MOVERS & SHAKERS
standards and supporting the Assay Offices – the bodies who ensure the purity of precious metals. This task is one she’s relished, and found particularly interesting in relation to the uncertainties surrounding Brexit. “We’re just working with one act, which is the Hallmarking Act – and the amount of work involved in separating us from the EU is just phenomenal,” she says. “We’ve got all of this mutual recognition of marks – and some countries are saying it’s fine, we’ll just carry on, but a lot of countries are saying no. For example, Ireland has said they will no longer recognise our hallmarks, which is just…” she trails off. “Lots of our members – for example, manufacturers in Britain who are making jewellery and selling it to Ireland – have now got to jump through loads of extra hoops in order to get their products recognised. And in the great scheme of things, this is just this tiny act, which is causing so much upheaval that you start to get a vague awareness of the enormity of the task.” With such high-profile contributions to her industry, three stores and still the occasional jewellery commission to get her teeth into, what’s Harriet’s secret to managing her time? “I’m not sure I entirely do manage it,” she laughs. “The main thing is that the team in the company, both here in Cambridge and across the business, are brilliant. I know that I can always lean on them as much as I need to, and if I ever need to lean on them more than that, they’re there. I think I’m also good at delegating, because I’m dyslexic – it’s a real advantage in business. It means you’re good at trusting other people to do things that you know they can do, and you’re really bad at thinking about just one thing at a time. You’re really good at thinking about lots of things at a time, which is a skill set that works really well for doing what I do. I’m good at not getting too sucked into the detail, and keeping an overview and
RIGHT Harriet Kelsall not only creates bespoke jewellery, but also offers stone resetting and the option to redesign old pieces
trying to keep everything going – I hope,” she laughs. When she does get time off, Harriet has a packed schedule of extracurricular activities, including running along the river, singing with the Lucy Cavendish Singers, salsa dancing and exploring the many restaurants around the city. “My favourite’s probably still La Mimosa – I love the people there – and we’re all quite excited to try Mercado Central,” she enthuses. Harriet is also a published author, with her first book, The Creative’s Guide to Starting a Business , winning her wide acclaim, and she has plans to write a second at some point soon. “I think it would be interesting to examine creative entrepreneurship and the real innovators, and how dyslexic people fit into that world – but I can’t quite put my finger on it at the moment,” she says. “I think one of the things that separates a successful entrepreneur from a less successful entrepreneur is that we just don’t give up. When there’s a problem, like when something doesn’t work, people don’t like our products – whatever it is – a lot of people go, ‘Well,
obviously I’m not cut out for this: I’m really glad I gave it a try, but I’m going to back off now.’ Whereas we will just say, ‘Oh, that’s not worked: how can I make it work?’ and then we’ll try something else, and if it still doesn’t work, we think: ‘How can I make it work until it works?’ It’s just this kind of relentless resilience: I’m going to make this work, because I can see it working, so I know it will work.” Whatever it is that fills the time freed up when Harriet finishes her term as chair of the National Association of Jewellers will undoubtedly receive the same level of determined application as all the projects this dedicated businesswoman has turned her hand to. “It’s funny thinking back to the beginning of the business, because you do forget quite how you were feeling,” she says. “You can explain to people that there was this trajectory, and this happened. But of course, at the time, you’re just flying by the seat of your pants, you’ve got no idea whether you’re doing the right thing or not, and you’re hoping that it will work out – you keep making mistakes. But, crucially, you just don’t give up.”
I think I’m also good at delegating because I’m dyslexic – it’s a real advantage in business. It means you’re good at trusting other people to do things that you know they can do, and you’re really bad at thinking about just one thing at a time"
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ISSUE 06
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