Annabelle Hardie
Interview #41 - Annabelle Hardie
Welcome back to another blog post this week with yet another business. For those following along, you may have noticed many changes happening to not only the website, and also more changes to come through social media. With a fresh new website and new businesses coming your way, there is so much more to come. The goals that I have for Business Anthropi are coming more into view, even though these things take time, I am sure that they will all be appreciated.
As you may tell, I am still expanding and growing both my audience, followers and subscribers on my blog, and testing many new tactics can sometimes be hard to maintain. So in saying this, once I get to a major milestone, something special will be coming your way. To not miss out, follow me on Instagram, like my Facebook page and subscribe to this blog (don’t worry, I won’t spam!).
For this next business that I am introducing, we are going to take a trip across the sea all the way to Spain where this next business lies. Annabelle Hardie is the name of this business based in Madrid but originally from Australia. Annabelle, the owner of her business, creates and designs accessories, jewellery and bridal designs fit for anyone that makes it their own.
MEET ANNABELLE!
Annabelle started her business journey many years ago in Australia at the young age of 17 with her jewellery business called Minterbelle. It was a jewellery business she created while in high school which initially just began as a venture to make money on the side as her classmates were already buying many. Her label, however, didn’t really come into play until her vacation trip to Noosa one holiday and also a venture to India. While in Noosa, everything became clear and this is when Annabelle knew that Minterbelle was going to be successful and guide her down the path she has taken, leading her to today. After having the business running for a few years, she grew the label and went on a trip to India to source materials and outsource some manufacturing processes. With the increase in quality, Annabelle started gaining momentum and was getting contacted by local Aussie celebrities to wear her designs. Her jewellery was featured on the popular TV show, Home and Away and worn by celebrities like Kate Ritchie. After the successes Annabelle found through Minterbelle, she soon on after becoming a stylist and accessories designer for the Australian sportswear label, Lorna Jane.
What do you hope the experience is like for the customers wearing your pieces?
“I want everyone to ask them where they got their pieces from or comment about how original they are or how beautiful they are. That’s the biggest feedback I get from my customers is that wherever they go they get comments. So the intention is for them to have something that is unique and made for everyone, but when they wear it, they make it their own, they give it a whole new life and new air and style”
Even though Annabelle has always been dabbling around with designing and creating an abundance of things since she was around 11 years old, it has become more recently where she has since come back to this. Annabelle Hardie as a business was created in 2016 and she has been living in Spain for 10 years this September. With the initial plan to sell jewellery on the side to get extra money, it evolved into something bigger than she imagined. With many chances to have Spanish celebrities wearing her designs, to boutiques wanting to buy her stock, there were many times where there was a sense of doubt with a lot of trial and error.
Annabelle originally set out her journey to study fashion and design in Spain on a scholarship at a leading school where she was able to specialise in accessories. Since then, Annabelle has been able to achieve so much throughout her career, from having her pieces displayed at The Louvre during one of the first sustainable fashion week exhibit to all the little things that come from her customers. It’s an amazing feeling where Annabelle receives the recognition her pieces deserve and knowing that they give life to an outfit.
What tips would you give to someone starting their own business?
“Make sure it’s something that you love if you don’t and if you’re not beside yourself with the idea, it’s a lot of hard work. There’s going to be a lot of challenges, so if you’re not in love with the idea and want to do it every morning when you wake up, maybe think about it twice because then you’re going to need a lot of persistence, a lot of patience. That would be number 1, number 2 is to be true to yourself and don’t try and be someone you’re not, because today with social media, you can really see if someones authentic or not. I always see lots of debates that you should give up your current job to give it 100% but in the last six months, I have been very thankful that I’ve had another channel of income so maybe don’t give up your day job straight away. I guess you have to be prepared to do a lot of problem-solving and be resourceful because, at the end of the day, it’s just going to be you. I think it’s much easier these days, it’s a different world and always keep innovating, you’re never going to stop learning and you have to keep educating yourself.”
Each accessory that is hand made and handcrafted by Annabelle shares inspiration and influences from both the Spanish flamenco culture and the earthy tones of back home, here in Australia. Combining hues of reds and chorals, with the sunsets mixed with the patterns and traditional styles of Spain. Annabelle has always felt inspired by the traditional styles of the Spanish culture and the flamenco style, she sees it as an ever-evolving style of fashion with different trends and costumes coming forth each year. Learning from fashion styles, she also learns from nature, referencing floral designs and how everything is just imperfect symmetry.
Just like her accessories, they are ever-evolving, but rather than moving with trends, she finds beauty within the unique designs she crafts and allowing the customer to bring them to life.
She allows herself to use the finest of quality of materials from a range of speciality boutique shops available to her in Madrid, Annabelle adopts traditional styles, incorporating them into modern-day accessories.
I am truly amazed as I am writing about Annabelle and her business, with everything she has accomplished and what she has been able to achieve, especially through these tough times that the world is going through. I have had the pleasure of interviewing many successful business owners with countless years of experience in their respective industries. I am sure, like the many that read these posts that you all learn a lot and understand more about what it takes to run a business, sometimes this means learning from mistakes to understand where your business will stand.
Learning a lot especially from her first venture with Minterbelle, she knows the pressure that a business can have when relying on it full time, especially as a source of income. While living in Spain, Annabelle also teaches English lessons that help her get by especially during these current circumstances, it has allowed for a release in pressure from daily expenses as well as being able to make sustainable choices fitting with her ethos.
Everything that any person does in business is always a learning curve, especially when it’s something you haven’t done before, but that shouldn’t stop anyone from excelling in their industry and allowing themselves to further improve the quality of their business.
How would you describe the business in one sentence?
Slow fashion hand-made with flamenco passion
Thank you all for reading another one of my posts. I felt extremely inspired while writing this post and I hope that you will all go check out Annabelle’s Instagram page HERE and click the button below for a direct link to her website to see all of her amazing designs.
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