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Having not particularly enjoyed my education I joined a jewellery evening class when I was 16 in Guilford where I had grown up. After falling in love with designing and making jewellery, I applied for a place at Birmingham jewellery school. When asked at the interview, 'what would I do if I wasn't accepted' I answered with 'I'll just re-apply and come back next year!' They obviously either thought I was good enough, or they may as well accept me this year as I'd just be back to pester them the next! I trained there for 3 years as a diamond mounter and loved my time at the school and living and socialising in Birmingham.

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After my time there I had an offer to work in a small independent jeweller's workshop alongside 3 other jewellers. During this time my parents had moved to run a hotel in the Dordogne in France. During a visit one summer, I met my future husband and I soon moved to East Sussex with him and found a job working in a trade jewellers near Eastbourne. I remember one job in particular was to re-size a plastic, metal plated Christmas cracker ring that someone had got engaged with one Christmas.

 

After a move to Doncaster and then to Northampton due to my husband's career, we ended up and settled in a small village in Wiltshire with views of Salisbury Plain. By then we had our 2 children and although I still designed and made my own designs for friends and family, I didn't go back to jewellery as a career for some time.

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Once my children were more independent I began to expand what was a workbench in the garage into a workshop again and eventually had one built in our garden (a glorified shed, but it had the much needed space that I needed). I started exhibiting at trade jewellery and craft shows and I haven't looked back. I am now back in East Sussex close to the coast, with my dream workshop and there is a small but lovely team of people helping to keep Fi Mehra Designs running and ever growing.

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My jewellery has changed so much over the years but my own unique style has remained, and I now feel I have some popular and well established ranges. Fi Mehra Designs is now stocked in over 25 wonderful outlets, from art galleries and clothing boutiques to jewellery and craft shops.  I absolutely love what I do and am so glad that others enjoy wearing my designs as much as I enjoy making them.

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To the Future...

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Fi Mehra Designs has grown quite quickly in the last 2 years and I hope that we can continue to expand. As a designer I am forever creating new ranges although my assistant and my daughter ensure that I don't just sit making new designs, and get the current orders finished first! However it does mean that we can regularly showcase products at shows and keep the ranges fresh and expanding. We are always on the look out to work with new stockists and absolutely appreciate the ones we work with already.

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Many thanks for taking the time to read about me and Fi Mehra Designs,

Fi x

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