Brand Series - Mood Good Jewellery

1. Where did the idea for Mood Good first begin?

I did a degree in jewellery design at Central St Martins in 2015 and then went straight into the commercial mass produced side of the jewellery industry. I was working for a big company that designed and made jewellery for high street and fast fashion brands. I learnt so much there and I really enjoyed it. It was so fast paced but as time went on I started to crave having something of my own and also working in a slower more considered ethical and sustainable way. That led me wanting to start my own thing along the side of my job and that’s kind of where Mood Good started.

At that time in 2017 there were a lot of minimal Scandi jewellery brands and I felt there was a good for something that was still wearable but not garish or in your face but kind of more light hearted and a bit more fun but still in an everyday wearable way. I started Mood Good to fill that gap in the market and also it gave me something I was very passionate about alongside my job.

2. Your branding is very distinct and cohesive - are there are tips or advice you can give other brands that are forming or looking for a re-launch on their branding?

I actually really enjoy the branding side of it, I love talking to people about branding and I think it’s really important. I think it’s a big part of every business and it does lead to success if you do it right. It’s most definitely worth putting a lot of time and energy into it, especially at the beginning when you’re still figuring it out. And I think that’s the first thing I’d say, is that is does take time to figure it out. It’s not something that you can muster up in a day or a week, it almost takes years to get it right and feel comfortable about it. To feel like its yours and you own it and know it. I think after a certain amount of time you just know it and it sort of comes instinctively because you know the brand so well that it’s like a gut feeling. And the branding runs so deep, it’s not just the logo or the colour scheme, it trickles down to the brand values and the core of the brand, it really is every single aspect and I think that’s really important to remember, especially thinking about things like your packaging, or if you’re doing a market stall or a talk somewhere, even your emails.

Everything is part of your brand and it all needs to be cohesive and I think it really is one of the benefits of being a solo brand owner as it’s much easier to keep that consistency when the team and brand are smaller. I think it’s knowing that it will take some time to create something that’s distinctive and obviously it’s ok to take inspiration from brands you like, but ultimately it’s about trying to create something that’s very aligned with your own business and your own values and who you think your customer is as well. I would also say it’s really important to play to your own strengths because not everyone is good at everything. For example, if you know you’re not very good at graphic design, then working with someone who you know is better than that, being aware of what you’re good at and not so good at.

Be ok with thing’s changing, it doesn’t have to be so rigid and set in stone. It can something that’s very enjoyable, so just let it evolve and change.

3. Collaborations are a great way to grow organically and I know you have done a few now. How did these first start and would you say it has helped your growth?

Collaborations have been something that I have been focusing on over the last couple of years. Because I think that once you’ve established your brand to some extent and you’ve worked out the sort of products you’re selling, you know your customer and figured out your branding – I feel like the next stage is to have it associated with other like minded brands and creatives. I think that not only grows the brand but gives it positive associations and makes it more exciting and authentic. I have really found that and also it builds relationships too, I think the key to doing collabs needs to be organic and the right fit going both ways. I think what I try and focus on is…my kind of weakness I suppose is with my imagery.

I’m not a graphic designer or an illustrator so the gap I need help with is the creative imagery side of things so I often work with illustrators or graphic designers and do collabs with them because they can successfully add that value whereas I’m missing it because I’m not an illustrator. I think that’s a good place to start – think about the things you’re not so good at and think about, is there a creative that you really admire and you love their work and it would really add that value into your brand and product. All of my collabs have started in a very genuine way, I’ve always admired their work and their craft before it’s come to a collaboration. I think that’s really important because I’ve build an organic connection with them before going in with that business question of do you want to collab? I think if you’re creating those connections anyway, if you like other peoples work and admire their creativity then tell them and be complimentary. Maybe it will lead to a collab, maybe it won’t, but either way it’s definitely advantageous. If it does come to a collab it’s great because you share your audience and open your audience up to another creator and that’s obviously vital for growing your business in a natural way and I think it gets your business out there to like minded people which is a great thing. When they’re done right, you have to make sure it’s good quality and considered and clearly communicated, but it can be really beneficial to everyone involved.

4. Would you say your mindset has had an impact on your growth and business success?

I definitely think that mindset is really really important, especially as a solo business owner, because not only are you having to wear all the hats and fulfil all the roles you’re also having to talk yourself down when you’re not feeling so great and pep yourself up on a Monday morning and all of those things. I think especially over the last couple of years, whilst we’ve all been more isolated the business has really been all over the place and really unpredictable. And when you have your own business that is really scary at times and it’s definitely been challenging and I think when you get some consumed, which we all do at some points, about worrying about the future and worrying about the bits that maybe aren’t going so well, that can really talk up a lot of your mental energy and head space.

It is really important to try and manage your own mindset and figure out what the things are that help you do that. For me, I’m lucky enough to have other friends who are small business owners that I can talk through stuff with and also it’s beneficial I have been going for 5 years because when there’s a slow period I have that confidence that it will pick up again and that everything will be ok in the end. I think it’s really important as business owners to find the things that help our mindset and making sure we’re putting those things in place. Exercising, looking after yourself, eating, sleeping - these things are all really important and I think naturally there are times when we aren’t so good at those things, but it’s about having that awareness about how these things feed into each other and when you’re not doing those things it will have a negative effect on your mindset and a knock on effect.

I think it takes a lot of self-awareness and figuring out what works for you and being as kind on yourself as you possibly can.

5. What one business decision or tactic would you say really grew your business? I'm guessing there may be a few but if you had to name just one that helped your success what would it be?

I would say in terms of a decisional tactic that grew the business – really figuring out what my customer wants and kind of getting to a point where it’s a very gut feeling. I now know how something is going to go down and if it’s going to excite people. Really listening to that because it’s so easy to look at what other people are doing or feel like you should be doing XYZ because of some external reasons, however sometimes I feel like that can take your eye off the ball.

However, if you always bring it back round to what does my customer want, is my customer going to be excited by this? And if the answer is yes, then you feel like you just know, then 9 times out of 10 you’re usually right. Everything that I’m doing, everything that I work on, everything that I’m releasing, I’m just really tapping into the feeling of is my customer going to love this? And that’s why I don’t work on things too far in advance because I want it to be fresh and exciting and kind of instinctive. I don’t plan a year ahead, I’m a bit more creating as I go because I’m really trying to tap into that feeling.

It takes a while, but I think if you try and work on that as much as you can, get to know your customer and what they want, then really follow that instinct, I feel like that’s really where the magic happens.

6. Tell us what your biggest piece of advice would be for other small product business owners who are earlier in their journey than you?

In terms of advice for other small product business owners I would say that you’re going to feel all the feelings and there will be points in your journey where you don’t want to do it anymore, you’ve lost your confidence, your creativity. But there will other bits where you’re loving it and it’s going really well. You have to accept all the emotions and the feelings good and bad. Because they’re all inevitable and they’re all going to happen at some point and it’s not like you get to a certain point or a certain number of turnover and everything’s great. It’s always up and down and you can’t let the bad days or months stop you.

If you really love what you’re doing you just have to keep going and believe it’s going to be good again and you’re going to get that confidence back or whatever it is you feel you’re missing at that particular point – it will come back. You just have to keep going, keep pushing forward and believe in yourself as much as you possibly can. Just try and focus on your vision and what is ahead and keep working towards that because it’s the only way to get there.

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