Mettle is defined as “a person's ability to cope with difficulties; spirit and resilience” and that is exactly what Sallyann is channelling with her gorgeous jewellery brand based right here in Galway. Read all about it here..
A primarily online-based jewellery company, Mettle & Bloom, is dedicated to providing high quality and unique pieces that inspire and encourage women to embrace their inner mettle. “Mettle & Bloom is very much a female-focused and story-led jewellery company that celebrates women for their mettle,” says Sallyann. “To have mettle is to have strength, courage, drive, and determination; Our overarching tagline is to ‘nurture your mettle to reach your bloom.”
above: Sallyann, photo by Ciarán MacChoncarraige
The process of designing such colourful and eye-catching jewellery for Mettle & Bloom is deeply intertwined and rooted in the feedback from the people who matter most: her customers. “My Sun, Moon, and Stars’ necklace is actually the 2.0 version,” said Sallyann. “All of the new changes came completely from customer feedback, which has definitely been a big part of the evolution of the pieces as well as the initial designs; Now, it’s one of our best-selling pieces!”
Beyond the realm of physical critiques and new ideas, hearing about the impact that the values of her company have had on her customers is what truly drives Sallyann’s passion for her pieces. “You wouldn’t believe the number of emails that I get from customers telling me how much a piece of jewellery they have received from our company means to them because of the theme of having mettle,” Sallyann tells me. “Hearing those meaningful anecdotes is incredible.”
In order to run a successful jewellery brand, a lot of pieces have to fall into place, from quality and originality to the message behind it all. But she was up to the challenge.
She always knew she wanted to build a meaningful, female-focused jewellery brand that people could resonate with, from the beginning of her business journey three years ago.
“When I started off, I found everything available at the time felt either very expensive, or quite cheap and lower quality. I suppose I wanted to bridge that gap.” Sallyann shares. “But what was most important to me was having that meaningful aspect to it.”
The female-focused lens of Mettle & Bloom is the other major pillar of the company and is knitted with the idea of mettle. “As women, we are so quick to jump to everyone else’s needs around us and we have the habit of tending to everyone else before ourselves.” She explains, “So with Mettle & Bloom, I wanted something that would celebrate women for women and to find a way to tell them ‘you are incredible, you are so resilient, and you’re doing such a great job.”
A browse through the colourful pieces on the website reveals the thought and care placed into each name, colour, design. Each one is beautifully unique. With such whimsical pieces, one might wonder where the inspiration behind the names and designs comes from.
“The process varies: sometimes I’ll start with the idea for the name first and others I’ll start with the design.” Sallyann shares, “The ‘To the Moon and Back’ necklace I based on the phrase ‘I love you to the moon and back’ and was meant as a gifting piece for loved ones, while ‘The Long Walk’ necklace is a lot more of an obviously logical name.”
Business is blooming for Mettle & Bloom, with a recent relaunch in Arnotts in Dublin. The future is looking bright as they continue to encourage women to nurture their mettle, and bloom into their full potential. But there’s always room for new and exciting opportunities in the future, some even quite personal.
“I would love to see Mettle & Bloom launch in Brown Thomas Galway.” Sallyann says, adding that; “Throughout my college years, I worked at Brown Thomas in Galway, so I would definitely love to have my pieces in the store as kind of a full-circle moment; from working on other people’s brands in the store to hopefully having my own brand in there.”
To purchase and browse through Sallyann’s stunning pieces, visit mettleandbloom.com. You can also shop these pieces in-person at the Tiny Trader’s Market every Friday and Saturday. Follow them on Instagram @mettleandbloom to never miss out on the latest news.
All jewellery photography courtesy of Mettle & Bloom.
