Dammit, I'll bead it

PERSONAL: BROKEN EARRING LED TO A THRIVING JEWELLERY BUSINESS

- Hein Kaiser

It's not often that a business is born out of frustration, not ambition. When a pair of Louise Courtis' favourite earrings broke, repeated attempts to have them repaired left her disappointed. But instead of giving up, she decided to take matters into her own hands and fix them herself.

Little did Courtis know that the annoyance would eventually turn into pretty things, loads of them. Because after putting her earrings back together, she tried her hand at making a pair from scratch. "I made a very, very ugly pair of earrings to start with," Courtis said. But the second pair was better and so was the third. Something sparked. Friends soon noticed her creations, asking if she could make something for them too.

"Within about two years, it became a little business for friends," she said. It wasn't long after that she formalised her accidental venture, launching a Facebook page for Bliss Jewellery.

The name, she explained, came from reading an overseas magazine where the word 'bliss' stood out for her and it seemed the perfect fit for her brand. Courtis' business grew steadily, with much of her materials originally sourced from abroad.