Jo’s Journal – January 2021

Happy New Year to everyone!

As I write this, we are still in December – but the new year is just around the corner. I am excited about 2021, as I really hope we can put the anxiety and fear of 2020 behind us, and start looking forwards with hope and optimism again.

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas? Different this year, for sure, but hopefully still relaxing and peaceful, and connected.

My husband and I had been hoping to spend Christmas in Cornwall - but the Tier system changed all that, so it is a peaceful Christmas at home instead, with walks in the Cotswolds and Winter firepits in the back garden.

I really want to thank you for all your orders coming up to Christmas, and your lovely heart-warming messages. Our bestselling pieces over the Christmas period were our beautiful Lotus Necklace, with the mantra, ‘Be the best version of you’, and our Anchor and Phoenix Necklaces.  

The Anchor has been such a comfort as we have all wanted to feel safe this year, reaching out for a tangible symbol of safety and security; while the Phoenix celebrates everyone’s strength and resilience in this challenging year.

Some of the messages you have written on the jewellery cards have been incredibly moving. From praising your daughters for their courage and resilience, to thanking friends for being there for you, to encouraging loved ones to stay strong, it is when we read your messages that we know we are doing something right.

I am sharing – anonymously – excerpts from just a few of the messages that have been written on the back of our Mantra cards this year, so you can see just how thoughtful and caring you all are. We really hope that wearing our jewellery helps bring to mind these warm and encouraging messages, as well as the mantra the piece represents:

“The days seem dark and unfair to you, but take one day at a time and you will see the dark days disappear.”

“Always remember, you've got this, no matter what life throws at you. Take a deep breath and dream of the ocean, your calming and relaxing place.”

“We wish we could be with you in person and will be as soon as we can. Until then, know we are with you always, and whenever you miss or need us, hold this and think of us.”

“We are so proud of who you are and everything you achieve, even in the face of adversity. Your sense of humour and beautiful smile shines through.”

“You have been amazing friend this year, a shine of light in my dark world. You are an amazing, strong, beautiful woman. You have the power and strength to follow your own path in life.”

“Thank you for inspiring and empowering me throughout my life. You are a shining light and bring joy, energy and love to the planet. The world is lucky to have you. I am lucky to have you.”

“You are my strength on my low days, and my guide through the dark days. You are capable of anything the Universe presents you with.”

“I will always be your anchor in life. I hope this will bring you comfort, honour and protect you, through our future challenges and adventures.”

“I know you feel untethered at the moment, but you will feel anchored again.”

We have also been fortunate this last year to receive hundreds of wonderful reviews from many of you, which are sent out independently by review company, Feefo. We don’t like to blow our own trumpet, so here are just a few of the lovely reviews we have received recently – in your words, not ours:

“I can’t believe I stumbled onto this company, and was blown away by their service and quality of product. I ordered a necklace for a dear friend as a retirement gift. The message card, the necklace, the little extra touches within the package, were a complete revelation. I thoroughly recommend this company for any gift you want to give with a true message behind it. I can’t wait to use this company again.”

“Everything was done with great care and love from the delivery, the packaging, and exquisite jewellery. Thank you.”

“Really easy to use, beautiful, classy jewellery. Personal correspondence regarding engraving. I’m delighted with my purchase, which is a present for a loved one. Highly recommend.”

“Gorgeous jewellery, great prices. Brilliant service! Lovely website which was very easy to order from and delivery was very fast. The quality of the items I purchased is excellent and I will definitely buy from them again and recommend them to everyone!”

“Beautiful, inspirational, spiritual jewellery, absolutely gorgeous! Fabulous service, awesome packaging, what an amazing brand! Thank You.”  

Thank you all for such amazing feedback. It makes a real difference to me and my team, knowing that we are creating such joy.

Now - I won’t pretend that we don’t get the occasional unhappy review. There are two reasons for these – delivery times, and jewellery size.

Because we rely on the Royal Mail, we know a few of you have experienced delays in your jewellery arriving this year. The Royal Mail do a fantastic job through most of the year, but Coronavirus staffing issues, combined with the huge increase in online shopping this year, and the sheer volume of Christmas orders, caught them out this time – so we can only apologise that our free First Class service has taken a few days longer than usual in some areas this year.

Secondly – we do get the occasional negative review about size, with some customers feeling that our jewellery is smaller than they expected. We try very hard to show the exact size of everything accurately on our website, with each piece shown on our model, Sarah; and each piece drawn and described with its exact dimensions in cm and inches.

But we recognise that it is still sometimes hard to visualise exactly how something will look, until you see it in the flesh. We are always happy to refund or exchange items in this case – it’s no trouble at all.

Please – keep giving us your feedback. As a small business, each review means a lot to us, and we love to hear from you!

On that note – I really hope you received something for Christmas which gave you joy or made you smile? As a keen reader, I was thrilled to receive Barack Obama’s autobiography, along with a book called ‘Head, Hand, Heart’, about how we place too much emphasis on intellectual jobs and not enough on physical and caring jobs – so I am really looking forward to reading both.

As this year draws to an end – I wish everyone a Happy New Year, and hope that 2021 brings us all health, happiness and peace.

Jo xx