I’ve been running my London-based namesake label since the end of 2014. It all started by a mixture of chance and choice – I’d known for a long time that I wanted to start my own label, but I didn’t know quite when it would be. I started off by making glitter Perspex jewellery just for fun during my final year at university. A few of my friends wanted to buy some and magazines started using them for editorials, and it all bloomed from there! The label has developed and changed a lot since then, and it’s now going in a direction I feel very comfortable with.
I‘ve always liked to produce things at a slower, more sustainable rate than the conventional fashion buying seasons. Last year, I decided to disregard seasons completely, and just focus on making small limited runs that I tweak and add to when I feel they’re ready. Ultimately, I want the Sophie Cull-Candy label to be a place of luxury for people to shop at carefully and consciously. I want customers to know that what they’re buying will last, and that fashion is there to be respectfully treasured and not to be kept for just one season.
Almost all of my inspiration comes from nature – I absolutely adore the complex colour palettes, whether it’s a whole view or the detail in one little flower. I’m also really fascinated by humans’ interaction with nature. I’m keen on creating pieces that fuse the beautiful visual drama of nature with a relaxed glamour. I love to experiment, and I used to worry that this would look too disorganized. But then I realised that as long as what I was making really excited me, all would fall into place. Now I have a logo and lettering that I feel really reflect the label, along with my more subtle packaging, and I feel this really helps to bring together and compliment my glittery floral style.
Sustainability is key to me and sits at the forefront of everything I do. I work on very small batches of each design in order to not create waste, and any excess material is kept for future projects or accessories. Once you remove the jewellery foam protector and sticker, all of my packaging is recyclable – but obviously, I’d be keen for people to store the earrings in the box and tissue they come in. There are lots of challenges; I’m very aware that the fashion industry are terrible polluters of the planet, and I try to run my label so it doesn’t contribute any more to this. Everything I design is of the highest quality, and is made to keep and hand down to other generations – slow fashion is the only direction that the fashion industry should be moving in.
I chose noissue because I initially saw the compostable postage bags and thought they were a great idea! I became interested in the ethos of the company – while my designs are a bit too delicate to send in the bags, I opted for the eco-friendly custom tissue paper. Custom packaging has really helped elevate the luxury feel of my label, and I was so pleased to find an eco-friendly and recyclable way to do this. I was also thrilled with finding out that noissue is part of the Eco Packaging Alliance. For every order I place with them, I get to pick an area for a tree to be planted in!
noissue’s eco-alliance programme allows businesses to plant trees in areas suffering from deforestation. In return, we give you an eco-alliance badge to put on your site. It’s a fantastic way to show your customers that you are committed to positive environmental change! You can read more about our eco-alliance here.