NAJ Award Winner Interviews - Lebrusan Studio
18 Jul 2022
We discuss what it's like to win two NAJ Awards with ethical jewellery designer, Arabel Lebrusan from Lebrusan Studio.
1. What prompted you to nominate your business?
As a brand whose primary purpose is to make the world around us a better place, we’re constantly busy learning and trying to ensure we stay evolving. With this forward momentum and unwavering focus on the bigger picture, sometimes it’s really important for us to pause, to reflect on the distance we’ve travelled and the things we’ve achieved. For us, awards are a perfect opportunity to do so. Not only do award nominations require contemplation, but they enable us to celebrate our work on a public platform, telling the jewellery industry about what we’ve been busy doing. With this comes a sense of affirmation, a reminder to feel proud of ourselves.
2. What does winning the awards mean to you, your team and your business?
We’re an independent brand upheld by a small and dedicated team of four. With our small-scale and made-to-order approach to creating jewellery, our championing of traditional British craftsmanship and our commitment to a select handful of sustainable metals and gemstones, we’ve never been in a position to challenge larger industry players on their production speeds or competitive prices. For us, winning awards as prestigious as these is a reminder that we don’t need to; that what we’re doing is important. When an ethical jeweller is crowned the NAJ’s Jewellery Designer of the Year, talk of traceability and sustainability is once again pushed to the fore. This instils us with hope. The jewellery industry is evolving before our eyes, and ethics is no longer a niche!
3. Do you intend to promote your win in any way – ie via social media, announcement on your website, window display, local press… so that your customers are aware?
Understandably, our achievement left us wanting to yell from the rooftops. As soon as the award winners were announced, we scheduled some social media posts, distributed a newsletter and pushed a news release out to the industry press. Logos for the awards we’ve won can be found branded into the unique certificates of provenance we provide our clients, as well as on a dedicated page on our website. Spreading the word has felt fantastic!
4. Is this the first time that you have won an award (either trade or consumer-focused) or is it the most recent of many?
We feel very fortunate to have had our hard work recognised by a variety of accolades over the years. However, this is the first time in Lebrusan Studio history that we’ve had the pleasure of celebrating at an awards ceremony and scooping up not one but two distinct awards!
5. Where will you display the Awards?
At our homely little studio in Brighton, as a daily reminder to us all of what we’re capable of!
6. Do you intend to enter again next year?
We would love to enter the NAJ Awards again next year. From the communication to the ceremony itself, the thrill of winning the awards and the kind feedback and promotion we’ve received from the NAJ team subsequently, the entire experience has been incredibly positive and professional.
7. What plans do you have for the business for the remainder of 2022?
The remainder of the year is set to be punctuated by the launches of three exciting new collections, each telling a beautiful story of craftsmanship and responsible sourcing. This means we’ll spend the coming months busy with the fine details; the written descriptions, the pricing, the photography, the promotion. I begin studying an MA in Sculpture at the Royal College of Art in September whilst my Digital Marketing Manager Ruby is flying the nest in late-July to spend seven months travelling South America, so the office is about to feel much quieter than usual, too!
Visit Lebrusan Studio
Check out the other winners from the NAJ Awards 2022
Source: National Association of Jewellers