Carrying on our series, this week, we had a chat with Leanne, owner of handmade jewellery company Rum & Resin.
What inspired you to start Rum & Resin?
I was inspired to start Rum & Resin as a creative outlet outside of my academic life as a final year English Literature and History student. I’ve always enjoyed making things that bring happiness to others. And knowing that I personally feel amazing when I have a pair of real statement earrings on, I launched Rum & Resin to try and bring that feeling to others too.
What are your plans for Rum & Resin - do you plan to scale the business?
I would love to run an earring empire one day, but at present my idea of success is just about getting Rum & Resin out there and known while bringing a bit of joy to others with my creations. I plan on selling in some craft markets in the run up to the festive season and I’m currently taking part in a virtual Halloween market which has been great fun, I feel like from here things will all just evolve organically and I’ll happily go with the flow!
How long have you been making jewellery?
I’ve only been making resin jewellery for a few months, I jumped straight in at the deep end with it all. But jewellery making using other materials is something I’ve done for a long time, I can remember going on holiday when I was 13 and one of the highlights of the entire trip was the bead shop in the local market and spending hours there making jewellery to take home for my Grandmas.
What is your favourite style and colour to make?
I love experimenting so I hugely enjoy custom orders where I have the opportunity to make something different. I’ve also recently been trialling using dried flowers in my pieces and had some really stunning results. But true to form my firm favourites are definitely the celestial glitter moon earrings, they’re everything I love - gold, silver, holographic, iridescent, moons, stars and a whole lot of sparkle!
Do you have any advice for people wanting to start their own creative business?
My advice would be to not doubt yourself or your products and just get yourself out there. It doesn’t matter what you are making there is always going to be someone out there who loves what you do and a market for your makes. It’s also well worth networking with other creatives, fellow small business owners know what you are experiencing and can offer moral support, point you in the direction of upcoming events that your business can take part in and help enormously with your social media presence which can play a vital part in business success.
What inspires you when it comes to designing earrings?
I’m a huge fan of vintage and retro fashions so a lot of my designs remind me of something that wouldn’t feel out of place in an 80s music video. Sometimes my starting point will be an element I want to include in the design such as a particular glitter. I’ll make up various styles of earring using it alongside other colours and elements and determine what works well together from that point.
I’m always sure that my designs are something I would happily wear myself so often my own sense of style is represented in my designs, I feel very fortunate that other people like it too!
Which pair of earrings do you think best represents you?
While I mentioned before that the celestial glitter moons are my favourite earring style, I don’t feel like they represent me all too well. I think the Halloween moons are much more my personality, because there is still all of the sparkle but a touch of spookiness too!
Shop Rum & Resin earrings: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/rumandresinco/
Follow Rum & Resin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rum.and.resin/