What distinguishes your business from competitors?
The personal touch. I have a genuine interest in the pieces I make. I care enormously about design and handpick each and every stone that goes into my pieces. I work with people as opposed to selling at them. It's not about choosing one of five rings on my desk. By going bespoke, people get exactly what they want, at the price they want to pay.
A lot of jewellers are second or third generation jewellers but just because their grandfather had an amazing knowledge and talent for stones and diamonds, that doesn’t mean they will.
What's been the biggest challenge you have had to face?
Being a young woman in an industry filled with men in suits. Some of the diamond sellers don't want to talk to women on their own – they only want to deal with men. I've been patronised and questioned but, at the end of the day, I just go in, get the job done, and ensure that I have happy clients at the end. You have to work very hard to earn respect from your contemporaries.
And your major success to date?
Building my own business from scratch and watching it grow from strength to strength. None of my family members are in the jewellery or diamond business, so I had to do everything myself.
What's the biggest mistake you've made in business?
Believing I could take everything on. I have a lot of facets to my business. At the beginning, I thought I had to do everything – wedding fairs, getting retail experience, designing my own website. I've now realised how to pick and choose to make the most efficient use of my time.
What was the best piece of business advice you've ever received?
Don't bring problems, bring solutions. I received that advice at my first big event. An extra table of people showed up who hadn't booked.
Another good piece of advice is: take care of a good name. It’s why I have my own name over my business. And being the only Natasha Sherling on the internet makes it difficult to misbehave – I have no one else to blame things on.
Who do you most admire in business and why?
An unbelievable jeweller called JAR (Joel Arthur Rosenthal). His shop in Paris has no display window and no regular hours. He has no online presence and no one really knows what he looks like. His pieces aren't big and flashy, yet he can command hundreds of thousands of euro for them. He keeps his head down and gets on with things.
I also admire Ralph Lauren who has created an extremely valuable global brand in his own lifetime. Most people can't do that.
What piece of advice would you give to the Government to stimulate the economy?
Get people shopping. Spending money puts money back into the economy and makes the economy go round. The Government should incentivise people to get shopping. It doesn't have to be for luxury items – it can be on food or days out. They could do this by lowering VAT. People sitting at home in their houses will not get the economy going again.
Do you think the banks are open for business at the moment?
I have not had to go down the bank loan route. I don't think they'd be particularly favourable toward me if I did. Many people are looking outside the banks for funding now. There is a trend towards investors, kickstarter funds and seed funds. Young people are sourcing the money for their businesses elsewhere.
How do you see the short-term future for your business?
Expanding and re-branding. I am going to have a new online presence. I also have a new collection in the pipeline.
How much is your business worth and would you sell it?
I don't know what it's worth – I guess it would be the value of the diamonds I have in my safe. My business is my name. Everything rests on a good name. I don't think I'd like someone else doing something with my business/name. I'd have to be paid a lot to hand over my name.
In conversation with Pamela Newenham
