ART AND CREATIVITY

There is quite a symbolic awareness and representation of life, of the expression of individuality and authenticity, that your brand breaths. You are also a bit of an activist for humanity, for equal rights and fairness why are these attributes important to you as an individual and how does this reflect in your brand?

I’ve always been an altruistic empath. When it comes to issues I’ve experienced in my personal life, or that people I’m close with have gone through, I want to find a way to help and deal with it, to stop someone else going through the same experience. I guess it helps me too as it provides me with purpose and knowledge that I can actually make a difference.

I think in life too many people forget where they come from and life can be hard and unkind, especially if you’ve got mental health issues, physical health issues. It’s even more difficult, if you are from a minority - whether that’s race, religion or gender. It can be isolating and discouraging without having help, and I want to try and help in the best way I can. This advocacy led me to launch my “Hope Collection” to raise awareness and money for relevant charities. Doing this through my brand gives me a good platform and helps me connect with people across the world who are struggling with similar challenges. I also donate some of my sales income to relevant charities that need our support to continue doing their important work.

Is it important to you to create and build a legacy and why?

It is important for me to create a legacy, although I’m quite happy for my legacy to be understated. The most important thing I want to do is help pave the way for people like me. If I help only one or two people to not be defined by the way they look or being stuck in a stereotypical box, then I’ll have done my job. Working in the arts is not always easy, and being a person of colour in the UK means you’re always going to be the minority. In addition, having a chronic pain condition like I suffer with, can make things feel like an uphill battle. It’s hard to feel included, to feel welcome, to feel part of something. So I’d like my legacy to inspire people, making them feel a part of something, and making them feel heard or valued and less alone.

What does it mean to you to build a legacy?

Building a legacy for me, is creating space where I’ve helped make a difference or made an impact on someone’s life. Whether that’s from the messages I spread, the awareness I create, the conversations I have with people or the jewelry I create, it is all part of building a legacy for me. I want my legacy to be a positive impact on other people’s lives

Sustainability lies at the core of everything you do – how do you implement this with what you do?

Sustainability is really important to me, and the jewellery industry has an unethical side to it so I try to combat this in my own practice as much as possible. I work with recycled metal, re-use all my scraps within my own work, buy gemstones from eco-conscious companies who try to work with the miners, cutters and communities to make it fairer and less problematic. Finally, I try to use as many natural products instead of harsh chemicals so they can be disposed of more safely and I use bio-degradable or recyclable packaging. Lastly, I try to educate my clients and followers on the importance of sustainability and how non climate friendly fast fashion jewellery can be. The more education over low-quality jewellery the more sustainable the industry could become.

As an entrepreneur what has been your greatest challenge and what did you learn from that and overcome?

My greatest challenge has definitely been how to overcome my personal hardships whilst also battling with imposter syndrome like most creatives! Whether that’s battling with my mental health, imposter syndrome or trying to figure out how to do a physically demanding job with a chronic illness. At times, it feels too difficult and sometimes I can’t do the work I want to do due to needing rest to avoid flare-ups. A battle between what my body needs and what my mind wants is difficult and can be overwhelming at times and I’m still learning how to manage this. For now I just take each day at a time, try to be kind to myself and try to follow my heart when it comes to making jewellery.

Leave us with one of your favourite quotes

My all time favourite quote is “These are the days that must happen to you” by Walt Whitman. For me, this is the perfect quote to offer kindness to myself when I’m feeling negative about something. It reminds me that as much as I’d like an easy sailing, happy life 24/7, you have to overcome hardships and learn from your mistakes in order to truly evolve and enjoy things even more. Natalie Ifil https://www.eilatanjewellery.com