V & Me Custom Designs
Interview #43 - V & Me Custom Designs
Good afternoon and welcome back to another week, whether it is lockdown situations for you or not, let’s hope that this week will still start off to a good start. It has been amazing to see so much growth happen through Instagram and even through my subscribers which has increased amazingly! It means so much that you all are enjoying reading these posts and wanting to see more, and more amazing businesses and what their stories are.
Within the next two weeks, hopefully, after the stress of a few uni assignments as they can be unpredictable sometimes, I will be introducing something new on my blog which I hope will be exciting and be able to drive more traffic through. To keep up to date on everything and to find out exactly when this drop will happen, make sure you are subscribed with your email and follow me on Instagram.
Now, onto this week’s blog post (also side note; what do you all think of posts being at the start of the week rather than the end, let me know) I had the pleasure of interviewing another fabulous jewellery business, selling handmade, fully customisable personalised pieces with the customer making each piece their own. V & Me Custom Designs started their journey two years ago in 2018 and have grown exponentially ever since, with a loyal customer base and amazing designs, they create jewellery to suit everyone and everything.
MEET CAT!
Cat is the owner and founder of the business you see today as V & Me Custom Designs, and with the helping hand and business partner, if you will, husband Tom, they are an unstoppable pair that work together, creating the necklaces and other jewellery pieces you can buy from her store.
Before opening up her store and Instagram page, Cat had been designing and creating jewellery for around three months because, like most businesses that are just starting out or those taking the jump, there was an extensive amount of research involved. There was a point in time, more so during the very early stages where Cat would constantly get compliments from both family and friends asking where she got the necklaces she would make. After attempts to brush off the idea of starting a business to sell these as it is a big commitment, she made the right choice and started down that path which is what led her to where her business is today.
There was a lot of time and effort that went in behind the scenes that not many get to see or be able to understand. With the help of her husband Tom who assists in cutting the chains down to size and with some assembly, it’s integral that all the research and time spent learning new skills are applied properly to ensure they achieve a high-quality product. From the time spent working out the maths and to stamping the metals and personalising every piece and order that comes through, it all works out in the end and allows for the satisfaction Cat receives when her products are complete and her customers absolutely adore them.
Do you have any favourite pieces that you have created?
“I mean I love them all because I make and love them all but my two favourites would be because they are named after my children, the Valencia one because that’s the first piece I ever made. And Valencia is one of the most sold pieces I ever made, and also the Ambrose bar of course. So those two are really special to me, but because they are the first two pieces I made, but as I said, I love them all because I make them all but they would be my two if I had to choose."
At this point in time, Cat conducts her business activities on her days off from work as she currently also works as a permanent part-time in early education at a childcare centre plus juggling mum life at the same time. But she wouldn’t change it for the world, Cat and her husband Tom have worked out a good routine to get orders done and completed either on her days off or when the kids go to bed.
Her two kids, Valencia and Ambrose were her main inspiration for not only starting V & Me Custom Designs but also creating the personalised necklaces with her kid’s initials on them to be her special item for when her kids were born. As you have read above as to what Cat’s favourite pieces are, they are the two pieces of jewellery named after her kids so throughout her business, even in the name with the V standing for Valencia, her kids are always part of her business.
The fact that Cat gets the opportunity almost every day to be able to make something special for every customer and make the jewellery come to life is amazing. She strives herself and her business on being unique and different so there is no one piece that is the same.
What tips would you give to someone starting their own business?
“Don’t quit. If you have an idea, don’t let anyone talk you out of it, don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do it or it would take ages or you don’t have the time or you’ll regret it or things like that, absolutely not, just go for it. I mean, if it doesn’t work out, you don’t lose out on anything, it’s just something that you may have had to just choose a different path. Another one I would say is always asking for help. I know its hard for some people to ask for help, I used to be one of those people, but when I realised that the business was going and it was really full-on, I couldn’t do it by myself anymore. Like I said to my husband you have to help me out, I can’t do this anymore on my own. So definitely ask for help when you need it and don’t let anyone talk you out of it, don’t let anyone make you feel like it’s a silly idea or that you can’t do it. If that’s the path you have chosen then you take it and brush it out, don’t let anyone take it away from you.”
At V & Me Custom Designs, it’s important to Cat that everyone has different pieces that they can make their own and feel like that tells their story in a simple and elegant way. It’s this mentality that allows for her business to stand out and differentiate against other jewellery goers in the market because each piece is personalised and customisable to suit each individual. With every customer that comes through and purchases from Cat, she absolutely adores and loves when they leave notes about why they are getting what they are and it makes the process and making that jewellery even more special.
What makes V & Me Custom Designs more noteworthy and remarkable is that they don’t have many pre-made pieces of jewellery, everything is custom made to order with the customer able to change anything they feel allowing them to wear their creation and spread their story. By having ready-made pieces is not part of the ethos that Cat has built up for her brand as it’s essential and important that all her pieces are different for different people.
Just like all businesses, Cat did have doubt whether or not this would be successful because there are also lots of businesses that do similar things so the constant question floating around was, what would make customers choose V & Me over the others. Initially, it was a challenge balancing work life as well as mum life and finding the time in between to make the orders and ship them out. But as soon as momentum started and business started growing, she saw the love that so many people had for what Cat was created with more and more customers coming back for return orders. So that’s what made it all worth it, the loyalty of her customer base snd the relationship that Cat creates, she allows herself to have conversations with them, making her business even more approachable. Since this, the doubt has faded and what the future holds will be a mystery to everyone.
How would you describe your business in one sentence?
Beautiful, bespoke pieces handmade to tell your story
Thank you for reading another blog post! I hope that you all learnt more about the business V & Me Custom Designs and how Cat got started and what her business is all about. Make sure to show your support through following her Instagram HERE or clicking the button below for a direct link to her website.
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