5 Questions to Alice Blofeld (Shyla’s Founder and Designer) About Her Brand’s Phylosophie

1. What’s the story behind Shyla Jewellery?

Shyla is a fresh lavish brand creating delicate, high quality jewellery. Morally motivated, Shyla offers timeless, wearable jewellery to suit women of all ages. Designed in London, the clean, minimalist and contemporary designs allow each item to flow comfortably from day through to evening. All our stones are natural and our metals are ethically sourced or recycled. Each of these thought out pieces are designed with timelessness and longevity in mind. In a world of fast fashion, consumerism is turning the planet into a sweat shop haven while simultaneously polluting and contributing immensely to climate change. However, by choosing well and buying less you can begin to make a huge difference. Even our beautiful packaging is made from recycled material. We pride ourselves on being ethically motivated.

2. What are your inspirations for your collections?

Our inspiration is a mix of vintage classic with modern and contemporary designs. I love art deco design also and this is reflected in a few of our designs. We want to create jewellery that will be worn for years to come and not just for a quick fashion trend. We also love colour. A lot of our collection is formed by beautiful greens, champagnes, blues, lemons and emerald greens. Jewellery can add a touch of colour and uplift an outfit really easily when done well.

3. Where is your jewellery sourced from and where is your jewellery made?

We have one workshop in Birmingham and one in India. I visit both twice a year to check production. They are both medium sized family run businesses with an extremely experienced and skilled workforce. Stones are sourced from around the world, mainly India. 70% of our silver and gold is recycled.

4. Please tell us a little more about yourself as a designer?

I have worked in fashion since my early twenties. I never really follow trends as such. Of course they have a subconscious influence on designing but I try as much as possible to stay away from short-lived trends and focus instead on femininity, classiness, quality, uniqueness and longevity. I have been designing for about seven years now. My original collection was based on my mother’s vintage jewellery collection and we expanded from there.

5. Tell us about your brand philosophy.

The core values of our company are simple; to be ethical and moral in all approaches as well as being as green as possible. We apply this ethos in several ways. Firstly we work tightly with with a charity educating some of the poorest women in India. Teaching them a craft they can learn to support and sustain their families. We also donate a percentage of our online sales to choose love, a charity aimed and helping refugees. The third charity we support is one tree planted. a charity aimed at offsetting carbon footprints. We are a women-led team who believe so strongly in sisterhood and supporting and uplifting other women.