Intended to give you some insight into the person behind the brand, here we delve into a quick Q&A session with Glitter Nonsense Shell, to learn a few tidbits of random information and find out what makes her tick...
Cats or dogs?
Don't make me choose! Both? I adore all animals (spiders, scorpions and wasps can do one though) but I'm a cat owner and currently have two big fluffy Persians.
Cat's are so much less hassle than dogs and whilst I love dogs and spend heaps of time with and looking after them, having one of my own is an extra layer of complexity I just can't fathom embracing, but I do envisage having a dog at some point in my future.
A Havanese would be ideal, anything that looks like it was designed by Jim Henson, and I'd prefer a small to medium size doggo for practicality reasons.
What does your ideal weekend look like?
This weekend coming is actually a great example of my ideal weekend. I've been super busy lately and have had so much going on in my working and family life that I realised I needed some time to ground myself.
I love going off on solo adventures (hence why I founded Camping with Style), and being married, with both of us working from home means I very rarely spend time alone.
This weekend I'm heading into Wales, staying in a little log cabin in the middle of nowhere and planning on hiking, meditating, drinking coffee and reading my Kindle whilst sat outside wrapped up in blankets with a glass of wine to hand.
What's your favourite colour?
Looking at my designs and the colours I chose for this website, it's probably quite easy to guess what my go-to colours are! I'm probably in pink more than any other single colour, but I love all things bright and adore teal, turquoise, purple and lime green.
Have you always been crafty?
I'm a serial crafter and yes, most of my life I've indulged my creative side, but honestly, I never really found anything I was particularly good at. At school I loved art classes more than anything else and enjoyed drawing, mixed media and working with clay, but I wasn't particularly good at it.
I've always doodled and as a kid I wanted to be a graphic designer. In the late 90's during the dawn of the internet I taught myself web design which meant as well as learning to code (websites were coded in a basic text editor by hand in HTML back then) I also learned to use Photoshop and Illustrator and a passion for digital design and illustration was born.
After graduating from uni and getting my first job I was able to begin investing in different materials and tools which lead me into many varied phases which have included candle making, designing and selling greetings cards, amateur photography, polymer clay, crochet, knitting, paper cutting, macrame, Jesmonite, leather work, felting, pop pom making and many, many more!
What's next in terms of creative outlets?
There's always something new on the horizon for me, but I really want to get back to illustrating. I need to dust off my old Wacom tablet and get drawing again! I am really craving an iPad and Procreate though, in fact, now I finally have a thermal label printer, that's next on my list of investments.
What's your personal style?
I don't like choosing one thing and then making my whole personality that, so I like to stay fluid as I'm somewhat capricious and what I like today could be totally different to what I'm vibing with next week!
I do have some core looks though and I suppose if you had to sum up my style it would be on the more conservative side of colourful/alternative, a look I generally refer to as toddlercore.
I am a ceaseless dopamine chaser and I like what I wear to bring joy whilst at the same time looking at least vaguely cohesive.
I do have plenty of black in my wardrobe (I still love going to Whitby Goth weekend with my besties every year and re-living my teenage The Cure phase) but it's gradually being replaced as I rediscover the wonderful art of not giving a fuck about what anyone thinks about my look.
Heels can absolutely do one (unless they are Irregular Choice in which case TAKE MY MONEY) and I'm usually found in pink sparkly Converse, zebra print Rocket Dogs or my beloved pastel Nike AF1. I have an unhealthy love of leopard print, psychedelic prints, tie dye and cutesy illustrated clothing and accessories and if it's neon, consider me obsessed, anything with bold prints and bright colours I love.
Working from a home studio means most of the time I just grab the nearest pair of mom jeans and a hoodie, particularly if I have no plans to create content that day, I'll still always make sure I have a brightly coloured headband, colourful nails and of course, a pair of my earrings on though, I don't feel like me without wearing something vibrant.
Where did the name Glitter Nonsense come from?
After making earrings for a few months I realised I'd made far too many to ever wear myself or gift to friends and family, so I decided to give Etsy a go and never looked back!
With a background in digital marketing, I knew I wanted to choose a scalable brand name and was keen not to go down the "Crafts by Shell" or "The Resin Earring Maker" route.
Thinking about my brand one evening and what I wanted it to be, I described everything I make as "crazy, colourful, nonsense". I have always loved the word nonsense, and thought "Resin Nonsense" would be too limiting, so decided that "Glitter Nonsense" hit the brief perfectly.
As soon as I thought of it I knew It was right, and from then on, I was quickly able to design my logo and develop my brand kit.
Do you have any other favourite words?
Nonsense, of course as previously mentioned but also nincompoop. A brilliant word I try to use as much as possible. Also 🔔🔚 which will probably be baffling to anyone reading this that isn't from the UK!
What do you suck at?
Oh I suck at so many things! I'm not a competitive person at all these days, and I'm totally happy to not be good at things. The whole egocentric notion of wanting to be the best, to win, to be good at things is incredibly unhealthy and just isn't me. I couldn't care less.
I'm comfortable with who I am, and I'm not trying to prove anything to myself or anyone else. That's not to say there aren't things I'm good at, I mean, I'm biased but I think I'm pretty good at making colourful glittery stuff, but I'm happy to give things a go and equally happy to not be great.
In fact, I genuinely believe it's not the winning, it's the taking part and enjoying yourself that matters. I grew out of living from a place of ego long ago and have since thrived.
To properly answer the question though, I think I suck at social media.
Perhaps it's a generational thing, but I do still struggle putting myself out there and see a lot of charismatic pretty young creators smashing it. I don't like jumping on trends in general, so when there's a meme or trending piece of awful sped-up music or whatnot, It's not often that I'll authentically vibe with it and want to get on board and when I do, I can't help but feel lame for trying too hard. As a result I tend to stick to totally unplanned, totally unaesthetic content becuase to me, realness is all that matters.
It doesn't help that organic reach is so difficult to obtain and I hate gimmicks and doing things in a certain way just to get likes. I'd rather remain authentic and do what I want to do, rather than doing what the algorithm gods tell me I should do, so obviously, that creates problematic low reach.
Where does your design inspiration come from?
I get my inspiration from everywhere! Following so many other makers on TikTok can be a bit of a curse though as you have to try so hard not to emulate or be too influenced by work you admire!
I like bold colours, love silver because I think it contrasts so well with any colour and I love leopard print and organic shapes and patterns. As a huge outdoors nut, lots of ideas will just pop into my head when I'm out walking, though I'm definitely not a fan of using natural, neutral shades in my work. I want my pieces to energise and give people a little dopamine boost rather than calm and ground the senses!
Comfort or glamour?
Always, always, always comfort. In my 20's I believed I HAD to wear heels to look good, turns out I was dressing for the male gaze and for 'approval'. What a load of rubbish.
Don't get me wrong, my calves pop in heels but it's very rare I'll choose to wear them over my Nikes or Converse. Back in the 90's I was all about fashion, but always put my own spin on things. I'd buy a few key pieces (Diesel was my go-to back then) and I also used to make things (simple shift dresses, hand sewn!) and I found a lot of 60's and 70's vintage pieces at the Rag Market in Birmingham which used to be amazing.
My best find was a vintage Levi's pink-wash denim jacket. I still have that jacket, and amazingly, despite it being a UK10 and me being nowhere near to a 10 these days, I can still put it on....I just can't close it or move my arms in it.
I love pairing a funky dress with trainers just as much as I love mixing colours and prints. Lucy & Yak and Run & Fly are my go-to brands for dungas, and dresses wise, I love Twisted Wunder, Scamp & Dude and Popsy.
What's your current favourite design?
My granny used to call me fickle and I guess that would be one way to describe my constantly changing obsessions, likes and dislikes! Right now as we are heading towards Valentine's Day, it's my Cosmic Heart earring design, I love the fact it's so cute, and despite there being a heart, it's kinda disguised as a Saturn-like planet which increases the quirkiness of the design.
Ask me again next week though and I guarantee it will be something different.
None of your designs feature gold. What have you got against it?
Ha! I have nothing against gold, I think it looks fab with bright pink for example and it looks good on other people, but it's just not me. I guess it's because of my skin-tone, but I've never warmed to gold and have always felt that silver stood out more on me and that it's a more contemporary choice than classic gold.
I would like to offer jewellery options with gold colour findings one day if the demand is there, but I've never once had a request for it.
Any parting pearls of wisdom to leave the reader with?
Look for little glimmers of joy everywhere and appreciate even the smallest of things. I would also like to urge people to stop trying to fit in, just shine as your authentic self. Also, be a considerate, kind human.
OK love you bye.