Hand on Heart Interview

We have an exciting collaborative competition with Hand On Heart Jewellery; Founded in 2009 they are the creators of handprint and fingerprint jewellery and personalised gifts. We caught up with Amanda, the Co-Founder and Managing Director trying to find out a little more about the brand.

The first question has to be where did it begin? Where did the initial idea stem from?

My sister, Heather, and I founded the company in 2009. We both had very young children at the time and had seen the concept of Handprint Jewellery, which we loved. Sadly, the quality we’d come across was terrible, so we decided to make it our mission to create a process which delivered the concept and also the quality that such special and unique pieces deserve.

Can you talk us through the process of how it all work?

People are always surprised how easy it is to order Fingerprint Jewellery! Although we’re based in the Lake District, anyone can choose their design and order via our website. We then send out a magic printing kit to take the prints. The customer simply takes the prints, snaps a photo on their phone and emails the image to us. Once we’ve received the prints, we can start to make the design. Each piece is assigned to one of our specialist designers who keeps in touch with the customer throughout the process. All designs are created and delivered to the customer’s door within 7 days.

Your fingerprint collection is beautiful and offers a really subtle alternative, where do you get inspiration from for new shapes and designs?

All of our designs have come from directly listening to our customers. Design options for personalised jewellery are endless, there really isn’t a shape that we can’t create. The challenge is to make sure that we’re not overwhelming our customers with too much choice, and more importantly, we’re not assuming that we know their preferences. We’re constantly asking our audience for feedback on new designs and ideas on our social media sites, monitoring their behaviour on the website and listening to every single interaction they have with the brand. We’re so lucky that in an age of digital media, we have this ability to engage with our customers in a few clicks and it’s something we take full advantage of.

A lot of our readers will have their own businesses, do you have any advice to them when starting their own venture?

Always put the customer first. It’s so easy, especially in the early years of business, to get swept up in logistics and finances and lose sight of a customer’s best interests. So many companies invest in sales and marketing before customer service, which to me, is a huge mistake. I’m a firm believer that customer care is the best marketing strategy available and it’s where the bulk of your energy should be spent.

What are your future aspirations for the brand?

We have some very exciting endeavours at the moment, one of which is growing our Memorial Range of Jewellery. This year we launched our new Fingerprint Memorial Jewellery which is now offered as a service in over 80 Funeral Homes in the UK. This was a market that came to us as the concept of our jewellery became better known. Although this work is usually done in the saddest of situations, hearing how much our creations mean to families and the comfort they bring is so rewarding.

We are launching two competitions tomorrow, both on our Instagram page and theirs, to win a Blush Jewellery Box plus a £100 voucher to spend with Hand On Heart Jewellery.