“Capital isn’t so important in business. Experience isn’t so important. You can get both these things. What is important is ideas. If you have ideas, you have the main asset you need, and there isn’t any limit to what you can do with your business and your life.”
— Harvey Firestone
Janet Fredman has become the queen of her craft; one who has found amazing ways to transform the old and conventional to stunning and eye-catching works.
Her designs are exquisite and are made from everyday materials such as wood, seeds and leather.
But then, it wasn’t whims or chance that got her here, but ideas; unconventional ideas and calculated efforts.
First, she dropped her pen and turned her back on what a lot of people consider a very rare opportunity; she shunned a prospect to pursue a medical education to live her creative dream. Her reason was clear; “I wanted to make things with my hands.”
Her first experience with making jewelry came from making beadworks with her grandmother, which in a matter of time grew into a hobby and then a money making venture.
“When I first started making jewelry, it started as a hobby”, recalls Fredman. “I started making jewelry out of beads, and then later went to study as a goldsmith. I came back and incorporated what I learned with Zambian materials to make contemporary Zambian jewelry.”
Woods, seeds, leather and a bit of silver or gold make up her collection of work materials. The result of her hard work is finely finished and exquisitely unique jewelries- bracelet, earrings, necklaces and lots more. Definitely not the kind you find in the regular jewelry shops.
Janet was born in Ndola in Zambia, and is the 4th of 6 children. She attended Ruth Prowse School of Arts in Cape Town, South Africa, where she honed her skills and mastered her craft.
Since January 2014, Janet’s business has bloomed into an amazing venture, and continues to attract many jewelry lovers.
And did I mention that the focused entrepreneur is just in her twenties?
Janet’s gift of creativity has not only made way for her but has also made her a wonder among her peers. “They’re like ‘you’re young, did you really make this?’ or ‘maybe you bought and maybe you’re selling.'”
On her plans for the future, the entrepreneur says, “The hopes for my business is to grow it, so it becomes an empire, a jewelry empire everyone will be talking about.”
