Our Story of Strength
First of all, hello! Let us introduce ourselves... we are Deborah and Kirstie, sisters & co-founders of Lustre & Love. Here is the start our business story from the very beginning...
Sitting in the sunny back garden of our parent's house chatting almost 4 years ago (how did that happen!) we had the sudden brain wave to start a business together! With a crazy belief and lots of fire in our belly, we discussed that starting a luxury jewellery business in such a saturated market wasn't going to be easy, but we believed in our abilities so off we went to make things sparkly & shiny!
We are not going to lie, it took a while to agree on the name of our joint venture but after weeks or even months we settled on the name Lustre & Love. It was just perfect!
Below is a picture of us on the evening we officially became business partners.
A little younger & totally oblivious to the uphill struggle that lay ahead!
Our Lustre & Love journey has been a little slower than expected with a few reincarnations of the brand and ongoing battles by starting our business a few months before Covid hit & the world came to a stand still!
Not to be deterred by a small issue of a global pandemic & the horrendous task of home schooling our kids! (Hats off to all teachers!) We continued on our journey together to make our dream happen instead of sitting in the garden drinking wine along with the rest of the nation. (Obviously excluding all key workers in this sweeping generalisation.)
Despite a few ups & downs, silly sisterly disagreements & employing some absolutely shocking 'experts' who convinced us that building a new website (when we already had a perfectly good one) & throwing money down the drain with social media ads was a great idea, our little business survived & it was full steam ahead. At this stage, we were selling jewellery by other independent designers but had an overwhelming urge to create & design our own signature collection to really showcase the Lustre & Love brand.
----Drum roll please! ----
CHAPTER ONE - Our Lustre & Love STRENGTH Collection was born!
We wanted to create a collection of luxury jewellery that has real meaning for the wearer. Something that is personal and unique.
We decided to use the beautiful semi-precious stone Black Onyx at the heart of this collection. It symbolises Strength, Protection, Focus and Willpower. It's a strong powerful stone both in colour and properties.
Each piece from this Lustre & Love collection is engraved with the word 'strength.' It is there as a subtle reminder that we all have inner strength and sometimes when things get tough we have to draw upon it to overcome life challenges. Sometimes, we just need a little reminder that 'I've got this.'
We created our Strength Collection with this in mind. A simple glance at the delicate engraving on the ring or bracelet or a touch of the necklace around your neck can spur you on to be the strong woman you are.
This makes the collection perfect for a special piece of jewellery to purchase as a little self love or gift to someone that shows no limits to their endless desire to succeed in whatever life throws their way.
When designing our debut Strength Collection we both drew on our own personal experiences & challenges. Life is hard, it's full of lots challenges. They can be daily or pop up when least expected. This is when we have to find our inner strength.
Deborah - "I am a Wife, Mummy of two little girls & the owner of two successful businesses. Life is hectic, full on & exhausting to say the least. Some days I feel like a superwoman & other days I feel like taking to my bed & hoping that all the challenges of life are gone when I wake up.
"But... I am a strong woman & proud of what I have achieved so far.
"So every day I wake up & get ready to take on new day. Sometimes by lunchtime the positive attitude has subsided & other days I am ready achieve everything!"
I am a woman, I am capable, I have strength.
Kirstie - "I am a single Mum to Owen, a business owner & an Operations Director at Deborah K Design. Life has not been easy if I am honest. I have had some pretty awful relationships that have affected who I am. Things like that change you. They change how you see the world & how to be happy again.
"I am now on a positive journey of self love & getting stronger. With the support of my family, my friends & the love from my son, day by day it's getting better. I am healing."
I am a woman, I am capable, I have strength.
We hope you enjoy what we have created for you at Lustre & Love.
Deborah & Kirstie x
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