Emma's Journal: Confessions of a Business Owner, entry #1

Today marks the beginning of something that feels very strange to me; talking about the ins and outs of running a business, to you, my customers. Recently, another small jewellery business got in touch asking for help after seeing our Instagram post that spoke about our 2021 round up, asking about something I mentioned. 

It made me think - wouldn’t our lives be so much easier if we just shared what it is actually like to run a business? The ups and the downs, the useful resources we discover online and the constant feeling of pure joy at knowing someone is actually willing to spend their hard earned cash on something this team has dreamed up and made? Disclaimer - I don’t pretend to be a good writer at all, that’s my sister’s realm of expertise so please only read on if you are interested in learning how it all started!

I suppose seeing as this is my very first journal entry (I’ll be doing these monthly), it’s fitting that I should go into how it all started. It would be interesting if anyone else has had a similar experience? Anyway. January 2022 is the 7th birthday of Wild Fawn and it’s been an amazing journey, and one I could never have predicted. It started as a hobby because I couldn’t afford some jewellery I saw in a shop when I first moved to London, so decided to make it myself (fast-forward to now when I employ 8 wonderful human beings). I’m sure as anyone who has started a business would tell you, the first 3-5 years are the absolute hardest, and to get that ball rolling was one of the most challenging (yet rewarding) accomplishments. 

How hard can it really be, I hear you ask? To begin, there were weeks when I would work 20 hour days, I was so stressed I would have to run to the toilet to wretch (TMI, I know). Then, as soon as I stopped working (even for an afternoon) I would have genuine breakdowns from the stress and actually want to work so I wouldn’t have to think about my to-do list. A pain in my abdomen that I got when I was revising in my last year of uni returned with a vengeance and the doctor couldn’t work out what it was (my body now only saves that for very special occasions like Christmas time you will be pleased to know). I developed insomnia any time I went on holiday (RIP what could have been a wonderful holiday on the greek island of Skopelos). My brain wasn’t used to not working and it just meant I wasn’t tired AT ALL but was then was utterly exhausted.

Aside from me just listing off many medical ailments, what I’m trying to show to you, lovely customers, is that Wild Fawn wasn’t borne out of some random investor that wanted to make some money. Everything you see or know about Wild Fawn is here because of absolute love and determination, whether that’s from me or my amazing team. It has grown beautifully and organically, with a huge compassion for the Earth in all our decision makings.

So, as time went on and I slowly hired the help from some of my friends and my partner, Jennie (shout out to Maddi who helped me pack wholesale orders on my spare bedroom/home office floor whilst we watched the 2018 World Cup - beer in hand too, obviously). Rebecca was my first official employee who joined the team toward the end of 2018, and now Rachel, Molly, Jenn, Sofia, and soon to be Naz make up the women at WFJ. Since that time watching the World Cup on my spare bedroom floor and now, I moved into a studio space, then had to move again as we outgrew it. Now, we are as cosy as can possibly be in the new studio as we are starting to outgrow that (pleeeeease no more moving just yet!).

At the risk of this being a case of quantity over quality, I am going to make myself stop typing here. Next month’s journal will be more about the day to day running of Wild Fawn and how it all works behind the scenes. I know not many people usually respond to things like this, but I would genuinely love to chat to you if anything resonates with you. My email is hello@wildfawnjewellery.com so feel free to get in touch!

Emma x