We’re championing jewellery designer and entrepreneur Chupi Sweetman this Wednesday

Chupi’s career began with Topshop, as their youngest clothes designer. Chupi’s shift in interest occurred when her then boyfriend proposed and she fell in love with the idea of designing jewellery. This special moment spurred an entrepreneurial flare within Chupi to start her own jewellery brand from scratch from her living room. Today, Chupi’s brand has grown into her stunning and successful jewellery label, Chupi.

For shoe designer Emmy Scarterfield’s story, check out her Wonder Woman Wednesday profile.

Tell me about your background.

I was home-schooled by my mum which gave me a great opportunity to discover my own way in life, she always encouraged me to find what I truly had a passion for. At around 18 I headed off to university where I started designing dresses for myself, which quickly turned into designing dresses for my friends and before I knew it I had a small business!

It was all such a whirlwind, I was then scouted by Topshop and became their youngest ever designer and had a best-selling concession which was incredible.

Read more: Check out Sanyukta Shrestha’s Wonder Woman Wednesday profile to find out how the eco-friendly bridal designer started her career in bridal.

What inspired you to start your jewellery brand?

After about six years at Topshop I decided that my heart didn’t really lie in fast-fashion.

Shortly after this realisation my boyfriend proposed to me and just like that I got it. The ring he gave me became part of me, my present and my future, something that I could pass down to my children and that in time they could pass down to theirs… I wanted to create something that told a story, and that would last a lifetime.

I retrained as a goldsmith and that was that, Chupi as we know it was born.

Read more: Be inspired by bridal designer Jacqui James’s Wonder Woman Wednesday profile.

What are your secrets to success?

Hard work and a passion for what you do. I genuinely love my job – I love every story we are told, every happy customer, every time we get a message saying, “she said yes!!!”, but it has been seriously hard work to get to where we are, and I’m not done yet!

My tip to success though would be this: you absolutely have to make sure that you take some time each and every day for yourself, cook something nice, take a walk or have a relaxing bath… You need to clear your head and give yourself space in order to see the way.

Read more: Check out maternity designer Tiffany London’s secrets to success here.

What’s your greatest achievement so far?

My greatest achievement is my brand – we have had a number of amazing moments and successes, over the last five years, that have got us as a company to this point, but Chupi in itself is the biggest achievement.

What’s brilliant is that there are still things that we achieve that bring a smile to the faces of the whole team. For example, it’s great when we see a celebrity in our jewellery (Dua Lipa has not stopped wearing our ‘love is all you need’ earrings for weeks!). Another great achievement is when we win an award (we just won the award for ‘Entrepreneurial Spirit’ at the UK Jewellery Awards). It also feels fantastic every time we get an order form a new country (we have now been shopped in 64 countries!)

Read more: Check out bridal designer Charlie Brear’s greatest achievements.

What does your typical working day look like?

I get up, I dress for the office – sequins, feathers and pink are a must (not to mention all of the jewellery!), I feed the dogs…

My days take me all over the place; from designing, to photoshoots, to chatting to a nervous guy choosing a ring for his beloved… It’s a part of why I love my job so much, no two days are ever the same.

If you love hearing how our Wonder Women spend their working days, check out our brand new feature, My Diary.

5 Interesting Facts about Chupi:

1. I was home-schooled.

2. My real name is Chupi.

3. I wrote a cookbook when I was 17.

4. I was brought up in a village in the middle of nowhere called Hollywood in Wicklow, Ireland.

5. My very first Chupi studio was in the living room of my house, in a 12ftx 16ft space.

Want more? Check out Alexandra Harper’s Wonder Woman Wednesday profile here.