A New South Wales-based brand that is run by the gorgeous Nikki. This incredible Mumma has all of your go-to custom jewelry options online from rings to necklaces!
 
We sat down with the gorgeous Nikki from Kellective by Nikki to have a chat about how her business came about, her working background, tips and tricks for mum biz life, all things the gram, mum life, and that elusive 'juggle' that everyone speaks of.




 When and how did the concept for Kellective by Nikki come about? 

Oh for some reason this is a hard one to answer.  I think it was a lot of different thoughts/reasons that came together at once – sort of like the perfect storm. I knew I wanted to make something and I’d taken an interest in jewellery.  I’d actually bought a cheapy sportsgirl necklace that discoloured and I wanted another one so I thought I’d try and make one myself.  Then I wanted to personalise it.  And then right around this time I was about to go out mat leave with my first baby and I was made redundant from my corporate. I was so nervous at the thought of finding a job with a baby in tow so I thought I’d try and do something from home.  I figured out I’d need to make $200 so things weren’t super tight and then I could stay home for a few years while the kids were young.  So I decided on jewellery and then just developed from there.

 

What was the inspiration behind the name? Does it hold any meaning?

Oh lol! Good question! - It does.  Kellective is a play on my last name – Kelly – and collective.  My sister in law came up with it and I like it but honestly with my accent and the spelling it makes it so hard to spell it out over the phone, or even in person.  I’ve actually thought about changing it but I think I’m too far in now!


 

What is your working background/what did you do before you ran Kellective by Nikki? 

I worked at a bank in head office.  I had a few different jobs there.  Probably my favourite was a rewards & remuneration analyst and my last one was in distribution - my team sat between head office and the distribution channels and we managed the change from head office to frontline. Sounds quite boring but I did enjoy it at the time. 

 

 

What do you love most about running your own business?

 

Oh so many things hey.  I love the flexibility, I love being able to make decisions and implement them easily. I also love the community around our brand.  I feel like our customers get to see the actual people that they’re supporting and we get to really connect with our customers. We get lots of lovely comments on our orders and emails etc, and they’re all shared among the entire team.  There’s been times when customers have emailed us about a sad event in their life and we’ve actually sat in the office and cried.  This is what I love about small business.

 


 What are some of the biggest challenges you faced in business in the last year?


Probably trust – in the last year we’ve grown so much that I can’t actually be across everything.  Letting things go and trusting others to do things has been hard – not because of others, just because I guess it’s just habit and I need things to be perfect. 

 


What are some of the things you do to combat those challenges?


Well I’m definitely lucky to have an understanding team so they don’t mind me triple confirming how to do something 🙈. But also just lots of processes.  I’ve spent a lot of time in the last year developing documentation.  We pretty much have processes for everything now.  Actually, I even have a plan in case I’m – touch wood – hit by a bus. I’m not sure if I should have admitted that lol! Maybe that makes me look crazy! Haha I just like to be organised.

 


Where do you hope to see your business in the next five years?

Oh it’s hard to imagine hey.  I’d like to be known jewellery brand in Australia that people know for quality. Sort of like most people have heard Country Road – like that but for jewellery. It’s good to dream big I think.



What do you like to do when you need some ‘down time’?

This sounds silly but I actually enjoy working and I do it even in my spare time.  Not like doing my quarterly taxes but I’ll research of learn something I’ve been wanting to for a while.  Or I’ll come into our studio and tinker with things.  That’s very fulfilling and enjoyable to me.  I also like to draw with the kids and me and the kids do family jigsaws – gosh I sound so lame! ha-ha

 

What is your go to date night with your hubby?

 

Oh funny you ask, we’ve actually just started going on 3 weekly date nights now it’s a bit easier to get a sitter for the kids. I’m a big foodie and like to go and try out different places around Brisbane.  And then hubby loves breweries so you’d probably find us at a brewery with a cool food truck!

 

 
What is your advice for any Mumma’s out there that are thinking about starting up their own business?

Be ready for lots of hard work and learning. There’s so much to learn about business.  Sometimes it seems people think it’s all about having a good product – which of course is a necessity, but so is marketing, finance, operations, leadership.  All that other stuff is just as important.

 


What are your top three accounts to follow on the gram and why?

Well aside from you of course I love T Leaf Collections, Laura Bentley and Miss Kyree Loves.  That was actually really hard to pick just 3.


Nikki has very kindly offered all of our readers a HUGE 15% off their online store when you use the code 'FAWNANDFINCH' at the checkout!
You can shop Nikki's entire range by clicking the 'SHOP NOW' button!


 
You can also follow along with Nikki's journey and keep up to date with all their products, tips & business life on their social media (click the icons below to check them out) xo