Charlotte´s Web 10 Year Anniversary Blog – The History

A decade of adventures by the free spirited founder, Charlotte Howarth, spanning continents and embracing different cultures, has resulted in the enchanting world of Charlotte's Web. As we celebrate reaching this milestone anniversary, we would like to share a little of our story with you, of how the web began to be weaved, and how we will continue to enchant and entice you in the future.

The creation of Charlotte´s Web was somewhat unplanned, a natural process, encountering highs and lows along the way. Having worked for several years in restaurants and boutiques, Charlotte always harboured an inherent desire to create within the fashion industry. However, her own unique sense of style and individuality, never having followed the ´normal´ fashion trends from an early age, she found that the existing fashion marketplace didn't offer the exotic, unusual opportunities which she was looking for.

Of course, this was back in the days before the internet was the powerful tool it is today, and with very few items available from the Far East available in the UK mainstream market, Charlotte set off for India to source her own, and from there the adventure began.

Always thinking ahead of her time, and predicating the future trends, she returned from India with a backpack full of sparkling gems and colourful clothing, and finding herself uninspired by the dreary March weather, headed to Camden market, armed with her shimmering magical items, and injected some much needed colour into the grey skies of London.

She also showcased her collections at intimate jewellery parties as well as the famously eclectic London markets. Taking her pieces to display at festivals was a real stepping stone for Charlotte personally, giving her the opportunity to share her creations with like minded souls. This was a truly motivational experience, and soon, the demand for her unique, groundbreaking pieces organically grew, eventually resulting in the need for an online boutique.

As the years progressed, and online sales became such a powerful force, she joined forces with Not on The High Street, which, especially in its early days was a fantastic platform to launch and share her captivating pieces and innovative vision with a much wider audience.

Charlotte´s Web were the first designers to introduce spinning rings to the UK, and now the beguiling charm of these rings, which draw on ancient Tibetan meditation techniques to calm and soothe the souls and spirit have been introduced by many other designers, who have clearly taken their inspiration from Charlotte´s original designs. Her signature selection of spinning jewellery has expanded from spinning rings, to bracelets and pendants. These are an integral part of our collections, people are instantly entranced by their magic and they have always proven to be our most popular pieces due to their unusual nature.

 

The way in which our jewellery is created is of the utmost importance to us. The majority of our pieces are made by hand in India, and traded fairly along with our own branded packaging. Our main base in India is the vibrant state of Rajasthan, an exotic and mesmerising place with a cast of brightly coloured turbans and saris, camels, primitive villages, and talented local craftsmen.

All of the people employed by our manufacturers are treated well, and are fairly paid. We have grown together with our suppliers, beginning in the back room of a small Indian shop, which has since flourished into a beautiful showroom, newly built this year, showcasing the result of years of hard work, skill and trust which we have created together.

It is vital to us that we visit our manufacturers at least twice a year, and Charlotte personally spends time checking every process, consulting directly with the team to ensure we are always improving on quality, especially when choosing and sourcing precious stones. Sharing dinner in their family homes and building a mutual respect which has spanned over ten years, these are the people who make our designs into a reality.

An escape from the everyday, jewellery, which transports you to a magical place. Over the last decade we have aimed to recreate the heady feeling of adventure and travel with our pieces, combining our love of both India and Ibiza, to harness that wonderful care-free, feet in the sand feeling of being free when you enter the world of Charlotte´s Web.

Read more on next week´s blog as to what our ideas and inspirations for the future will be.....