a makeup artist and now harnesses her creativity to continue scaling her jewellery empire. Inside Retail: How have By Charlotte’s designs evolved since you first launched? Charlotte Blakeney: As By Charlotte has grown, we’ve stayed true to the essence of the brand, but our designs have constantly evolved. We’ve developed a clear picture of exactly who our customer is, allowing us to tailor our designs and mantras to ensure they resonate. Aligning my creative vision with what the customer wants to wear has helped us communicate compelling visual stories with the help of our strong creative team and other talented creatives, such as Emily Abay. In this way, our designs are a collaboration of my own vision, other creative minds, and the customer themselves. We’ve also remained committed to innovation, bringing CAD designers in-house and sourcing new manufacturers from all over the world, expanding our design possibilities. We’ve since been able to create textures and shapes that previously weren’t possible, which have become a brand signature; one-of-a-kind textures that reflect light in the most beautiful way. Sourcing world-class manufacturers has been a long-term project, but it has given us access to the most amazing gemstones and lab-grown diamonds. IR: What does “meaningful jewellery” mean to you today? CB: When I first became interested in making jewellery, I struggled to find jewels that both suited my taste and held a deeper, beautiful meaning. It was this gap in the market that really led me to create the brand! To me, “meaningful jewellery” signifies personalisation and connection to the wearer. Whether through gemstones, symbols, mantras or customisation, meaningful jewellery transcends aesthetic value, resonating with the wearer on a deeper level. Our ‘Everything You Are Is Enough’ locket epitomises meaningful jewellery to me. Engraved with my favourite mantra, this piece is as beautiful as it is a wearable reminder to give myself grace. IR: How have you maintained/managed the quality control of By Charlotte while scaling the business? CB: Quality control is ingrained into every step of the design and manufacturing process. Our in-house CAD designers are able to print off the CAD and assess how the stones will fit into the piece, which streamlines the QC process. For vermeil jewellery, we ensure quality by using only 18-karat gold vermeil, which is a 2.5-micron gold plating with an e-coating. This far exceeds the industry standard for gold-plated jewellery, ensuring longevity and a beautiful shine and texture on the jewels. Moving towards Responsible Jewellery Council-certified manufacturers has also been key. This gives us full transparency of our supply chain, ensuring the jewels not only look beautiful but are sourced ethically and produced in fair working conditions. We travel overseas to our manufacturers on a regular basis to check the product and pick the brains of our expert manufacturers. Upon receiving the final product, we undertake an in-house QC process. IR: The lotus necklace is a brand signature – what does the lotus symbolise for you personally and what does the success of the necklace mean for your brand? CB: Personally, I think about when I first started designing jewellery in Ubud, surrounded by lotus flowers. I was going through my own personal journey of self-discovery and was struck by how much this struggle mirrored the transformation of the lotus. Just as the lotus rose through the murky water to bloom in the sunlight, I was reminded that, through adversity, the most beautiful transformations can happen. It’s amazing to think that this piece, which I designed as a source of inspiration for myself, has similarly inspired thousands of other women. It’s reflective of our creative team’s beautiful storytelling, but also a genuine demand for meaningful jewellery. It’s been so successful because it truly is the perfect gift to mark new beginnings and milestones, or remind a loved one of the light at the end of the tunnel. IR: How have you been able to communicate the sentimental and personal aspects of the jewellery with your consumers while being a mainly online DTC brand? CB:  When we sit down to bring each collection to life, our marketing team works closely with the design team to understand the meaning of each piece, and translate this into a beautiful story for the customer. We then decide upon the perfect creatives to bring the campaign to life, ensuring it will reflect my vision and capture the spirit of the collection.