MIROO

Hello hello! Happy Creative Q&A day! This week is my chat with brilliantly talented jewellery designer Dani, who creates acrylic pieces to spread joy!

Based in Sheffield, she began selling her wares in 2017, and I’m so excited to show you what she can do…

JANEY: Hi Dani! Thanks for taking part, please can you tell us about you and your business?

DANI: My business is Miroo, and I make fun & colourful jewellery, mostly from laser cut acrylic. 

I’ve always loved designing and making things and while I was on maternity leave in 2016 I started experimenting more with jewellery making. I began by making pieces for fun, for myself and as gifts for friends. My business started in 2017, not long after going back to my job part-time. 

After some encouragement from my husband (I had far too much jewellery building up in the house to just wear myself!) I started selling online in April 2017 by setting up an Etsy shop. That very first sale was so exciting!  I then started selling at markets and in a few shops before finally setting up my own website a year or so later.

In December 2019 I made the scary but exciting decision to leave my job to work full time on Miroo, a decision I haven’t regretted for a second. 

J: Amazing, such a lovely story – I love that you began making bits for yourself, and look where you are now!
What does your design process tend to look like?

D: It usually starts with a sketch. I normally have ideas while doing the most random things or while I’m in bed trying to get to sleep, so they are usually on little scraps of paper or whatever I can find at that time. I then recreate them digitally and then turn them to the laser cutting files. 

The pieces are then laser cut from sheets of acrylic, glued and assembled. I love seeing a design turn into a real life thing for the first time!

J: I’m definitely a ‘scrap piece of paper’ ideas person too! (Good excuse to have a notebook in every room I guess…)
Clearly you love to live colourfully – what is your go-to palette that you are drawn to when designing new pieces?

D: I sure do, wearing colour, and being surrounded by colour in my home is so important to me as it’s something that really lifts my mood. 

I love all the colours and like to use as many as possible. I particularly love the mirrored acrylics and use most of the colours in the range. 

I’m always drawn to pink so there’s always plenty of that in my designs, in my packaging and displays. I suppose it’s my happy colour (closely followed by yellow) but I definitely don’t limit myself to a particular palette when I’m designing jewellery. I’m more led by the colour combos I’m enjoying at the time.

J: Colour colour colour – my 3 favourite words! Also pink and yellow? Yes please, every day.
So Dani, I’ve spoken a lot on the blog about the virtual markets that took the creative world by storm in the last 18 months – how did you find the online/virtual markets and events that you took part in? How did you find they compared to real-life in-person markets and fairs?

D: They’ve been great! It’s definitely not the same thing, and I’m beyond excited to be back to doing real life markets now, but they were certainly the next best thing while the real ones weren’t an option. I was so grateful for the focus & distraction of the online markets in lockdown.
I love real life markets so much though and it’s lovely to be back out there meeting my customers in real life again. I always come away from them feeling re-energised and happier.  

The internet is amazing and I don’t know what I’d have done without it this past 18 months but chatting to people face to face is just the best. 

J: I definitely agree – most of us would probably prefer a real-life event and you’re right, nothing beats that face-to-face chat. But in a time where these things just weren’t possible, the virtual events were a God-send.
I find that your website and social media pages radiate happiness and positivity – what are 3 things that make you happy?

D: Oh this is a tricky one as there are so many. Number one has to be colour. Wearing colour, surrounding myself with colour is always my quick fix, especially if I’m having a bit of a low day I’ll wear my most colourful outfit and it always helps me feel that bit brighter.

Seeing my favourite people always makes me feel happier. I’ve never been too good with just my own company so if I spend too much time by myself I often end up feeling a bit down. I suppose I’m an extrovert in that sense because I feel like I get my energy from being around others.
If I’m  feeling a bit low I try to surround myself with the people that make me feel my happiest. When you work alone it’s easy to start feeling a bit isolated and lonely so I try to arrange things around work to help me get out.

The last one has to be books. I love reading and it definitely helps me to feel more happy and relaxed. I also enjoy listening to audiobooks while I work. I especially enjoy fiction and love the escapism you get from being swept up in a story. Years ago I used to do a lot of fiction writing as a hobby & it’s something I really want to get back to. 

J: 3 really really good reasons to be happy!!

So readers, if you’re in the market for some fun, quirky jewellery to make you feel real good, or if you know someone who could use some colourful joy, head on over to www.miroo.co.uk, and follow wonderful Dani on Instagram @miroomakes. Dani also has an Etsy shop – www.etsy.com/uk/shop/MirooMakes

How blooming beautiful?! Those mirrored acrylics are somethin’ else, and I’m crazy for Dani’s selection. Thank you so much for reading along today, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend, whatever you may have planned!

Are you ready for the spooky season?? There is still time to buy your autumnal decs and accessories for Halloween – check out last week’s round up here for 20 makers who have you covered!

Janey