It's Laura here from 8th Sin: owner, designer, maker, Internet monkey and general head runner-arounder. First of all, I want to thank you for finding 8th Sin's blog and being a part of our small business and community. We couldn't be here without you and I'm excited to announce new things coming to 8th Sin.
Please read on to learn how I started 8th Sin as a short-of-money 15 year old, and to nab an exclusive blog-only discount code!
I don't know how many people know the story behind 8th Sin - I started 8th Sin around 2009 as a broke teenager who fell in love with alternative fashion, but couldn't afford to buy brand new, branded pieces. I bought a jewellery making kit, some lace and leather from eBay and started making my own jewellery and accessories at the tender age of 15.To make some extra pocket money, and after I was happy with the quality of the items I had made, I listed the pieces on eBay and Etsy, and to my surprise, they sold!
I used the profits to buy more supplies, and as they say, the rest is history...I started trading at sales events like Comic-Cons, Japanese culture events and alternative markets...I remember when I did my first event in London, I had spent all my money on making stock, event costs, travel etc and literally only had £20 in my bank account, which I withdrew for my float. I had no idea whether I was going to recoup my costs, let alone make any money, but thankfully I did, and became a mainstay at MCM Comic-Cons and Hyper Japan events in London, Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and more. I met my wonderful customers in person and still get messages from people who bought from my stands 5+ years ago and their items are still going strong!
I didn't drive at the time, so I bundled all my stock and display items into two huge suitcases, wore a massive camping-style backpack and trekked my items on coaches, trains and subways across the UK. I'm not quite sure how I did it - the energy of youth! I remember getting off at the wrong bus stop near Alexandra Palace and nearly passing out lugging all my stuff up the huge hill to the venue.
Fast forward 10+ years and 8th Sin has constantly grown, evolved and powered through hurdles like COVID-19, events being cancelled, lost supply orders, postal system strikes and more.The original message behind 8th Sin has always remained - I always wanted to make and design high quality alternative accessories, focus on unique designs and try to be as affordable as I can. That's why I don't really run sales or post discount codes much, because my prices are pretty much as low as I can set them without being out of pocket, especially with the cost of supplies, shipping, e-commerce platforms and all the other little costs that creep up on you as a small business.
As I started out as a poor teenager, I want everyone to be able to afford a little piece of 8th Sin, and I am still ecstatic every time someone places an order, and incredible grateful someone has decided to spend their hard earned money with my small business.
This year, I want to elevate 8th Sin even more and that involves making new designs, trading at events, promoting 8th Sin (damn you, algorithm!) and most importantly - connecting with YOU! I want to hear from you - what you've been up to, how you first discovered 8th Sin, what we do well, what we could do better, what YOU'D like to see from us.
I will respond to each and every comment, so please tell me a bit more about yourself, where you're from, what you're into, your pet's name (brownie points for pet photos!), anything.
If you got this far, well done, go make yourself a cup of tea and grab a snack. Thank you for being on this journey with us and supporting a woman-owned independent business, especially during these hard times where it seems like everything is going up in cost and also on fire. Although I mentioned above why I don't run sales and discount codes much, please find below a blog-only discount code especially for you, as a token of my thanks and appreciation!
Enter coupon code CONNECT15 for 15% off your entire order with no minimum spend!
Hoping to hear from you,
Laura, 8th Sin gremlin