Jlk For Newmarket

A day in the life of Jade Leigh Kelly of Karen Walker Jewellery

Reading Time: 4 Minutes

The Karen Walker brand is well and truly a household name, with their offering stretching over luxury garments, eyewear, jewellery and evening pet accessories. We caught up with Jade Leigh Kelly, Head Designer at Karen Walker Jewellery to find out what goes into her day to day...

5:00am

My alarm goes off and I’m straight up to do some yoga stretches and meditation.

5:30am

I make a cup of tea for myself and my partner Karl and I take the next hour and a half to get some work done, that can be anything from designing, emails, reviewing sales and feedback or planning for a shoot. I find working whilst the world is quiet helps me get on top of things.

7:00am

My son Arrow who will be two in a few months is usually starting to stir, I love to be there to see his little face wake for the day. We have a little cuddle and chat before we get up and I make breakfast for the family. That’s usually followed by some dancing around the house to music as requested by Arrow. He’s obsessed with Anika Moa and The Wiggles right now.

8:00am

I get Arrow ready before I make a start on getting myself ready for the day. I will do a little food prep and some of the never-ending housework before I head out of the door and make the 20-minute walk to work.

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9:00am

I arrive at work and often start by catching up with Peggy who I work closely with on accessories and handbags, we plan ranges, design and put feedback together to send to our suppliers. I’ll also have new jewellery ideas and designs that I’ll talk through with Karen and once we’re happy I’ll then brief our jewellers.

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11:00am

This month we launch a new jewellery collection, so I visit our jeweller’s workshop to look at the finished pieces before they head out to our stores and stockists. In this collection we have a limited-edition Runaway Girl carrying an acorn and some tiny little bugs with such intricate detail. Whilst at the workshop I also review samples in the making, often for a collection that’s a whole year away.

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12:30pm

I pick up some lunch from &Sushi. I then visit Playpark by Karen Walker to catch up with the team there and see how the jewellery’s going in-store. I really value hearing staff and customer feedback and I also love to see who is coming into the store.

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2:00pm

I arrive back at KW HQ where I will catch up on emails before I head home just after 3pm.

3:30pm

I arrive home and focus on spending quality time with Arrow. We love to spend as much time in nature as we can but if the weather isn’t great, we bring the leaves and sticks indoors for some nature play and crafting and I document our creations on Instagram.

5:00pm

I start making dinner, often with Arrow stood on a stool at the bench with me “helping”.

6:00pm

We have dinner as a family every night and talk about what we did that day. After dinner it all gets a little bit wild, with trying to tidy up, giving Arrow his bath, reading a book together and finally Arrow going down to bed by 7.30pm.

7:30pm

I take a breather for half an hour either with a cup of tea or a glass of wine and scroll social media or read one of the many articles or studies I have saved. I then do another hour or so of work, usually catching up on emails and planning for the next day.

9:00pm

I start my wind down with a hot shower and some calming music before getting ready for bed.

6 Balm Street | @karenwalker

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