Founder@ Interview
With Rosie Greener
“Just get going, slowly and steadily. You will make mistakes and wrong decisions along the way and that is inevitable. But rather than waste time overthinking everything, just put that first foot forward. That way you can find out what works, discover what your customer wants and learn where your place in the market is. So many parts of business take time, so the sooner you get started, the better!” – Rosie Greener
Today we feature Rosie Greener, the founder at Good Daze. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.
Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
My name is Rosie Greener and I am a Jewellery Designer and the founder of Good Daze, an independent jewellery brand that creates uplifting pieces to make the wearer smile and appreciate the little things in life. I started the brand in 2017 and design all the pieces in my London workshop before collaborating with a handful of small, London based workshops to bring them to life.
A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?
I took a Foundation Course in Art and Design at Central St Martins in order to experiment with different disciplines and within the first week discovered jewellery design and completely fell in love! What could possibly be better than designing special and meaningful objects, to be worn and adored? Going on to study a BA in Jewellery Design at Central St Martins enabled me to further explore my ideas, work on my practice and learn more about the technical side of jewellery making. It wasn’t long before I realised a strong preference for designing over making, and consciously aimed my career in that direction. Immediately after graduating in 2015,
I began work as a Design Assistant in a large fashion jewellery company, designing for a variety of well known high-street brands such as Topshop, Topman, SkinnyDip and Matalan. I enjoyed the constant creativity and the fast-paced environment and continued to work there for four years, designing hundreds of pieces and learning about the manufacturing and processes within this sector of the industry. Whilst there, I began to crave another outlet for my creativity; a slower and more thoughtful design and making process, with my involvement throughout. I also started to question the morality of the commercial fashion industry and mass production, and this prompted me to dream about starting my own independent brand, where I could make things in a way that felt right to me.
I decided to teach myself how to use a CAD drawing program so that I could design and make my own 3D printed jewellery pieces in the evenings and on weekends, and it wasn’t long before Good Daze (formerly called Mood Good) was born. I was 23 when I started the brand in 2017 and it has been steadily growing since then. Last year, after nearly 5 years of building the business alongside other design jobs, I was finally able to go full time with it. Creating happy jewellery for lovely people is a source of great joy for me, and it has truly been a dream come true for my brand to grow and flourish.
Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?
Good Daze jewellery is all designed by me in my London studio. After sketching out initial ideas, the majority of the pieces are designed using a CAD software called Rhinoceros 3D, which enables a very high level of detail and accuracy. Simpler models may take a handful of hours to design, whereas the most complex pieces can take up to 3 days to complete. The jewellery pieces are then made in a series of small workshops around London. Working with small workshops so close to where I live not only helps support local people and businesses, it also means that I can drop in regularly, meet those who are making the pieces, know that they have good pay and are working fair hours, have any conversations face to face and experience first hand the everyday working environment within the workshop. Having worked in the mass-produced fashion jewellery industry for many years, I know how difficult it is to have full transparency and get a complete picture when it comes to working with overseas factories and suppliers. So, having the pieces made close to home is something that is incredibly important to me in order to maintain the ethicality and quality of the brand.
What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?
I think that success looks different for everybody. For me, success is having the ultimate creative freedom and the freedom to control what I do with my own time. I get such joy from taking the time to design pieces that I feel are unique, are uplifting and are enjoyed by others too. The fact that I can financially sustain myself from this is a huge bonus and I still pinch myself that I get to wake up every morning and do what I love for a living. It has taken a lot of persistent and dedicated hard work to get to this point. I was working a full-time job and then a 4 day a week job for years whilst I built the brand up to have a large enough customer base and a strong enough product to bring in a consistent income. I had to make a lot of sacrifices and miss out on other things in life in order to make it work. Even now, it requires constant work, motivation, energy and consistency to sustain the success. It sounds cliche but I think that the key is to build your business around something that you are genuinely passionate about and feel joy for, even when there is no money coming in. You can guarantee that at points there won’t be, so it is essential to love it regardless. It also helps to be stubborn and truly believe that you will reach your goals if you continue to relentlessly and endlessly strive for them, because that is the truth!
Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?
I think the biggest lesson has been to accept the ebbs and flows of business. Every aspect is constantly up and down, and if I spend too much time worrying about the downs then I am wasting valuable time that could be spent in a far more productive and positive way. It is healthy to try and be slightly removed and as objective as possible about the fluctuations in motivation, turnover and engagement. Log them and analyse them, but try not to become emotionally attached to them.
There isn’t much I regret as most things have worked out in the end. However, I did have some issues around trademarking my brand name which meant that I had to change it last year, around 4 years into running the business. This was something that had to be done, but could have been dealt with a lot earlier if I’d had the necessary knowledge. If I could go back in time, I would convince myself to trademark the brand name before beginning, it would have avoided me a lot of hassle later down the line!
If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
I am actually really glad that I started my business at 23, with a slightly naive mindset. I think it is a great thing to be able to go into business with an open mind and not too much financial dependency (I had a 9-5 job at the time). A big part of finding your feet with your business is experimenting, being creative and taking risks, and I think that having the financial and mental space to do these things is crucial. So I would just say, keep doing what you’re doing… You are on the right path!
What do you know now that you wished you had known before?
There isn’t much I regret as most things have worked out in the end. However, I did have some issues around trademarking my brand name which meant that I had to change it last year, around 4 years into running the business. This was something that had to be done, but could have been dealt with a lot earlier if I’d had the necessary knowledge. If I could go back in time, I would convince myself to trademark the brand name before beginning, it would have avoided me a lot of hassle later down the line!
What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?
At the end of last year, I collaborated with my dream brand Lazy Oaf. I have been a huge fan of their clothing for many many years now, so it was an absolute dream come true to have worked with them on their first ever jewellery collaboration! Teaming up with the Lazy Oaf team to translate some of their classic motifs into 3D, wearable and timeless Good Daze pieces was so much fun and the collection sold out in 3 days which was a huge achievement.
What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?
I find that over time my tangible goals shift and change depending on my priorities. But since I have been young I have always said that my number one goal is to be happy. I don’t believe that there is one pathway to that, or that everyone’s version of it looks the same. However, I hope that I will look back on my life and feel that I have made choices that have led to my daily contentment and overall happiness. Prioritising happiness and using that as a North Star is more of a priority to me than any materialistic or status based goal.
To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?
Just get going, slowly and steadily. You will make mistakes and wrong decisions along the way and that is inevitable. But rather than waste time overthinking everything, just put that first foot forward. That way you can find out what works, discover what your customer wants and learn where your place in the market is. So many parts of business take time, so the sooner you get started, the better!
“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Good Daze”
To learn more about Good Daze Visit www.gooddazeahead.com
Find on social media @
Instgram: gooddazejewellery
Facebook: gooddazejewellery
Inspired by this story? Please share this story and other founder stories.
For more inspiring founders stories check out Founder Stories.
Have an inspiring founder story?
Every entrepreneur’s journey is unique and powerful.
Your story of perseverance and success could be the spark that ignites the next generation of world-changing ideas. By sharing your experiences, you’re not just telling a story – you’re lighting a path for others to follow, dream, and achieve.
Disclaimer:
The views, thoughts, information, and opinions expressed in the text, videos, images belong solely to those of the individuals involved, and do not necessarily represent those of Founderat.com and its corporate owners, employees, organization, committee, or other group or individuals.