Kim's Story
Incorknito Designs is a small handmade cork jewellery business based in Suffolk, UK.
Hello, I'm Kim, designer and maker of all things Incorknito Designs! I handcraft lightweight, statement earrings from sustainable cork.
Founded in 2021, Incorknito Designs has grown from my first collection of Christmas styles that year. We now have a wide range of styles in stock all year round, with special seasonal releases for Halloween and Christmas!. Starting with large statement hook dangles, we have now widened our range to include studs, mini hoops and large hoops - with an array of sizes to suit all!. Further to this, we are currently expanding our range from earrings into realms of pin badges and necklaces (in progress!).
Every style is designed by myself and made in small batches of around 3-10 pairs of each individual design. Each piece is completely unique, due to the handpainted nature and the natural patterning of the cork itself.
How it all started...
I graduated from studying BA (Hons) Costume with Textiles for four years in 2021 with a 1:1. COVID 19 (yes, the dreaded!) hit during my third year whilst I was on placement and threw a spanner in the works for me. My ongoing placements, and ones I had lined up in theatres and with costumiers/designers, were all cancelled. This led me to feel at a loss and anxiety became overwhelming for me. Things were looking bleak and I felt I was losing the independence I had gained. In a bid to distract myself and to fuel my creative needs, I began to explore different materials and the possibilities of what could be made from them. Being a textile student, I was always on the lookout for unusual fabrics and I discovered cork fabric in this time. I just fell in love with it. I’ve always been one for large statement earrings and I made a few pairs for myself out of cork and the feedback I got from family and friends was amazing.
I threw myself into designing and making different shapes and colourways and even incorporated embroidery into my first few pairs. This was great for me as while I was at university, I specialised in embroidery in my second year, and this was a way to use some of the skills I’d gained.
After finishing university, due to the COVID pandemic trying to find a job locally in creative design was hard, In the meantime, it led me to put my all into starting my small business of making sustainable cork earrings. In fairness, if Covid hadn’t happened, my business probably would never have started.
I can honestly say I’ve never looked back. It was the appropriate decision for me at the time and although, yes totally unexpected to start my own business, it has grown each year and I feel it was the right path for me.
I started by selling my creations on Etsy and then expanded to doing my first in person event in November 2021. Since then, I have attended many markets and I absolutely love doing them. Meeting fellow makers and small business owners alike and, of course, meeting the public and getting feedback on products is all very rewarding. I am also now stocked in two physical shops - see link to find out more details
If you'd like to continue to follow my journey, check out my INSTAGRAM page @incorknitodesigns or Facebook. Sign up to my email list which is located at the bottom of my homepage. I hope you enjoyed reading a little more about me and this little business of mine and I look forward to seeing you on my journey. Much love Kim x
