Iconic Australian jewellery designer Samantha Wills is today farewelling her jewellery business.
After confirming to Mamamia in August that January, 2019 would be the final month of trading for jewellery label of the same name, Wills shared a farewell statement across her personal and business Instagram accounts on Friday morning.
“Today we say, farewell. Thank you for being so gracious as to taking this journey with us. With all my love and gratitude..See you in a little while,” the 36-year-old captioned her post, which includes screenshots of her full letter.
“Over the past 15 years, I have designed 12,000+ pieces of jewellery… Towards the latter years, having designed so many pieces, I found myself saying “there is much more the world needs right now than more jewellery. Jewellery doesn’t actually matter, I would often think.”
Wills went on to say the amount of heartfelt correspondence she received from women sharing their stories of how and why they’ve treasured Samantha Wills pieces over the years proved her wrong. From the woman who wore an SW Swimming Ring to her mother’s funeral to another woman whose abusive husband destroyed her SW collection because he resented how it made her feel “confident and powerful”, Wills realised “the jewellery did matter”.
Thanking her customers, Wills said her brand “has such significance because of you, it is you.”
“You have shared your stories, your victories and your hardships, championing each other. You have allowed us into your lives – how lucky we are of this privilege, and how gracious you are to offer it.”
“For all of this and much more, we are so grateful.”
also thanked her business partners, mentors and staff who “have worked tirelessly behind the scenes over the past 15 years to make this brand what it is.”
Most importantly, Wills, who previously told Mamamia she would be shifting her focus to her philanthropic efforts with the Samantha Wills Foundation, will be donating 100 per cent of profits from any sales between January 12 and 31 to women’s charities Motherless Daughters Australia, Friends With Dignity and the Laurel Palliative Care Foundation. She also urged people to give blood through the Australian Red Cross Blood Service at the request of one of her customers Sherie, who is living with stage four bowel cancer.
Consumers will be able to support these charities and purchase all remaining stock on the Samantha Wills Ebay page from Saturday January 12.
Wills launched her brand in the early 2000s at the age of 21 selling pieces at Sydney’s Bondi Markets. 15 years later, the entrepreneur created a $10 million dollar empire with her iconic designs worn by everyone from Drew Barrymore and Eva Mendez to Victoria Beckham and Miranda Kerr.
In August, Wills exclusively told Mamamia she is ready to “begin a new chapter in my life and career.”
“In complete honesty, my heart hasn’t been in the jewellery business for the past two and a half years. Jewellery was the platform, and it has served us well for the past 15 years, but my heart had always been drawn to reaching young women with the story behind the brand. Jewellery provided the platform for me to tell that story.”
You can read Wills’ full farewell on her Instagram account here.
Samantha Wills will also be talking about starting and closing her Samantha Wills jewellery business on Mamamia’s Lady Startup podcast soon. Subscribe to Lady Startup here so you’re the first to hear it when it drops.