Here at LRFS we are real suckers for a sustainable small business - you know this by now. Better still if we manage to find a sustainable small business that specialises in keeping us stylish. That's why we're really happy to bring you this interview with Rosie Coetzee, the creative mind behind one of my favourite small businesses about: Real Nice jewellery.
Tell us a bit about yourself I’m Rosie, I spent the last three years living in East London studying geography at Queen Mary University. I’m originally from Surrey, which is where I am at the moment, working part-time as a barista, running Real Nice from my dining room table and trying to find a grad job!
When did you start Real Nice and why? I started Real Nice during the lockdown in November last year. Like lots of 2020 graduates a lot of my time is being taken up applying for jobs and I was looking for something creative to do to break up the constant cover letter writing! I’ve always worn rings and have wanted to own more, so I thought it would be quite cool to learn to make them myself. I went to university in London and wanted to have some sort of London related ring to remind me of uni. The Thames ring idea was in my mind and after looking around I couldn’t find one anywhere. So, I decided to buy a few tools to try and make the ring I had in my mind. It ended up turning out better than I thought it would! I decided to make a few more designs, create some branding, make an insta and Real Nice was born!
Why did you choose to focus on sustainability? It was really important to me when starting Real Nice that sustainability be a core part of it throughout. Studying geography at uni taught me a lot about the impacts that humans are having on the planet and I’ve been trying to make my own lifestyle more sustainable over the past five years or so. If Real Nice was to become a part of my lifestyle then I felt it would be wrong for it not to focus on sustainability! The jewellery industry is a pretty unsustainable and unethical place, with precious metal mining renowned for its impact on the planet and mistreatment of people working in the trade. I chose to use only recycled metals for Real Nice products so that it wouldn’t be contributing to this. The metals are just as high quality but are made using 100% scrap metal from scrap jewellery and recycled silver from the medical, electronics and giftware industries. It’s also great because it’s not much more expensive than non-recycled metals, so I’ve been able to create sustainable products that can stay in a pretty affordable price range which was important to me too. What’s your favourite piece that you make? It’s a toss up between the Thames and Funky Chunky. I love the Thames because it’s a pretty unique piece and the starting point for Real Nice, but I’ve also been really into chunky jewellery recently, so Funky Chunky is a stand out for me! Where would you like to take Real Nice in the future? I would love to learn more! Everything that I do at the moment I have taught myself but I would love to do a silversmith class when we’re out of lockdown, and bring some more advanced designs out. I also want to increasingly use Real Nice as a platform for promoting awareness of the environmental impacts of the jewellery industry.
What do you think the future of sustainable fashion is? Second hand! I think people are realising how easy it is to support sustainable fashion by just wearing the clothes that you or someone else already owns rather than buying new. I also think clothes rental/swapping platforms like Nuw will grow when we’re back to having events again; they’re fab for getting one off pieces without having to turn to fast fashion. How can we do more to shop sustainably? I think a simple way to do more to shop sustainably is just to think before we buy. Thinking about how much we’ll actually wear something and taking the little bit of extra time to check the sustainability and ethics behind what we’re buying before buying it. I find the Good on You app super helpful. It gives fashion brands simple ratings on their labour ethics, impact on the environment and impact on animals, which is a really really quick and easy way to ensure you’re shopping sustainably! Finally, what are some of your favourite sustainable brands? I really like Finisterre and I’m a big fan of Veja. I think Sandqvist is also very cool and I love Hylo's trainers.