STYLEetc searched all over Manchester for a young up and coming designer and we weren’t disappointed when we found a hiddem gem in the shape of bold jewellery pieces residing in Manchester’s emporium of eclecticism, Afflecks.
Meet Hannah Nuttall…
1. What influences your jewellery designs? Where do you get your ideas?
I love unusual things, places, people, I take lots of inspiration from little bits I see in day to day life, I love people watching and seeing what they are wearing. I always keep my eyes peeled and research new styles, trends and materials constantly. I love making new discoveries and it keeps my mind open to fresh possibilities and ideas.
2. What’s your favourite piece/item to wear of the moment?
I love shirt dresses and have quite a few in my wardrobe. I think a stylish denim shirt dress is the perfect summer item, you can dress it up or down to suit all occasions. I also couldn’t live without my Birkenstock sandals, I’ve never found better summer footwear, they are such good quality.
3. How would you describe your own style?
I love classic, simple clothes but I love to team them with bold pieces of jewellery. I love chunky necklaces and earrings with a wow factor. I definitely put more emphasis on accessories, as I think they really finish off an outfit.
4. What’s the hardest thing about running your own business?
Keeping up motivation when things are quiet and keeping up with everything when things are busy are the two main factors of running a small business that can be very challenging, there never seems to be a happy, manageable medium, it’s always changing.
Of course, regular holidays and time off often take a back seat when you are in the early years of building a business. The sacrifices you make early on will hopefully pay off in the future however so that’s what keeps me motivated.
5. Describe your perfect day…
I usually have just the one day off a week normally and that’s a Sunday, I love a good rummage for bargains at a car boot sale or two, I love hunting for vintage bits for the house or unusual jewellery. After that we usually treat ourselves to breakfast at our local cafe then the rest of the day is spent with our dogs, my partner and I have five rescue dogs so we like to take them on extra long walks on a Sunday, its gives us and them plenty of exercise! I love baking so I try and bake or cook a special meal on a Sunday too.
6. What’s the best thing about Manchester ?
I think the Northern Quarter is a jewel in Manchester’s crown but I also love the fact it’s a thriving city, yet we are so close to the countryside too, it has the perfect mix of urban and rural and absolutely loads to do.
7. We love the union jack heart shaped sunnies!.. What makes you proud to be British?
We are such a unique little island, I think we often forget how many amazing things we have here, the British sea side is brilliant and we still have so many thriving holiday towns around the UK, I think they are something for Britain to be really proud of.
8. If you could have anyone wear your jewellery who would you choose?
I’m a bit of a rock chick at heart, I’d love to send some jewellery to Courtney Love, Beth Ditto or Stevie Nicks. They’ve all got their own unique styles and that’s what appeals to me about them.
9. What trends in jewellery can we expect to see for Autumn/Winter 2012? Do you have any predictions for the next big thing in jewellery?
I’m really into statement pieces at the moment, so we are sourcing loads of amazing beads and charms to make really large, detailed and spectacular pieces from.
We develop statement pieces in the studio, so things often turn out quite different from original designs but it produces some really unusual results. As for the next big thing, that’s always a difficult one to predict, lots of jewellery trends are started by celebrities wearing a particular item and it stems from there. We just make what we love and gauge our customer feedback and create more designs accordingly.
10. What’s next for www.hannahmakesthings.com?
We are just opening a small concession in a shop on Broadway,New Yorkso that’s our main focus at present. We’ve got lot of exciting new pieces in the pipeline and some other, more diverse items will be added to the site in the coming months.
I really want to build the brand beyond jewellery and offer other unique items that will appeal to our customer base too.
