So back on the 9th June 2014 I joined an elite group, that of an #SBS winner. We've chatted online but I thought it was time you all learnt about me and my reasons for starting Rosebud by Design
So a little bit about me………
Born in 1980 I was raised primarily by my mum with a lot of help from her mum and her brother – my Gran and my Uncle. I had a fantastic upbringing, probably some people would look at it that I was spoilt but all anyone ever wanted was for me not to lose out because I had such an unconventional small family and no dad. In 1989 my younger brother was born and we became inseparable, although we were complete opposites – I was quiet and creative and he was loud and sporty! Now we are older, he makes me super proud by being in the British Armed forces, I’d never tell him to his face because we ‘just don’t do that’ but he does and he’s living his dream of following in our Granddads’ footsteps – and for that I will always be proud.
As I became older, my creativity grew. I became massively interested in music – I joined the school choir and orchestra, I played numerous different instruments and in my spare time I played in concerts around the country. Alongside that I took up dance, only ballroom and Latin but I absolutely loved it, and won many trophies! Whenever I did have any free time I doodled – Art gave me another outlet to relax and switch off. I spent many hours drawing pictures and coloring in! I always loved how people smiled when I performed or when I drew a silly picture, and it was that image of people smiling that always stayed with me.
As I joined the ‘real’ world and got a job, all that had to stop. I threw myself into building a career and that was all I ever focused on. However I never lost my love for making people smile, and whenever I could you’d find me singing and dancing around the house and generally just being silly. I simply loved my life and everyone who was part of it.
In 2008 my world fell apart when I lost my beloved Gran. She brought me up and was always there when I needed her no matter what time of day – to watch her become so ill, so quickly knowing there was nothing that I could do to help after everything she’d done for me broke my heart. After her funeral I went on self-destruct – I changed my job, lost all focus and generally lost the ability to care about anything or anyone – for a good 4 years I threw my once stable life into absolute chaos.
Then in 2013, something changed. I started a new job which I now absolutely love and I’m in a relationship with someone who although we’ve had our ups and downs, is my complete opposite, who drives me mad with frustrations on a daily basis, and who puts up with my ever changing moods is my rock – although he doesn’t know it! I’d never tell him my true feelings and he never tells me (we don’t do that!) he just knows he’s a pain in my bum! From all that I found a new lease of life and I wanted to share this happiness in whatever way I could.
I looked back at what I knew used to make me happy and what made others happy. Straight away I thought of my Gran, and of all the memories we shared together. I remembered how she always used to call me her ‘Little Rosebud’ – whenever she saw me and on every birthday and Christmas card. To this day I still have the very last birthday card she wrote to me 6 days before she passed away and on that she wrote ‘To My Little Rosebud’ and although looking at the card breaks my heart all over again, it also makes me smile. That smile and that feeling is something I wanted to create for everyone.
Then I looked back on what I was good at and what I could fit into my now busy life but at the same time it had to be something creative, which is where the jewellery idea came from. What else could make people smile when they saw it or make them remember a time that was special to them? Jewellery is something which everyone wears on a daily basis, but more than that it’s something we give to a loved one or wear on a special occasion. So I had a product, now I needed a name, there was no thinking about it really it had to be Rosebud by Design – Rosebud will always be me and will be a name that is always associated with happy times and I’m the designer – it was perfect.
I researched hard and came up with some ideas. I’ll admit I probably went about it all the wrong way and like a ‘bull in a china shop’ and looking back now there is probably things I would do differently but having said that it was a learning curve and mistakes only make us better. It hasn’t been easy, and I’m still learning, even now after nearly 12 months but to be able to create something that makes people happy is my ultimate goal. It’s not about the money I make it’s about the smiles that are created by the finished product.
Rosebud will always live on not only in my heart but now in the hearts of others.
