Hi, I’m Caron and my little handmade business is What Caron Made.  I make jewellery with beads, the smaller the better!

I was born in South Africa and moved to England in 2008 with my husband and baby.  I grew up in a place called Pietermaritzburg, which was a lot of fun and I enjoyed school and a year of college. After that I came to the UK  for 2 years, which was fantastic.

I then went back to South Africa and met my husband. I had  various jobs in a bank and ended up working as a mortgage consultant for many years until we moved here.

I used to make beaded jewellery and string pearls before I had children, just as a hobby.  However, life with kids was busy and I started up my own ironing business about 9 years ago because it was something I could do from home, it worked really well with young children.

Last year, 2019,  I rediscovered the amazing world of beads. I made some earrings which one of my ironing clients commented on. She loved them and wanted me to make her some and make some for gifts. It was then that the idea was sparked to start up a little creative business and Beadworks was born. The journey only properly began before lockdown and so all of my plans for markets and fairs went out the window. I signed up the MMFH not knowing what to expect and was so blown away by the makers involved. It was so inspiring to see everyones stalls filled with the most beautiful crafts and it made me realise that this could be a my full time business. I loved seeing the MMFH grow and I look forward to watching the midday maker interviews to be even more inspired to make this dream a reality.

Watch Caron’s interview on our Midday Makers series on IGTV.

Visit her Instagram @WhatCaronMade