May 27, 2021
Featured blog- Interview with Valkyrie Magazine
๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ญ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ง๐ข๐ท๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ ๐ซ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ข ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฎ๐ข๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง, ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ ! ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ช๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ข๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ค๐ค๐ข๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ซ๐ฐ๐บ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ด ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ, ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ข ๐ช๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, ๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ช๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ณ๐ช๐ค๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ.
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To kick things off, here is a short 10 Questions with Eriko from ERIJEWELRY, to chat with us about their jewellery business based in Brisbane, Australia.
ใ๏ปฟ๏ผใNathan (N): Thanks for making time to talk, Eriko. Can you introduce yourself?
Eriko (E): Thanks Nathan. I am a Japanese jewellery business owner living in Brisbane. I started trading at the Southbank Collective Markets and subsequently expanded our brand as a pop-up shop in Indooroopilly Shopping Centre. We constantly continue to improve and evolve our brand and products. I'm very grateful also to my partner, who has a design background, and supports me a lot in managing my business, and when it comes to advice on shop displays and product photo editing.
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ใ2ใN: Favourite Film?
E: ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐ช๐ค๐ฌ๐ฆ๐บ โ I was impressed and admired Walt Disneyโs journey to success. I found this film to be delightful and educational. We all could learn from him and how he fought for his dreams.
And I like his quote: All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.
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ใ3ใN: What are some things you love about Jewellery?
E: My jewellery is simple yet sophisticated. I am from Tokyo, Japan, fine and delicate styles are valued and seen as beautiful in Japanese culture. So appreciation of dainty jewellery comes as second nature to me. Simple & dainty, we commit ourselves to make gold-filled jewellery which is long-lasting and perfect for everyday use.
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ใ4ใN: Challenges and highlights in the journey so far?
I guess they are definitely related. The 2020 pandemic was a tough time. I couldnโt receive any support from the Australian government as I am not a permanent resident in Australia yet. I wasnโt sure if I should open the pop-up store, I was scared and worried about the risks involved but decided to just keep pushing on. Christmas 2020 was my second time running a pop-up store. I gradually increased the number of my regular customers since I first started my market stand and pop-up store. Many of my customers said they were waiting for me to open a pop-up store again in the Indooroopilly Shopping Centre. I didnโt expect so many of my regular customers to return to purchase my jewellery at the store. I was deeply appreciative and grateful of my lovely customers and their supported along the way.
So, my favourite experience has been my customers returning to choose my jewellery again, which shows they trust me and like my jewellery.I believe building a trust between me, my jewellery and customers is very important.
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ใ5ใN: Tell us when the story first began. Was there any specific reason or event that inspired you or got you started in the Jewellery business?
E: I was attracted to gemstones and surrounded by a creative family my whole life, leading me to develop my style. As a young girl, I had an artistic flair and was always interested in creating a unique style of jewellery.
I love being surrounded by beautiful art, jewellery, plants, and flowers. I couldnโt find the jewellery I like, and I knew what my favourite designs look like, which brought me to self-taught jewellery making. My passion is creating my own world of beauty, expressing my inner feeling into my jewellery, and making people smile.
Ever since I was small, I always dreamed of becoming a business owner. None of my family members were business owners so it took some time to figure out how to run a business.
I had very different career in the past, I was a pharmacist in Japan. I only made jewellery as a hobby when I was free and sold them online. I always had a passion for making jewellery, but I had a full time job as a pharmacist so it was on and off, I never thought it would become my full time job.
I just gave it a go focusing on what I really want to do after I moved to Australia. I decided to be honest with myself and believe in myself.
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ใ6ใN: Can you describe a day in the life of what it is like being a Jewellery Designer? What itโs like when you start, planning a piece? Where do you even begin? Any challenges? Any favourite moments?
E: I think most jewellery designers draw what they create, but I tend to just visualise my jewellery and start the process of creating it, being guided by how I feel while I am making it. So trial and error is a big part of my creative process and it helps make my jewellery perfect.
All my jewellery is what I love to wear, so I have strong confidence that it is attractive to people.
Because I do love what I do, and I put my heart and soul into it.
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ใ7ใN: Are there any particular projects youโre working on or excited about?
E: I am working on launching a new addition to my ๐๐ข๐จ๐ฏ๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ collection. Iโm very excited for the upcoming online release! Iโm also planning a 10-year Anniversary giveaway is coming via Instagram.
My dream plans are running and managing a multi-faceted business โ online as well as retail, in shops, pop-up stores, and having a beautiful office with trustworthy staff. I want to have an ERIJEWELRY family .
Creating a valued brand and releasing my jewellery to the world as part of a team, is my long-term goal.
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ใ8ใN: If you could tell your younger self anything, what would you tell your younger self?
E: Donโt be scared to start something new. Believe in yourself, follow your heart and just do it.
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ใ9ใN: What are some tips you would give people looking to purchase a piece of Jewellery?
E: There are so many kinds of gold jewellery out there which can be very confusing and frustrating when you shop. Aiming to be Simple & Dainty, we commit ourselves to make gold-filled jewellery which is perfect for everyday use.
With proper maintenance, gold filled jewellery can last you for a lifetime with little or no trace of wear and tear. In terms of cost, you should expect a slightly higher price tag, while still being more affordable than solid gold. High-quality gold-filled jewellery can withstand everyday wear without tarnishing. You also donโt have to worry about allergies because they are hypoallergenic (thereโs less chance of getting allergies from wearing gold -filled jewellery)
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ใ๏ปฟ๏ผ๏ผใN: How can we support you and your wonderful work? How can people support or get involved in what you are doing? Can mention social media links and so on, understanding and appreciating Artists and looking after them!
E: You can stay in touch with us via
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/eri_jewelry_shop
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/erijewelry
and our online store - https://erijewelry.com/
Make sure to subscribe to our mailing list so you can receive our special deals, early access to our new launches and other beautiful content.
You can also direct all enquiries to info@erijewelry.com.
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N: Thanks Eriko, and all the best!
-END
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Feel free to let us know your favourite jewellery designers in the comments below!
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Sending you positive energy as always for an amazing week!
- Your Valkyrie Magazine