Handmade and Sustainable Rings: Jarjarblings talks to Green and Bop!

Sustainable fashion comes with supporting smaller businesses! In this blog post we are excited to speak to Jess Beddoe about how she started Jarjarblings and where she gets her inspiration for her groovy designs.

Follow @jarjarblings on Instagram to see her products and get some for yourself! They are handmade, well priced and customisable :)

A disclaimer for environmentally aware readers, we understand that the most sustainable jewellery is the jewellery you already own. However, everyone deserves to treat themselves now and then, especially if it is a local/ small business such as Jarjarblings!

Tell us a little bit about yourself...

Hiyyaaaa! My name is Jess Beddoe and I am a 19 year old student. I live in Kent and currently I am studying philosophy at Sussex uni. I’m also a ring maker in my free time! Covid ruined my plans of actually moving to uni, so whilst I am still at home, I started jarjarblings in November last year to keep me busy! And busy I am ☺

Tell us about jarjarblings

I started Jarjarblings after becoming obsessed with the Miley Cyrus music video ‘Midnight Sky’ featuring loads of the chunky rings by the designer La Manso. I ordered tonnes of Fimo online, then obsessively started moulding funny little rings in my room. I was also inspired by other really cool independent designers like Blobb by Sophia Elias, and Alleria. Ideally, I’d love to keep making bling for all of my pals and people that message me on Instagram. It keeps me busy and I love to procrastinate from my work in any way I can LOL. But it we’re aiming high… (Emma Chamberlain let me send you rings.)

How do you get inspiration for your designs?

Inspiration wise, it’s definitely a case of just mindlessly playing with Fimo and seeing which ones end up looking good. I also end up using a random selection of beads / gems found in my mum’s art supply. There is nothing more annoying than finding the coolest bead and making such a good ring then finding there was only 1 in the box…

How do you want people to respond to your brand/ products?

Imagine you buy a pack of 6 cheap silver rings. You actually hate 4 of them, but you had to buy the packet for the sake of the 2 you liked. Not only do they last for about a week without the classic brown rust tattoo it leaves on your fingers, but you’ve also bought into the cycle of cheap unsustainable high street jewellery. Jarjarblings is all about personalisation. You can choose a style and alter the colours / change the beads. Hopefully, you’ll treasure them because they’re exactly what you wanted. Plus, Fimo doesn’t rust. Big bonus.

How have you found running the business so far?

I started jarjarblings after relenting to my sisters bullying/forceful encouragement to ‘SELL THEM!!!! People will be OBSESSED.” Sometimes I’ll only have a few to make and I am able to do some uni work, but sometimes it’s so busy! And my desk is a mess of Fimo bits and scraps. But I definitely love being able to fill my day with something creative.

How important is sustainability to you and what changes do you think need to be made to help clothing/ jewellery become more sustainable?

I am an avid Depop / eBay lover and second hand is always my preference. People should continue to sell their clothes / crafts on there to keep the cycle flowing. Its definitely so encouraging to see how popular Depop is now and the more people see the incentive to sell their clothes / buy second hand, the more we can shift away from fast fashion in general. With my bling, any scraps I have left from making a ring for someone, I’ll collect and combine and make something from the excess. Like a ‘no waste’ limited edition ring. I hate to throw away anything. I think bigger brands and companies should start to implement something similar on a bigger scale. This would be a huge move for sustainability.

Any advice for people wanting to make their wardrobe/ jewellery collection more sustainable?

Shop small! Shop second-hand when you can! In the words of Macklemore, “One man's trash, that's another man's come up.”… :P It means a lot even if you buy a few pieces from independent creators. The more we can move away from fast fashion, the better.

Any advice for anyone wanting to do a similar thing?

DO IT! I wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested in anything I was making. But everyone said I should try and sell a few and see what happens! I’m glad I did because if nothing else, I am very entertained at the thought of rolling funny Fimo shapes knowing I am making someone’s hand happy.

What separates you from other people doing a similar thing?

I think cool rings shouldn’t be crazy expensive. You’ll find such a cool brand or style and end up having to pay like £35 for an individual ring. I just set my prices based around what I would want to pay for something like that! If you make good bling, people may always want to come back for more, especially if they can get something good for a decent price. My rings are fun, all individual and everyone should be able to afford them!!

Thank you to Jess for speaking to us! If you have not already, follow @jarjarblings on Instagram and DM to purchase!