Jewellery has always been a way of life for Gillian Murray.

Growing up in Scotland, she recalls visiting her grandmother‘s place and always being in awe of her jewellery box and the costume jewellery was used as an artform and even to decorate the house.

“She was one of the main influences on me, to be honest,” Murray said.

That influence she speaks has led to the creation of Murray‘s passion project: Wndrlnd, an online, independent jewellery retailer.

However, Murray – who is the managing director – said that despite encouragement from her family, including her grandmother, it took her a while to achieve her dream.

Originally from Glasgow but living in London since 2008, she has over 12 years of fashion retail experience under her belt. A large chunk of that time was spent as a buyer, which saw her travel the world and exposing her to a diverse range of designers and styles, which in turn nurtured her love of and grew her personal jewellery collection.

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It wasn‘t until she recently quit her last job in retail that she decided to finally set up Wndrlnd, which showcases emerging and established independent jewellery designers via a marketplace model to allow shoppers to buy directly from the designers.

It took her months to build and she encountered obstacles, but in the end, Murray made her dream a reality.

“I‘ve always been interested in business and fashion,” she said.

“I‘m just over the moon and I‘m actually quite pride of myself for that coming together.”

When pressed with the question on what makes her retail business different to others, Murray highlighted her goal of giving emerging designers – especially recent design graduates – a chance to gain some recognition.

“When graduates finish school, it‘s really difficult,” she said.

“People are always going to want to take as much money from you, and it‘s more about a business rather than a passion.

“I‘m not here for a quick buck… everyone has to make money but I genuinely believe in the designers and I understand how much of a struggle it is for new designers to actually get known.”

In just over a month, Murray has already started selling wares from prominent independent designers Gina Melosi, Joanna Bury and The Alkonist.

With such diverse styles and designs catering to a range of ages and tastes, Murray said this would work in her favour.

“Everything is different and that‘s what I love about it,” she said.

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