I’ve been designing jewellery for more than 20 years and, if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that the pieces people become most attached to aren't necessarily the most expensive ones.
They're the ones that mean something.
An initial. A birthstone. A charm that reminds you of somewhere you've been. Something your children gave you. A bracelet bought by a friend when you really needed cheering up.
Sometimes nobody else would have the faintest idea why it's special.
And I think that's rather lovely.
Jewellery has always told stories
Long before we were talking about personalised jewellery, charm bars and birthstones on Instagram, people were using jewellery to remember people and places.
Lockets held photographs. Charms marked milestones. Rings were handed down through families.
We've always liked attaching meaning to little things.
It's probably why I've spent such a huge part of my career designing personalised jewellery. There is something very satisfying about taking a piece of jewellery and adding one tiny detail that makes it completely specific to the person receiving it.
And it doesn't have to be deeply sentimental.
Your initial is meaningful.
Your birthstone is meaningful.
The star charm you chose because you've always loved stars is meaningful.
The cocktail charm that reminds you of that holiday with your best friend definitely counts too.
Meaning can be fun.
The return of charm jewellery
One of the things I'm particularly enjoying at the moment is seeing charm jewellery everywhere again.
Not that it ever really disappeared, but right now there seems to be much more of a choose what you love and wear it all together attitude to jewellery.
Which is very Pocketful.
A charm necklace doesn't have to be perfectly coordinated. In fact, I think they're often better when they're not.
Mix an initial with a heart. Add a birthstone. Throw in something completely random because it makes you laugh.
That's the whole point.
Jewellery should say something about you, rather than simply being the thing everyone happens to be wearing that season.
You can browse our current Jewellery collection if you fancy creating your own little jewellery story.
And then there's colour
Obviously I was never going to build a shop called Pocketful of Joy and fill it with beige.
Colour is a huge part of what we do, but I also love the way people attach feelings and memories to particular colours.
That's where our Aura Harmony Bracelets come in.
Each colour has its own meaning - calm, joy, creativity, confidence, love and so on, so you can choose one because its meaning feels right for somebody.
Or you can completely ignore all of that and choose the colour they love.
Both are perfectly valid reasons.
I think that's important because sometimes we can get a little carried away trying to make gifts meaningful.
It doesn't have to be that complicated.
If your friend wears pink every day of her life, the pink bracelet probably means more to her than an elaborate explanation about why you've chosen blue.
Knowing someone is the meaningful bit.
The best gifts say, “I saw this and thought of you”
Those are my favourite presents.
Not necessarily the big birthday present you've been asked for months in advance. The little unexpected one.
Saw this and immediately thought of you.
There's something lovely about knowing that someone was going about their day, spotted something and you popped into their head.
It's one of the reasons Pocketful is filled with relatively small things — jewellery, purses, colourful accessories, cards and little treats.
They're things you can give without needing a huge occasion attached.
A thank you.
A new job.
A horrible week.
A brilliant week.
A birthday.
A Tuesday.
Sometimes “this made me think of you” is enough.
If you're looking for one of those, our Gifts collection is a good place to start.
I don't believe in saving things for best
This applies to jewellery too.
The pieces that become meaningful are usually the ones that actually get worn.
They're in photographs. They've been on holidays. They've been worn to work, weddings, dinners and completely ordinary Wednesdays.
Eventually they start reminding us of things simply because they were there when those things happened.
I love beautiful jewellery, obviously. But I don't think jewellery has to sit carefully in a box waiting for an occasion important enough to deserve it.
Wear the earrings. Stack the bracelets. Add another charm.
Let your jewellery become part of your life.
A keepsake doesn't have to last for generations
I think the word keepsake can sometimes make us imagine something terribly serious that we're supposed to hand down to our great-grandchildren.
It doesn't have to be.
A keepsake can simply be something that reminds you of a particular version of your life.
The necklace you wore constantly in your thirties.
The bracelet your friend bought you when you changed careers.
The ridiculous charm that represents an in-joke nobody else understands.
The birthstone necklace with your children's stones.
They're tiny markers of where we've been and who we've loved along the way.
And that's probably why, after all these years of making and selling jewellery, I still don't get bored of it.
Start with the person, not the present
If you're trying to choose a meaningful gift, my advice is very simple:
Don't start by asking “What should I buy?”
Think about the person.
What colour do they always wear? Is there a symbol they love? An initial that would mean something? A place, hobby or memory you share? Are they somebody who would love something sentimental, or would that make them want to run for the hills?
Then choose from there.
And don't put yourself under pressure to find the world's most meaningful gift.
Sometimes the most personal choice is simply:
“I saw this. It was so you.”
That's meaningful enough for me.
You can browse Pocketful of Joy jewellery online, have a look through our Gifts, or, even better, come and have a rummage in the shop on Bank Street.
Because occasionally the right thing isn't the thing you were looking for at all.
It's the thing that makes you stop and think:
Oh, she'd LOVE that.