Featured in Retail Jewellers | October 2019

Birmingham’s Broadway Silversmiths has a rich manufacturing history dating back to 1901. Founded by William Benjamin Broadway, a highly skilled die sinker, the company produces handmade and intricately engraved fine quality sterling silver designs including photo frames, tableware and candlesticks. Bringing traditional silverware products to a modern audience is no easy task. Enter Social Media Executive Sharon Abbey who is responsible for promoting Broadway Silversmiths to a wider demographic. She talks to Retail Jeweller about her career and passion for silversmithing.

 

“Being able to showcase to the public the team’s craftsmanship skills feels rewarding in itself”.

 

As the Social Media Executive for Broadway Silversmiths, there are a number of tasks that I undertake each
week that are essential for the company’s online presence. The aim is increase awareness and
show our audience what we do. After discussing any new ideas with the Director, I will then get to work on several projects, which could be creating a mailchimp [email marketing] campaign, posting engaging or factual content on the company’s social media pages or managing the website.

One task I am looking forward to this week one of the tasks that I am most looking forward to is getting started on our next mailchimp campaign. Ensuring that any required photographs have been taken in our studio, and the silverware are all shimmering under the LED lighting – capturing the silverware just how it should be, to emphasis the quality and beautiful design.

The task I wish I could postpone is looking through the analytic reports for previously published posts. It’s an important job in digital marketing. Checking reports and comparing them to statistics is an essential part of understanding your target audience.

Determination, hard work and believing in myself are the three man factors I would say hae helped me become the person I am today. I graduated from University with a BA (Hons) degree in Film, Media and Cultural Studies and it has been a dream of mine to pursue a creative and analytic career. This job has allowed me to do just that.

Working with Broadway Silversmiths has been my career highlight to date. The team are all so kind, warm and welcoming – I feel honoured to be part of it. Being able to share with the public this team’s incredible craftsmanship skills, along with the history of the business, feels rewarding in itself.

There are a number of people I look up to for many different reasons, but if I had to choose just one, it would be my sister, Jackie. No matter what she is faced with or sets out to do, she stays positive and confident. Throughout my life, she has always shown me nothing but encouragement; if I need help of any kind she is usually the first one to offer advice.

If there was one thing I could change about my career path, it would be to have gained more experience during my time at university. Even though I did some voluntary work, helping on a handful of projects, there were many more types of volunteering I would have liked to become involved in. However, at the time I just wanted to focus on my studies and achieve the best results I could – which I did.

For anyone wanting to follow in my footsteps or take a similar path, the best piece of advice I can give is this; go to college, go to university or take that apprenticeship – having an education has been one of the most important factors enabling me to get where I am today. However, experience is important too. For me personally, the experience I have gained while working for Broadway has been essential. I think getting a good balance is key to starting any career.

They say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, and if I could work in any other area of the industry, I think I would choose jewellery, or possibly to get involved in the manufacturing process and become a silversmith. I find it absolutely fascinating to witness what they craft pieces of silver into. There is so much talent and history here at Broadway Silversmiths, and I am so happy to be involved in it.

I think that my career is progressing in the way I always hoped it would. From achieving my qualifications to gaining the experience I wanted, every move is a step forward and I hope to be working for Broadway Silversmiths for many years to come.