Inspiro girl: Bettyjoy

I pride myself on an ability to accesorise, but a girl cannot be princess of all things prettilicious without access to the sweetest, cute-as-a-button items of gorgeousness, which is why I totes LOVE www.Bettyjoy.co.uk - home to some of the most dee-lish treats a girl could ask for.

Bettyjoy.

The stuff of dreams.

Fact.

Bettyjoy – What’s with the name?
Bettyjoy is named after my two Grandma’s Betty and Joy. I love the name, I think it sounds quite vintagey and retro too.

Tell us five things about the girl behind the label…
1. My name is Lucia was named after St Lucia where my parents used to live (bit like posh n becks kids!!), Im 27, live up North with my boyfriend in our little house. I spend my days working in a 9-5 job and my evenings running my business- Bettyjoy.
2. I used to be a fashion designer for high street multiples and designed best selling ranges for Principles and Tammy Girl, but I have had some awful jobs too - including picking peppers in holland, working night shifts in a lettuce factory, working in a hospital typing up details of peoples bowel movements (- did you know there is area in your body called the Pouch of Douglas?!) and working in McDonalds so Ive done my fair share of crappy jobs!
3. Bit random but I once ate dog for breakfast - never again!
4. I’m only 5′10 and can often be seen scaling the shelves of supermarkets
5. I used to be obsessed with Vanilla Ice ( a long long time ago)

How did the website/bettyjoy concept go from an idea in your head to a make-it-real business?
I’ve always wanted to set up my own business - both of my parents had done it so I’ve seen first hand that it takes a lot of time and hard work.

I started saving a tiny bit each week a few years ago to help towards making my own business a reality and had a few bad business ideas along the way before I came up with this one. I knew as soon as I cam up with the idea and talked it over with my boyfriend that that’s what I wanted to do.

It all came together quickly in about 6 months total once I found designers who made the items and told them about my idea - most were very positive and wanted to be involved - a few thought I was a lowlife internet-scammer trying to steal all their wares but on the whole getting the stock was easy.

My boyfriend is a graphic designer and he was roped in to design the site and a local company did the techno stuff and got it online. I was determined not to borrow any money from banks, family etc and used all my savings to make it work which meant that a few things were done on a budget and not quite how I would have done them if money was no object-for example I would have done a lot more marketing to raise awareness of the site.

It wasn’t all plain sailing - There were so many hiccups with the site before it went live and we spent such long hours on it as I was also working full time. A lot of tears were shed when I felt like it was all going wrong, but the day I opened by virtual doors it was all worth while.

What was the first product you ever made and how did you sell it?
I started young! - When I was about 7, I made a (rather deformed) man out of plasticine and sold him in my mum’s shop.

What and who inspires you?
Gosh that list could go on forever.
Hmmm… My family who are all very hardworkers - both my parents have their own businesses, the thousands of blogs which feature creative crafts and design like bloesem, décor8, design sponge, modish, style will save us, elle decoration, travelling, charity shops/, flickr, David Bray - an amazing artist, arhitecture – I’m obsessed with flat pack compact homes at the moment, property renovation programmes, nature programmes, new music, films, Japanese Kawaii, I think having a good sense of humour keeps you inspired too - so arrested development and Peep Show, magma bookshop, fabric shops, Claire Coles, Spitalfields Market, Upmarket and hundreds more things that I can’t think of this second…

What do you love most about the whole creator-girl process?
I love being able to be given a scrap of fabric, a bit of old thread and a button or ribbon and turn it into something really pretty - basically being able to make something out of nothing.

Tell us about your product range, what you got to offer? What are your current favourite items?
Everything in the store is handmade so all the items are unique – making them really special gifts, they are all crafted with love and there isn’t a whiff of sweat shop about any of our items.

At Bettyjoy we have more classic jewellery and bags which would make great presents for your mum or older sis and then there are things which are very fashionable at the moment and quite 80’s retro rave style like the ohgoshmassacre patches or swank;s lizard and lego earrings which would make perfect presents for a friend or little sis. Everything is very colorful as I love things to be vibrant and bright and fun. We sell bags, purses, jewellery, plush toys, homewares and accessories.

Everything in the store is handmade so there are all unique - making them really special gifts and there isnt a whiff of sweat shop about any of our items.

I was asked recently what were my favourite products and its really hard as I like all of the products I sell and it changes from day to day - I like the custom made tote bags,purses and pins - the ice creams are so cute, I love the Monica Burnett Headbands which are really bright and fun - I have kept one of them as I couldn’t bear to sell it. I love the cutesypoo skunks too - they are really fun and look so original - I know I could never make something like that.

What’s the secret to your success?
Work hard and be prepared to make sacrifices in terms of your social life and spending time with your friends and family which is sometimes hard – but above all you have to be passionate about what you do, you have to want it to work and have an eye for a good product.

What’s a typical day in the life of you, Lucia…
Well, as I still work full time in my rather dull ‘pay the bills’ day job it
is pretty uninteresting during the week so I will tell you about my weekends instead…
I get up around 10am on a Saturday - although its sometimes earlier if the local birds have their way - they are very noisy and we have a bluetit which has made his home in our bedroom wall! I make my boyrfiend a juice and have a cup of tea and a lot of biscuits while I check my emails, then I get ready – it’s nice not to have to rush like I do in the week.

Then I normally have packages which need to be collected or send at the post office so I’m a bit of a regular there on a Saturday. After doing my postie chores I normally take a leisurely walk around the area I live as they have loads of charity shops which are full of fantastic goodies - I got a gorgeous old fashioned alarm clock this weekend which is beautiful- but it has become a bit of a problem as it keeps going off in the middle of the night and we can’t work out how to stop it!!

My boyfriend despairs of me when I arrive home laden down with armfuls of junk from the charity shops each Saturday.

I work for a few hours on the website. I always get side tracked on Etsy, Flickr or various blogs looking at new items. Then me and my boyfriend go for a coffee or a walk and sometimes a bit of a picnic - we live in a nice area and there’s lots of birds and we are within walking distance of the countryside, I love being surrounded by nature - a bit of a country bumpkin at heart. Then it’s either the pub which always tends to turn into a bit of an all-nighter or when Im trying to be good its back home do a bit of sewing while we watch a film and I come up with more scatterbrained ideas for new things to make - my poor long-suffering boyfriend is normally surrounded by scraps of felt and magazine cuttings by the end of the night!

A Bettyjoy soundtrack - what does it sound like?
My taste in music is very silly, I love all sorts, I love total opposites - so it’d be a bit like what’s on my i-shuffle so there would be a real eclectic mix - Blanket by Imogen Heap, All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix, Ms Fat Booty by Mos Def, Thugged Out B**ch by Dillinga, Ladies of Spain by Bad Company, then Will Oldham, Air, The Shins and Tom Vek thrown in for good measure.

What’s next in the world of Bettyjoy?
We are off to Japan for 3 weeks in a couple of months so that will be a well-earned break and a chance to get loads of new ideas (and max out my overdraft) - then once we are back, it’s back to developing Bettyjoy and hopefully one day in the hopefully not too far off future a real life store - which is my dream.

Have you any advice for any wannabee jewellery makers/business ladies out there?
Go for it! Its very hard work but it is definitely worth it. You have to be prepared to make sacrifices financially - unless you are lucky to have someone support you financially, you can kiss goodbye to meals out, new clothes - unless you make your own, as pretty much all the money you make goes into the business. You have to be prepared to spend long hours in front of a computer (when you want to be with your friends and boyfriends/girlfriends) doing the boring admin stuff - I have nightmares about my spreadsheets!! But the feeling of having struck out on your own is worth all that.

There are lots of websites which offer great advice and remember there are loads of people out there trying to do the same thing - you aren’t on your own. I went to visit the Business Link who helped me with my taxes and The Switchboards - an invaluable online forum - there are hundreds of people with small creative businesses on there who benefit from each others input.

Try Etsy.com if you want to try selling your handmade items but aren’t ready for the expense of opening your own shop.

Go visit NOW! www.bettyjoy.co.uk