3 things about me (Shetland, jewellery, and my motorbike!)

A little video about me and my jewellery brand, so you can get to know me and what I do.

Summary

There’s a full transcript below

  1. I’m from Shetland

  2. I’ve been making jewellery since 1994 with companies including Shetland Jewellery, Hodgkinson the Jewellers, Wint & Kidd, British Academy of Jewellers

  3. Of all the things I own, my favourite is my Triumph Street Twin 900CC motorbike. I love her!

As I mention in the video, I feel a bit awkward about filming myself (who likes to see or hear themselves on screen?! 🤦🏻‍♀️) but as a wise person told me, “don’t be scared to do it, just do it scared!”

Transcript

Hi, I'm Karlin Anderson and I'm a jewellery designer-maker based in London. I create bespoke pieces of fine jewellery for private clients as well as creating jewellery collections which I sell on my website and through select stockists. 

I've been running my jewellery business now for 11 years and in that time things have changed a lot. It used to be that most of my bespoke clients, I got to meet face to face because they lived in and around London. Now with social media and changes in the way we shop I have clients up and down the UK as well as overseas so I don't get to meet all of them face to face. 

And it's a privilege to make special pieces for people in so many different places. Because jewellery is such a lovely and personal thing. 

We use it to symbolise key moments in our lives and it can be a reminder of things that are important to us because we attach memories to it. 

And that's personal. And when I make a piece of jewellery for you, that's personal. 

So I felt like it would be really helpful for any prospective client to get to know me a little bit better, and one way that I can do that is by utilising videos like this. 

So although I feel a little bit awkward about being this side of the camera and making videos, I'm going to do it anyway because I want to be able to give you more information. 

And to try and answer and some of the jewellery questions that I've been asked over the years and to show you some of my pieces so you get to see them on and get a feel for them better. 

So since this is an introduction video, I thought I should give you 3 things about me. 

Where I’m from

And one of the questions that I get asked most often, probably because of the accent, is where I'm from. 

So I'm from the Shetland Islands, which are in the far north of Scotland, about 110 miles north of the most northerly point of the Scottish mainland and the way I'm speaking at the moment, is my English version of the Shetland accent! 

But when I'm at home or speaking to other Shetlanders, I switch back into dialect almost subconsciously. And then you probably wouldn't understand me so well. 

How long I’ve been making jewellery

Another question, I get asked a lot is how long have I been making jewellery... so I started making jewellery in the workshop back home in Shetland in 1994. Which is 25 years, a quarter of a century, which I can't quite believe that but I love my job, so I feel very blessed to have been able to do it for so long. 

My Triumph Street Twin motorbike

And a fun fact. 

One of my favourite things is my motorbike, which is a Triumph Street Twin and it is 900CC which is a lot of fun. 

Having grown up on a farm back home in Shetland, it means a lot to me to be able to get out into the countryside so to be able to ride out and to be able to enjoy the countryside and the sense of freedom that I get on a motorbike is perfect. Plus I get around London pretty quickly! 

OK, well thank you for listening. Thank you for watching and if you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them in the comments section below. 

And if you want to get in touch, head over to my website it is karlinanderson.com you'll find on there all the ways that you can get in touch with me. 

Take care and hope to see you soon.