If Natalie Marie has one regret, it’s not quitting her full-time job sooner when her eponymous jewellery label started to
take off. “It got to the point where I was working 12 to 15 hours a day, seven days a week,” says Marie, who was employed as a fashion buyer at the time.
In the end, it wasn’t Marie who decided to walk away from her job in 2014.
“My boss gave me the final push. I think I needed to be shoved because I was apprehensive about taking the next step,” she admits.
“As soon as I did give the business my everything, we saw the biggest changes. The more I put in, the more it flourished,” says Marie, who now spends most of her time working on bespoke pieces including engagement and wedding rings.
Now, Natalie Marie Jewellery has 30 stockists in Australia, a studio on Sydney’s northern beaches and nine employees. In the past six months, its online store grew by over 60 per cent.
“It’s incredible to think I was tapping away in our spare bedroom just a few years ago,” says Marie, who credits her 128,000-strong following on Instagram for setting her apart from her competitors.
“We grew our social media presence month by month – and that was a huge factor.”
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