Sorrell Jewels in Selfridges
This Christmas, Sorrell Jewels was invited to take part in a Pop Up hosted by A South London Makers Market in SELFRIDGES! Over four days during the last weekend in November, I appeared alongside 12 other small businesses in the Selfridges accessories hall as part of this fantastic opportunity.
Throughout 2022, Sorrell Jewels has continued to grow and it became my full time job in February (well full time for someone with a chronic illness). I’ve taken part in so many amazing events and sold hundreds of vintage jewels via my website. To be offered the chance to sell in Selfridges was honestly a dream come true and the perfect way to end a fantastic year for my small business.
I’m so proud to have been part of the third Selfridges Pop Up the @asouthlondonmakersmarket girls have run. Then to also be one of the first two vintage brands to be invited to take part, alongside the amazing vintage homeware brand @foxberryvintage. It has been the biggest step and opportunity I’ve taken and it was an absolute honour to take part.
Before I dive into sharing my experience, I want to say the biggest thank you to each and every one of you who has supported Sorrell Jewels so far. I also want to say thank you to those who braved the Christmas shoppers on Oxford Street to come and say hi. There were so many familiar faces supporting and it was lovely to meet so many more!
It’s safe to say this Pop Up has been the biggest and best opportunity for Sorrell Jewels ever. Back in August, when I began working on the Selfridges Pop Up and what Christmas was going to look like for Sorrell Jewels, there was one word on my mind, GOLD! Having dabbled in gold last Christmas, I knew that the Selfridges event meant it was time to fully invest myself into expanding into golden jewels.
Working with and sourcing gold jewels has been an absolute journey and a real learning curve. It has felt like a massive step up for Sorrell Jewels and one that I have been wanting to take for ages, because of this amazing opportunity coming along and I knew it was about time to create the first all gold Sorrell Jewels ring box, and what could be better than at Christmas time?
Over the three months leading up to Selfridges, I was busy treasure hunting and curating a selection of the most eye catching, unique and of course preloved rings just in time for your Christmas shopping. This collection has everything you guys love most about Sorrell Jewels, from signets, rainbow colours, hearts, gemstones, animals and pretty much anything in between. With a range of styles, sizes and stones there truly is a magical jewel just as unique as you and those you love.
Behind the scenes, I spent lots of time working on and planning my display. It has been so much fun getting more creative and making a set up for Sorrell Jewels in a shop, rather than my usual market stalls. I had lots of fun spray painting, sourced vintage jewellery display pieces and experimented with my branding.
Our selfridges experience started late on Wednesday night when we headed into the store at 10:30 to set up our stalls. Everyone was very nervous and excited but all our displays began to take shape and looked amazing. It was so much fun and exciting to see behind the scenes of one of the biggest department stores in London. We then spent four full days from Thursday - Sunday in store all day, meeting customers and making lots of sales.
Spending time with the most amazing bunch of small biz babes in the jewellery and vintage corner was the best experience and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I was also blessed to be joined by lots of my family to support me throughout, and I am beyond grateful to my parents and my cousin for allowing me to take part whilst helping me to manage a chronic illness. Although I've needed a lot of time off to recover it wouldn't have been possible in the first place for Sorrell Jewels to take part without them.
Throughout the four days, I also offered for the first time a free ring sizing service. This went down a treat, and I will be continuing this into 2023 at future markets and pop ups.
Sitting down and writing this blog post just a week after taking part, it has allowed me to reflect and really appreciate how amazing and special the Selfridges Pop Up has been for Sorrell Jewels. It was honestly the best experience and learning curve and it makes me very excited for the future of my small business.
Thank you so much to each and every customer that has supported Sorrell Jewels this year. I can’t wait to see what the future holds.
Make sure you head over to my Instagram and Tik Tok to follow along as I share even more content from the Selfridges Pop Up! Don’t forget you can shop all of the Christmas jewels over on my shop right now.