Why People Still Choose Handmade Jewellery in Person

Lately, a lot of us independent shopkeepers have been quietly noticing the same thing — fewer people wandering through the door, quieter afternoons, a little less of that gentle bustle that makes a market town feel alive and yet, almost every day in my shop, something happens that reminds me why real shops still matter so much.

Yesterday, two ladies came in carrying a pearl necklace that hadn’t been worn in years because the clasp had become too fiddly. We chatted while I fitted magnetic clasps so the pearls could be worn and enjoyed again, and somewhere in amongst the conversation one of them smiled and said, “Ah… we know who you are, we know your mum.” I laughed because honestly, that happens quite a lot. Those little moments are impossible to package into a parcel.

A few days earlier, I spent time helping someone choose a delicate piece of jewellery for her sister’s 60th birthday. Not something flashy or enormous, just something thoughtful and elegant that would quietly suit her. Then there was the customer who brought his necklace chain in for a new bolt ring, then his son came in wanting the same treatment, he bought a birthday present for his wife and he also gave me advice on how to make the shop (and myself) a little more secure.

I come home carrying these stories with me all the time.

One of the lovely things about running Claire Howard Jewellery from a real high street shop is that people don’t just come in to buy jewellery. They come in to browse, to chat, to watch me working at my jeweller’s bench in the window, to ask questions about silver and gemstones and tiny tools whose names I sometimes forget halfway through explaining them. There’s something rather special about seeing handmade jewellery in person too. Jewellery is such a tactile thing. You notice the weight of a bangle, the sparkle of a hammered surface catching the light, the tiny details in a wax carving or the soft glow of silver against your skin. It feels different when you can hold it in your hand.

I think that is why many of us choose handmade things in the first place. Not because they are flawless, but because they carry evidence of the person who made them and perhaps that’s true of independent shops too. They aren’t always slick or perfect, but they are full of people trying very hard to create something warm and welcoming and meaningful within their little corner of the world.

My little shop sits in Upper Market Place in Fakenham, just opposite the cinema. Next door there’s an upholsterer, a lovely charity shop with wonderful vintage treasures upstairs, a florist and a beautiful homewares shop. It’s the sort of place where people still stop and chat in the street and where popping into one shop often turns into an afternoon wandering through several.

Inside Claire Howard Jewellery you’ll find handmade sterling silver and gold jewellery inspired by the Norfolk coast and countryside, workshop tables where people come to make jewellery themselves, trays of shells and textures gathered from beach walks, and usually a workbench covered in half-finished ideas.

If you visit, you may see me polishing silver, carving wax, packing orders with ribbon and tissue paper, teaching a workshop or simply sitting with a cup of tea trying to work out where I put my favourite pair of pliers (or my glasses!)

The shop is open:
Tuesday – Saturday
10am – 4pm

You can also browse online here on my website where you’ll find handmade necklaces, rings, bangles, earrings and jewellery inspired by Norfolk beaches, vintage buttons, gardens and treasured memories.

But I must admit, I do especially love it when the shop door opens.

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