About Sheila & Meg

About Me - I used to really struggle with earrings, I found they weighed down my ears and often made them sore. One day, I stumbled upon a company making beautiful earrings from polymer clay (Make Harrogate), she said they were really lightweight and hypoallergenic, I was intrigued! So I went to the very next market she was doing and bought a couple of pairs. She had some beautiful designs, but I wasn’t very brave about my choices and just bought a few pairs of studs. 

She was right, they didn't irritate my ears and I could barely feel I was wearing them! Next time, I bought some dangly ones, and feeling very brave, bought her monstera hoops for our holiday! 

I loved them and how they looked! Then, feeling empowered to explore more, I ordered a couple of bright, colourful pairs from the very talented Blur and Bake. I had followed her insta for ages, admiring the styles and colours, but didn’t think they were for me, what would I wear them with? I don’t know how to DO that stuff! Then, I wore them a few times and every time I saw them, they made me smile so much, the bright colours just made me so happy! That's what you call dopamine dressing!

I realised there was no such thing as “being able to do it”! Ignore "the rules" and just wear whatever makes YOU happy. 

Having always been a crafty person, I love finding something new to fiddle with (I embroider, cross stitch, felt, make sugar decorations, you get the picture) I started watching videos on how to make them and had to try! I booked on to one of Make Harrogate’s clay jewellery workshops and was hooked!

As my clay collection grew over time, so did my skills. More and more people liked what I was doing! They asked for earrings and other jewellery, some demanded (haha!) I set up a website, because they were being asked where they’d got their earrings from, and so here we are… Sheila & Meg was born!

The Name - For my Grandmothers. My Granny, Sheila, and my Nana, Margaret. They were both artists. They both painted, and Nana tried all sorts of mediums. She could turn her hand to anything, she even made my wedding dress! 

Granny loved gardening and arranging flowers, she could create the most beautiful arrangements. Her father was also a sculptor, so I'm sure there’s some of his influence in my clay work too. They are all my artistic influences and I like to think they’d love what I’m doing now.

 

 

Values - As a small business, I really value every single order. I also always try to support other small and independent businesses, whether I’m buying for Sheila & Meg, or myself.

I never buy from THOSE big, very low cost websites (personally or professionally), as their business practices and ethics undermine small businesses, amongst many other issues.

Polymer clay itself is essentially a type of plastic compound, meaning the jewellery can be worn and enjoyed for years. We are zero waste as much as possible, every scrap of clay is used! 

All our packing materials are recyclable, packing boxes, paper tape etc.