Can you tell us about how the business got started?
I launched in 2016 and set up a shop on Etsy. Eventually, I launched my own business and website and opened the shop in Amble in February 2022, which was a dream come true moment. It was my childhood dream, I was one of those weird kids who always knew what they wanted to do – I knew I wanted to make jewellery and have a shop with a sea view, but I didn’t ever think it would happen. When we were in lockdown, I stumbled across the plans for the building and went to see it; it was everything I wanted. I got a side job to help me save and opening was delayed because of lockdown, so we had to wait a while, but we’ve now been open just over three years. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind to be honest!

How would you describe Salt & Co.’s jewellery?
A huge part of what I do is keepsakes of the area. I find shells on the beach and cast them into solid silver – that’s my favourite bit of what we do and the collection I’m most passionate about, and not just because it’s a good excuse for a beach walk! I want to create timeless keepsakes for customers. I wouldn’t say we’re high fashion or influenced by trends, I always aim to make things that I like and would wear. I never take my jewellery off, I live in it and have lived in pieces I’ve made for years. I want to make things that last. We also do an affordable range. When I first launched the business I was 19 and wanted to make things that I could afford, so I’ve always kept that range. Everything in it is under £40 and earring stud bottles are just £25.

How are you inspired by Northumberland?
The sea is my biggest inspiration, and the North East coastline is very much home to me and has always been the driving force behind the business. I knew I wanted to make jewellery, but I also wanted to live around here and couldn’t get a job so I thought I’d try and make one for myself. Somehow, it worked out! The shop’s double doors open up onto Amble Harbour and you’re looking across to Alnmouth Bay and Warkworth Castle, and out of the other window you’ve got Little Shore beach. We are literally surrounded by the sea, it couldn’t be a more perfect spot for us!

What can visitors to the shop expect?
Aside from the sea view, we have a lot of one-of-a-kind pieces in the shop that I don’t put on the website. I really like the idea of people wandering into a treasure trove and just stumbling across something and falling in love with it. That’s what I’m trying to achieve. My workshop is behind the shop, so I’m always on-site and visitors usually get to meet the maker.

Are there any milestones that stand out?
I won the 2024 Young Entrepreneur Award for the North East. That was really special and unexpected. When you’re running a business, you get so swept up in just surviving that you don’t always stop to look back at how far you’ve come. The last few months I’ve tried to look back at the fact I used to bottle our studs in my childhood bedroom in my parents’ house, and I’m now doing it from our shop with a sea view, with staff who feel like friends. Every day that I walk through the shop doors I have to pinch myself because it’s so special to me.

What’s next for Salt&Co.?
I’d like to do more of my work in gold, as we currently only have a really small collection in the shop. I’d also like to give the brand a bit of a facelift too.

– LN’s Top Picks –

Visit Salt & Co at Amble Harbour or shop the range at saltandco.co.uk.