From a 7-figure gift & jewellery brand to total freedom

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How I build my brand

School was meant to prepare me for life; but all it really prepared me for was knowing I didn’t fit the mould.
I was that little kid who struggled massively academically, who lived in a daydream instead of the lessons, and who seemed to attract bullies like wasps to a pickle sandwich. But give me a sketchbook, a camera, or anything remotely creative, and suddenly the world made total sense.

At 15, I thought I’d found my calling in my GCSE graphic design class. I loved it. My design teacher (Mr Greenwood) put an end to that when he laughed in my face. He told me “You’ll never make it as a graphic designer Sarah” (Note to adults: if you ever feel tempted to crush a teenager’s dream, know it stays with them.) I quietly walked away devastated and totally crushed, but with a stubborn fire in my belly. That fire drove me to Falmouth School of Art at 17 years old, by the skin of my teeth, and surrounded by people so bloody talented they made me feel like a complete numpty. But I fought to stay, had the time of my life and worked harder than I thought was even possible.

At 21, just before finishing art college our graphic design course exhibited at the prestigious ‘New Designers Show’ in Islington, London. An exhibition where all the top design firms would be coming to see all the fresh little students and their work 😬. I was truly terrified.

From that exhibition I was incredibly lucky to land myself my dream graphic design job in London after graduation – My foot was well and truly on the first step of the ladder. Ok I couldn’t afford to eat as I was being paid pittance, but, I would be living the dream… Take that, Mr Greenwood!

London’s calling

For the next 12 years (with little food 😯) I worked in some of the top design agencies in London. It was thrilling, relentless, exhausting, and life-shaping. With my little ADHD label hidden in my Levi’s I just hyper-focused on design and honing my skills whilst working with some of the top brands from around the world.

Spare room start up

By 33, pregnant with my son, I decided I’d had enough of commuting, bosses and a male dominated industry. So this is when my little brand began www.OhSoCherished.co.uk, my very own gift and jewellery brand – designing the products and selling them online. Over the next 18 years, I went from a spare room start up to a 7-figure business. I loved every single minute of it.

By 2023 the dream was fading ever so slightly and it had lost its lustre. It was bloody hard work, like running on a hamster wheel but you couldn’t get off for air. I had no time for family, let alone friends and what was a holiday! Worse still, I didn’t see my son anywhere near as much as I had hoped over those years.

Success that looks perfect on paper doesn’t always feel perfect in practice. Don’t get me wrong, it was a LOT of fun. But after nearly 20 years I felt like I had done my time! I needed something different a new challenge. I chose to change course. To downsize Oh So Cherished. Go solo. And start to focus on me and what I really wanted…which was a huge desire for freedom.

That’s where Jewel & I comes in

This isn’t a glossy façade or recycled “10 tips” blog. It’s the real, lived journey of turning a passion for jewellery, and my own jewellery brand www.OhSoCherished.co.uk, design, photography and business into a place where I can share all my experience that I’ve learnt over the years and along the way build a location-free digital blog business. One I can run between the Isle of Wight and Australia. One that hopefully proves creativity can give you true freedom in life.

While this is my story, my hope is that it sparks something in you. A desire to start your very own jewelry brand, chase that dream job too, and carve out your own version of freedom.