More than gemstones

Blume Jewelers was founded in September 2017 by life partners Alyssa Delaney and Nicholas Forde. The business which specialises in handcrafted gemstone jewellery is located at 4th Avenue, Amity Lodge, Rendezvous, Christ Church and is open from Monday to Saturday.

Delaney told Barbados TODAY her partner encouraged her to go into the business.

“It started as a hobby where I was making pieces for myself and as I shared my ideas with my life partner, Nicholas, he began to encourage me to go into business. He also came on as my business partner. We made the decision to use gemstones and crystals in our pieces rather than normal beads due to their effect and the energies associated with them,” she said.

The businesswoman who designs the beautiful gemstone pieces said with knowledge and patience, it is not challenging to specialise in handcrafted jewellery.

“Nothing is hard for us to achieve. Yes, the difficulty varies due to the type and design of the piece. But for us, it is a joy to accept any challenge that come our way,” she said.

Delaney said one challenge she has had to face was persons believing gemstone jewellery is costume jewellery.

“We have realised people tend to think of gemstone jewellery as costume jewellery rather than being open to new concepts such as the meanings and effects of the stones that are used in one piece,” she said.

The jewellery maker said the company is almost two years old and there are plans to make it a family business in the future.

“We would love our children to follow us on our journey in business but keeping in mind that the purpose of the business is more than to sell jewellery. The aim is to spread the love, knowledge and energy behind it. We understand that they will be their own individuals and are free to make their own choices,” she added.

Delaney said the company currently does not use any single-use plastics in their designs as they were environmentally conscious before they decided to become entrepreneurs.

One of the most successful moments of the business thus far was the participation in the Holistic Health Fair. “This was a big moment for both of us as it caused us to step outside of our comfort zones and be comfortable doing so,” she told Barbados TODAY.

Delaney also shared that the company does more than specialise in jewellery; they also sell lentil fries and aloe vera lipsticks.

“As our main goal is to spread the knowledge of betterment and wellness, we have not only limited ourselves to creating jewellery. We sell lentil fries every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday along with aloe vera lipsticks. We are aiming to add a few other things to our line up as well,” she said.

Interested persons can contact Blume Jewelers on Instagram @blumejewelers, Facebook @ Blume Jewelers or email blumejewelers@gmail.com.  (LG)