This month we caught up with Heather who owns jewellery and accessories brand By Heather Filby. You can find lots of her sparkly statement pieces at the SoLo Craft Fair pop-up shop in Elephant & Castle.
How did 'By Heather Filby' begin?
By Heather Filby started during lockdown in November 2020. Pre-Covid I worked in the Film and Theatre industry making costumes and when lockdown began, I found myself without work. I started making and selling face coverings and donating some of the profits to a local homeless charity. After 7000 face masks and 2 features in the local newspaper I realised how much I enjoyed working for myself and started thinking about starting my own small business, and By Heather Filby was born.
You have experience selling via ecommerce, markets, shops, and wholesale - so far what has been most successful for you?
Markets have been the most successful for me. Having the chance to meet my customers in person is such a positive experience, especially because I absolutely love what I make and I feel that really comes across when I’m gushing that every pair is my favourite (because they actually are all my favourites).
What has been your biggest small business challenge so far, and how have you overcome it?
Deciding to take my business full time in May this year has been the biggest challenge. I went back to the costume industry at the beginning of 2021 and had been juggling both jobs, but I was starting to realise I wanted to focus on my business but taking that step was HUGE (and scary). As I worked as a freelancer in the costume industry, I was able to make the change and move to full time biz’ without completely closing the door on costume.
You're currently working with business mentor Gayle from Hustle and Fox, how has this collaboration helped you achieve your goals? Would you recommend other small business owners find a mentor?
I would 100% recommend Gayle! She’s great! She’s always a text or a coffee away and has so much knowledge to share. She has helped me believe in me and given me the confidence to try new ideas and avenues like applying for RuPaul's DragCon UK and starting a newsletter. Gayle never tires of answering the crazy questions I come out with. Having a mentor has shown me this is the best way to get honest business advice and taught me to look at things more broadly with a business head.
How are you feeling about the current economic crisis? A lot of our makers have said they're seeing the price of materials and packaging rise, which means they have to make some changes - what are the effects on your business and what changes have you had to make?
I mean ahh, it’s scary but I think if small business can start and succeed through Covid we have a fair shot at succeeding through this. With prices of everything rising, product prices will unfortunately have to increase at some point but at the moment I’m looking at profit margins and trying to reduce costs rather than increase prices. Fingers crossed there aren’t too many more nasty surprises coming.
What are you working on right now, and what can we expect from By Heather Filby in the future?
I’m currently busy working on a lot of Christmas earrings and the sparkliest statement earring collection you’ve ever seen. I am also busy prepping for RuPaul's DragCon UK in January 2023 and after those two crazy things, who knows, whatever it is it will probably involve a lot of glitter.
Head to Heather’s website or pop into our shop for her designs.