July Child's Sinead Flood on Designing "Joyful Jewels" for Playful People
We speak to the founder of the rising British jewelry label followed by Charli XCX and Chappell Roan.
“People can be so serious,” says Sinead Flood, founder of burgeoning jewelry brand July Child. It’s that observation that ultimately inspires the brand, in a roundabout way, because it aims to be exactly the opposite. Positively unserious. Known for its vibrant designs, flashy jewels and clashing color combinations, the rising UK label has amassed a pretty impressive following since its inception in 2017 — one that now includes it-girl Charli XCX, who has since worn the brand on tour.
Outside of that claim to fame, July Child is a brand that aims to spark joy and foster a positive community that celebrates self-expression and experimentation. Inspired by vintage jewels and heirlooms plus Flood’s day-to-day life, the brand’s best-selling pieces often have a personal story attached.
“My family has always given jewelry as gifts so I care a lot about the meaning or intention behind jewels,” Flood tells Hypebae. “The ‘Head in The Clouds’ ring is by far my favorite design. I’m such a daydreamer and I like spending a lot of time outdoors and in nature, stargazing and watching the clouds shapeshift. My hometown Manchester gets a bad rep around the world for being a cloudy, rainy city but it is the origin of July Child and all my creativity [so] I wanted to honor it with a ring,” she adds.
As the brand celebrates another year of success, plus that Charli XCX co-sign, we speak to founder Sinead Flood about designing “joyful jewels” for playful people.
Read on for the full interview.
How did the brand come about? What can you tell us about the moment that led you to start it?
The idea came to fruition in 2017, after I spent some time shadowing one of my favourite indie jewelry brands in New York. I went stateside to gain some work experience and it was such incredible insight into the day-to-day runnings of a jewelry brand. We agreed that I would represent them as a brand in the UK but under my own curated store, called July Child. There were so many amazing international brands that I loved from my travels that I stocked online, I was filling a gap in the jewelry market for all the well-known cult brands internationally.
Where does the name July Child come from?
My birthday month of course! I am a true July child. My happiest and most joyful days are in the summer months and warmer climates. The name aligned with everything the brand embodies.
Even just by glancing at the brand’s Instagram account, it’s clear that sparking joy and encouraging self-expression are key to July Child, what are some of the other aims?
Being experimental and playful with how you dress and the way you are is really important to me. People can be so serious so it’s important that we create a positive, happy community, and one that feels like they can connect with me and the brand. Our nostalgia-inspired designs and positive brand energy really hope to channel your childhood spirit.
What’s your favorite piece you’ve ever made and why?
The “Head in The Clouds” ring is by far my favorite design. I’m such a daydreamer and I like spending a lot of time outdoors and in nature, stargazing and watching the clouds shapeshift. My hometown Manchester gets a bad rep around the world for being a cloudy, rainy city but it is the origin of July Child and all my creativity. I wanted to honor it with a ring and my mum came up with using the opal for the cloud itself. At school, my teachers always put in my reports that I had my “head in the clouds” so the name felt fitting.
Where does your inspiration come from? How do you know when it’s time to create something new?
I find inspiration in everything around me from art, movies and pop culture to textures, nature and music. For example, there is a common theme of ribbed bands with our rings that stems from my love of cartoons (like the ribbed heart from The Powerpuff Girls) and anime, as well as a nod to ’80s vintage rings.
I don’t have a design background, which I think helps because I’ll see something that sparks inspiration and then try to add elements of sparkle or texture to it. We play a lot with lockets, which I love because of the sentimentality behind them. My family has always given jewelry as gifts so I care a lot about the meaning or intention behind jewels. I create around six collections a year but we know we need to give at least a six-month window for the whole collection to launch to market — and even that is cutting it close.
What can you tell us about your creative process?
My greatest ideas come when I’m not thinking about designing anything at all. Forcing the process of design leads to bad decisions, in my opinion. I try to take some time to wander and explore which allows space for me to organically find inspiration for creating. I find the evenings most peaceful to sketch or pull together concepts. I love researching ideas within a theme too and I like to refer back to vintage styles for inspiration shapes and textures with jewelry.
Over the years, July Child has teamed up with a few of its favourite content creators to design collections, how do you describe the ultimate collaborator? What do you look for?
We are loving the journey of collaboration with other creators. We originally did this with other jewellery or accessories brands but it really creates a special moment to do it with content creators. We find working with very maximalist and eccentric or experimental creators is the most in alignment with July Child. My ultimate collaboration though would be with the brand Sandy Liang. I love Sandy’s work, she is a true inspiration. I think she finds the perfect balance between minimalism and maximalism and of course, she loves Sailor Moon and other anime like I do.
Finally, what are some of the future goals for July Child? How do you hope to grow the brand?
We’re finding a lot of room for growth in the US market at the moment which is very exciting. The brand is having a major glow-up this January. We’re refining everything within the brand as our audience grows and matures with me. I’ve seen brands like Ganni seamlessly evolve into a more sophisticated and refined brand which is something we will be aiming for with July Child. The designs are going to be different to the Y2k style we’ve channelled the last 4 years, but still, very much the joyful jewels our community loves us for. We’re calling it the maximalist introvert.
