Six Years of blóma: A Handmade Jewellery Journey Rooted in Craft, Creativity, and Slow Fashion
A note for 6 years!
I never meant to start a business.
In 2019, I was living at my parents house, burnt out after uni and completely disheartened by the job hunt. I’d let go of all my creative practices that once grounded me.
It was my therapist who gently suggested I find something… anything, to bring that spark back.
So off I went to Hobbycraft, spent £20 on beads, and came home with no plan. No Pinterest boards. No strategy. Just a quiet urge to make something with my hands.
I sat on my bed for hours, threading earrings together, beaded drops, wire links, simple shapes. It was small and meditative, and exactly what I needed.
At first, I gave everything away, little gifts for friends and family. Then my friend Jenni said, “You should sell these.” I made a Depop account that evening I had nothing to lose after all! I used the name of my graduate collection: blóma. It means flower in Icelandic, and it’s been at the centre of everything I make ever since. I love that I’ve carried that name with me now for nearly a decade its a part of me and I a part of it
Within an hour, they sold. I panicked, what do I post them in?! Off I scuttled to B&M, grabbed some shiny pink Jiffy bags and tissue paper, and just like that, I’d started an independent jewellery brand…..well not that I knew it yet.
From Bedroom Floor to home studio
What began as a small creative outlet has grown into something I’m incredibly proud of. From a pile of beads on my duvet to six years of shows, pop ups, studio nights, and orders packed with shaky hands and a full heart, blóma has been with me through it all.
Some of my favourite moments? Lending pieces to Rixo for their London Fashion Week show at the Barbican roof garden was completely surreal. But so was my very first market with Ima in Manchester; standing alongside women I’d long admired, like Natasha from Roop and Faye from Evie Joynes. That day made me feel like maybe, just maybe, I belonged in the room too.
It still stuns me that people choose to wear blóma. That they wear it on days that matter. A few very special people have even worn it on their wedding day and I honestly don’t think anything will ever top that.
Learning to Grow Gently
Of course, it hasn’t all been dreamy. December 2023 nearly broke me. It was my busiest month ever and also the hardest on my mental health. Burnout doesn’t care how well you’re doing. It taught me the hard way that success doesn’t mean much if it comes at the cost of your wellbeing.
These days, I think I’ve found more balance. My relationship with blóma has changed, in the beginning, it was all-consuming which to be fair is what I needed it to be at the time. But now I want it to grow with me, not against me. I want to feel more confident in what I do, stop overthinking, and just go for it more often. I want this to be my year I want to rise with bloom and I’m going to make it happen!
Looking Ahead
Six years in, I’m just proud. Every order, every DM, every kind review it all matters. A customer recently sent me the sweetest handwritten note with a repair request, and it arrived on one of those days, the kind that makes you question everything. It snapped me right out of it.
That’s what this brand does for me. It brings me back to myself. Because that’s what blóma is; it’s me.
So if you’ve ever worn blóma, shared it with a friend, left a kind word, or simply watched from the sidelines; thank you. You’ve helped shape this little business into something real and most importantly you’ve supported Me and I can’t thank you enough for that!
Here’s to year seven, let’s see what it brings!
Georgia xxx
