Meet the Maker
I’m Carol, the Founder of One Of A Kind Club, an independent brand of handcrafted and curated feel-good jewellery. I aim to boost confidence and bring colour to people's lives with my contemporary and fun statement pieces, celebrating the individuality of my wonderful and unique customers.
What is One of a Kind Club really about?
There's so much freedom in being yourself. We can follow our own paths and decide for ourselves what fashion means to us.
I have been in very competitive environments all through my career. One common theme I've come across is that some of the greatest women don't have the confidence they deserve. I want to foster a feeling of creativity and expression to move women towards a more positive view of themselves.
I love creating vivid shapes and bold colours to give the amazing people I know a way to express their personality and style. To help them to be themselves but with extra confidence. Like putting on your brightest lipstick - with jewellery instead.
Is jewellery life changing? No. But a pop of colour in your day can be powerful. Wearing something that represents you, makes you laugh or feel good can change how you start your day. And that feeling can be infectious when you interact with others.
My journey to One of a Kind Club and owning my own business
I have always made jewellery for fun, but I became more dedicated when I couldn't find things that I wanted to wear.
I spent 20 years in advertising and being a slightly larger person, I never felt much like I ‘fitted in’. I decided I might as well stand out a little bit more and began making unique jewellery. It wasn’t long before people were asking where I got it from.
Jewellery became my business much later though.
Having children changed life, as it does for many, and I struggled with the long working week. I loved what I did, but it wasn’t conducive to family life. During my second pregnancy, I miscarried which devastating for me and my husband, and we were told that I had a low chance of having another baby afterwards.
After the grief, I threw myself back into what I did best - my work. Being creative and busy helped me to escape from what we’d been through.
However there was a wonderful turning point when by surprise I fell pregnant again. It felt like such a gift and I started to rethink our lives. Had I really gone through all this to have two gorgeous babies and spend 60 hours a week working for someone else?
It was the middle of the night when I was feeding my daughter. I was looking at her face and I realised that I had to change our future. I needed the freedom to work for myself, follow a new path and get a more balanced life.
That’s how One Of A Kind Club began.
What's the 'club' about?
I could have launched the brand without a ‘club’ but this element is about being part of a group of women who believe in themselves. Also, I love meeting people, and have always been a natural mentor and coach. So I decided to combine this passion to speak with other business women about their experiences and reach those wonderful people who need to hear those stories.
Being part of the Norfolk creative community
A large part of One of a Kind Club is being part of the collaborative and creative small business community - we are cheerleaders of each other, because we recognise we are all different enough to not be competitive, and we are stronger together.
It’s being fan of the scene and supporting other creatives that led me to launching a collaboration range with a number of local artists. The aim is to bring little pieces of art to my customers from the creators that I love. I think collaboration is so important, to be part of the wider creative community, sharing space and helping to inspire and innovate each other.
Bespoke items: there's more than what you see
I sometimes get asked if I make bespoke items, and the answer is yes! I do charge more for them, because creating something completely tailor made takes a lot of time and creativity. But I do take briefs from clients, and if you would like to discuss an idea with me, I’d love to hear from you.