Elizabeth Harrison is the founder of brand new fine jewellery brand, Aureliean. After an intense period of working as a barrister, this creative recently changed her tracks completely to follow her dreams of designing jewellery.

Tell Us About Your Background

I have four siblings of which I am the youngest. Having been born and bred in London, I spent some of my early years living in New York, Spain and France. But I am a London girl through and through and London is where I call home.

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I have always been active, creative and into the arts. I have strong childhood memories of summers spent by the sea sketching, skateboarding or roller-skating; they’re some of my fondest memories of the ‘90s.

Despite my creative early years, I was very academic; I loved school and really enjoyed learning and decided to pursue a career in law. After graduation I went to law school and joined the corporate community working for law firms that enabled me to travel all over the world. This gave me a greater appreciation for, and understanding of, different cultures and communities.

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What inspired you to start your jewellery brand?

After training as a barrister, I spent over 10 years working in London and New York for different law firms. My life was a constant roster of lunch meetings, skeleton arguments, deal sheets and negotiations, and during those rare moments of quiet, I used to find myself longing for more colour and creativity in my working life.

It was in 2017 during a family holiday to Tenerife, after I just gave birth to my new baby, that I was inspired to take the leap of faith and turn my jewellery passion into a profession. The jewellery brand Aureliean was born. Aureliean is Latin for ‘golden’, and it’s the name I gave my firstborn son.

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What are your secrets to success?

Firstly, having faith in your abilities to make the right choices. It also helps to have luck, enthusiasm, support and energy. Personally, I am not afraid to fail and I always seek out the support of those that have taken the same path as I. It’s also important to keep learning. For example, I’m a self-taught fine jeweller but I will always take courses that will help develop myself and my business.

Who’s your greatest female inspiration, and why?

I am inspired by confident women and have been blessed to have met so many over the years during my travels and throughout my career. There have been many beautiful and talented women who have helped me shaped my life for the better. I think a woman who inspires and lifts others up is like an everlasting light to those around her, and my jewels are designed to shine just as brightly as she does.

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What’s your greatest achievement so far?

My greatest achievement has been becoming a mother to my wonderful children, whom remain my love, my light and my daily source of laughter. My other greatest achievement has to be the process of seeing my designs and ideas come to life from the sketches to the finished polished piece.

What does your typical working day look like?

Ever changing! No two days are the same for me, which is one of the reasons why I adore my job.

I start my day early and go skating. I stay close to the river, which is a beautiful place to walk or skate. After getting the kids ready for nursery and school and dropping them off, the rest of my day is either spent designing, prepping for sales meetings, writing and editing website content, reviewing contracts or developing a communications plan. Other days I am out building the business profile, meeting with suppliers and getting the business side of things done.

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Can you tell us five facts about yourself?

1. I was called to the bar in England and Wales
2. I am a member of The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple
3. I love skateboarding and roller skating and now I am passing the baton on to my eight year old son
4. I am currently working towards gaining my Gemologist degree
5. I nearly became an actress

If Elizabeth’s background in law, jewellery designing and, most importantly, parenting has inspired you, make sure you check out Jewellery Designer Béatrice de Montille’s Wonder Woman Wednesday profile.