Member Article

YouTube star Hartlepool jeweller diversifies with in-house manufacturing

A Hartlepool jewellery retailer with over 26 years experience is turning his hand to manufacturing his own product lines after discovering a novel way of producing unique jewellery pieces.

Mark Lloyd, who owns and runs Mobeus Jewellers on Park Road, has diversified into small-scale, in-house production - a move he hopes will blossom into a successful addition to his retail business.

Mark, who is also a YouTube star with nearly 1 million views of his jewellery making videos, has experimented with ‘sand casting’ - a technique which allows makers to mould molten silver and gold.

Each time the method is used it produces unique moulds, and this gave Mark the idea to market runs of bespoke one-off pieces, on a small scale.

Now two years since creation of his first line, the idea is starting to take shape and Mark hopes to begin marketing on a wider scale.

He told Bdaily: “The technique gives you quite an organic and rustic looking jewellery - which people really responded positively to in my shop.

“Even though I use the same mould, each one is slightly different.

“I took the idea to the British Craft Fair in Harrogate and it was a real eye opener to that side of the industry. I was able to speak to people who gave me pointers, and suggestions as to what events I should be at, how to tackle the market and so on.”

In addition to his “old-fashioned” sand casting techniques, Mark is also using high tech methods to produce other lines to his own unique style.

He added: “Along with the sand casting, I’ve also been using an engraving tool - which is essentially a mini CNC machine that you can programme in 2D and 3D.

“Most jewellers use that type of equipment for straight forward engraving, but my aim is to use it to produce pieces that others can’t, or haven’t done before.

“I’d actually made a bangle for my partner at Christmas. The finished article was great and so I decided, with the means to produce it all in-house, we could begin to market similar pieces.

“The process was so simple from start-to finish using only sheet metal. The thrill of it for me was to use my own creativity, as jeweller who is used to a lot remodelling and maintenance work.”

Mark, who employs four people at Mobeus, is now looking to get his ranges into more galleries and also has a sales rep working on his behalf to promote the products with North East retailers.

Mark added: “If the ranges take off then the sky is our limit. With the shop, I can probably attract people from within a 30 mile radius, whereas this idea can take my business anywhere. It will certainly go countrywide, and there’s no reason why it couldn’t work abroad.”

Check out Mark’s YouTube videos here.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .