop and social media pages. They all now use my own name, Katie Parker Jewellery.
My jewellery is also available to purchase in store at Trinity Complementary Therapies in Wakefield. The link to my shop is in the menu at the top of these page.
2021
Fast forward to 2021.... For most of us, 2020 changed so much. For me it has changed my business in ways I never thought it would. In April 2020 I started a YouTube Channel of my own, this has now grown and I have currently over 8K subscribers. In 2021, I really want to evelope this further.
I also took my Jewellery Making Workshops online via Zoom. I love this way of learning and I will be continuing using Zoom for worshops in the future too as well as eventually getting back to real world workshops too.
Katie Parker Jewellery
