‘Meghan Markle complimented me on my necklace’
Sophie Rogers, 31, from Castle Bromwich, West Midlands, opened a crystal business after a horrifying cancer diagnosis.
“I’d just finished uni and was working in my dream job designing baby clothes for a high street fashion retailer when I was diagnosed with cervical cancer aged just 22.
Within a week of the diagnosis I had a radical hysterectomy to remove my ovaries, womb and cervix. This put me straight into the menopause and I also had to have chemo and radiotherapy treatment.
It felt like my life had come to a halt. I didn’t want to leave the house or see friends. I hated that cancer made me look as ill as I felt. It was a dark, scary, negative time.
During the year I was off sick I went to a cancer support centre where I was introduced to holistic therapies including meditation, yoga and crystals. The hospital had cured me physically but I’d been left with a lot of emotional damage.
The yoga and meditation classes filled my heart with so much positivity and I began to feel better.
I bought a set of crystals and a simple jewellery kit – I found making my own bracelets and necklaces really calming and relaxing. Friends commented on my jewellery and I made some for them, too. Word got around and soon I was selling my jewellery at car boot sales and on ebay.
Though I tried to return to my fashion job, facing cancer had made me reflect on what I wanted to do with my life. Through a friend
I came across a young woman around my age who was doing well with her clothing business. She told me she’d been on The Prince’s Trust’s Enterprise scheme.
I thought there was no way a charity would just give you money to try out a business, but it was true. I called them and went on the Enterprise scheme, meeting lots of other young would-be entrepreneurs. It was wonderfully inspiring.