What is in store for you today?
Today is a work day for me. It begins with a busy run of school drop-offs before a breakfast meeting with a blogger to showcase Little by Little’s new Pip Collection, then photographing one of the pieces, catching up with our team (Annabel and Lucinda) and then sending off an order.
What does a typical working day look like?
There is always a to-do list – of course! Generally, I start by making sure my social media is mapped out and the website is up to date. Then it’s a question of catching up with the day’s sales, ensuring stock levels are high and meeting a contact or two to help spread the word.
Are there any sort of personal rituals or routines that you have to undertake before you start work?
With three young children, there is always plenty to do at home but I try not to get distracted; the piles of washing can wait! The start of the working day is signalled by making a strong stovetop coffee and writing (another) to-do list.
As a team, do you have any group rituals or events per day or week?
We feel it’s important to start the week on the same page, so a catch up on a Monday morning is an absolute must. From then on, the three of us are constantly in touch, filling each other in on a win here or a niggle there.
When your team come together, is it in a digital sense, or is there still a physical meeting up?
A bit of both. We are split between Brighton and London so it is easier from both a time and cost perspective to work very flexibly. We use Zoom calls and emails but what we love most is when we physically meet up as a team. These tend to be the most productive times. We get a buzz from one another and that’s when vision is created and big decisions are made.
What projects have you currently got on, and what upcoming projects are exciting you?
We are working really hard to look forward as a business and allow ourselves to dream BIG dreams.
First up, we will launch a new collection later in the year, so we are busy developing, brainstorming and designing pieces for that.
Secondly this year we want to push the ethical side of Little by Little. Sustainability is so important to us and we want to be as transparent as possible. We choose to have our pieces manufactured by a well-established producer in Lima, Peru, giving local people with no experience in the jewellery industry jobs and training in the art of jewellery production. Some of the silver used is recycled, is sourced locally in Peru. However, we have work to do in this area and our goal is to use a 100% traceable source of silver in all our production. This is our biggest focus for 2018.
How do you measure impact and successes, and how do you celebrate them?
In our business, success is relatively easy to see as it translates into sales. Celebrations have to be small and cost effective at the moment – mostly ‘high fives’!
What gets you through the day? (Any podcasts, activities, thoughts etc?)
One vice is listening to the Desert Island podcast – I’m addicted! I love how much you can learn from others’ lifestyles and nearly always feel inspired by the final record.
I’ve always needed fresh air so if the day feels like it’s spiralling I’ll fling on my trainers and go for a ten-minute jog. For me, running is one of the best cures in the world; it can create a punctuation mark to my day.
What are you currently reading?
I read Vogue and The Week religiously – but I often head to bed with a cookery book. At the moment it’s A Modern Way to Eat by Anna Jones.
What’s your Ethos?
We began Little by Little two years ago because we wanted to join up our creative industries – me, a food stylist and cookery book author and my co-founder, Annabel Cox, a jewellery designer. We shared a passion to raise awareness and funds to help fight the battle against malnutrition. The name of our jewellery business is significant – we believe that little by little, we can all make a difference.
We have created three initial collections, each based on natural ingredients: the Apple Pip, the Seville Orange and the Watermelon. Working with charity Action Against Hunger, we donate the funding for three days’ worth of life-sustaining food for each sale made.
Our ethos is to create a sustainable, ethical and original jewellery brand that is a successful business whilst raising money for Action Against Hunger. Wish us luck!
Find out more about Georgina, Annabel, and Little by Little here; www.littlebylittlejewellery.com
