Two bracelets became a business - the story of MediBracelets
Hi, my name is Helena and I'm a Swedish crafter and business woman. I moved to the UK in 2002 and ended up married to a lovely Englishman. Now living and working with our daughter and two mental cats in the beautiful North Devon countryside.
I used to own a little newsagent's, and to make the downtime go faster I began making little beaded earrings and displaying them on a small cork notice board in the shop. To my surprise, people wanted to buy them! Eventually this lead to my own fashion accessories shop back in the 90's.
Since then I have worked in jewellery and fashion retail management for many years, but decided to go it alone end of 2009, to better fit my hours around my husband's work and to get a better quality of life. Nowadays I make and sell my own designs on various online sites, and also in some local shops and at occasional craft fairs and markets etc.
The brand MediBracelets was created a few years ago, after I realised there was a gap in the market where medical alerts were concerned - there were no cute or funky ones to get! I ended up making my own for my daughter (a mobile number one in case she got separated from us) and my stepson (who has Aspergers), and then decided to offer them for sale too.
My shops on Etsy are:
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/StudioVilda (printables, wall art, greeting cards)
https://www.etsy.com/se-en/shop/GruffinMuffin (t-shirts)
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/VildaDesign (handmade jewellery)
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MediBracelets (medical alert bracelets, personalised items and LGBT Fashion Jewellery)
Feel free to check them out for my sales history and feedback!