CHRISTMAS saw record sales for a Hove jeweller and University of Brighton graduate who started her business in her parents’ kitchen.
Maria Fox uses reclaimed and sustainably-sourced wood for her handcrafted jewellery, accessories, homeware and wedding décor.
Maria started out whilst studying graphic design at the university in 2008. She normally employs six people but the number jumped to 13 over the recent holiday due to record orders.
Maria said: “It was our best Christmas yet and we sent out over 4,200 personalised orders which we are very proud of. I am now looking for larger premises and we are recruiting and expanding our team this year.”
Her products sell online and are stocked in shops, museums and galleries in the UK and internationally. The company Maria Allen Boutique has worked on gifts at the British Museum and the National Trust, and its designs have featured in magazines and national TV commercials.
One of her best-selling lines, the ‘Personalised Love Letter Necklace’, won Notonthehighstreet.com’s ‘Personalised Product of the Year’ and the company’s most recent work has been with Harrods.
Maria, who started her business with just a few hundred pounds, recently featured in an article alongside Facebook, Microsoft and Google – all companies started by students.
Maria graduated in 2011 and credits the university and beepurple – the university’s entrepreneurship network, made up of students, graduates and staff wanting to develop their skills and business – with helping her start her business.
She said: “I owe them a lot.”
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