Many of you may not know the story behind how Last Night I Dreamt began. I opened our beautiful jewellery boutique in Southwell, Nottingham nearly 5 years ago. I felt like there was a gap in the market for a design led jewellery boutique which housed all the leading designer you can get in London, under one little roof in the East Midlands. I wanted to create a space that was warm and inviting, a place where anyone can shop and where everyone feels welcome. When people come into Last Night I Dreamt more often than not they are blown away by the number of fabulous British and International designers we stock and we’re regularly described as a ‘treasure trove.” Jewellery displayed on top of books, stored under bell jars, earrings on tiny bottles, rings on cactuses make Last Night I Dreamt such a visually enticing space that people want to linger in. We don’t do minimal, we do maximal! Somehow our unique style and personal touch and genuine community we’ve created seems to appeal to our large volume of returning customers. Our window tells the tales of all the love with fingerprints and forehead marks! WATCH and discover more about the boutique here.
I’m missing my beautiful customers at the moment. Missing sharing in the celebrations of life - the birthdays, the brides getting their wedding jewellery and also those moments where we are there for people in their sadness, helping folk find a much needed gift to mark the loss of a loved one. Buying jewellery is a personal experience and often people buy jewellery at a threshold moment in life or to mark as a precious memory. You never forget where you purchased that ring, or why you chose that necklace do you?
It was important to us that when we went online with Last Night I Dreamt our online boutique captured something of the personal touch people say they experience in-store. We want it to be a personal encounter...one that stays with you and where you feel welcome and part of something. Hence our website has a video fronting it welcoming you through the virtual doors of our online boutique and hopefully leaving a mark of the LNID magic. WATCH and discover more here.
As we stay at home in the strangest of times I’ve been thinking a lot about how even though jewellery might seem to be the last thing people should be thinking of right now, it’s actually something precious that engages people and lifts peoples spirits when they need it most. Maybe it’s finding a gem in the rough that appeals at the moment but we’ve been blown away by how many of you have been engaging with our website and joining our community. We hope that you’ve encountered something personal and real with Last Night I Dreamt.
If you follow us on Instagram (if you don’t why not! Ha ha...Find us here!) you’ll know I’ve touched on the importance of daily rituals and self love whilst we are staying at home. For me that looks like getting out of my joggers, popping on a dress, doing my hair and makeup and wearing a beloved piece of jewellery. Each day I’m mindful of what jewellery I’m wearing. It gives me a lift, makes me feel good and in dressing up and choosing jewellery each day I’m expressing myself creatively. So I thought I’d let you know a bit about my go to jewellery right now. As you read, maybe think about what rituals you can cultivate, what outfit you can plan, what jewellery to wear. I promise you this...you’ll feel so much better and you’ll reap the rewards.
My jewellery rituals at the moment include
1.) A fully curated ear (that I can leave in day to night and don’t have to remember to remove. I don’t feel complete without my ear party and even if you’re having a dress down day, you can dress up your ear and feel fab.
Shop the Astley Clarke Varo Diamond Stud
2.) After a long bath (also a ritual using my fave essential Aesop products and burning a Diptique candle along with one of our own Last Night I Dreamt candles (shop here) I also get dressed, spray some of our best selling Laboratory Amber perfume and pop on something I treasure. One of my go to pieces at the moment is the Darcy necklace by V by Laura Vann.
Shop the Darcy necklace here.
3.) On days where I’m feeling a bit low and need a pick me up I throw on some colour. Maybe this is just a psychological pick me up but it works! My ultimate go to brands and the ones I’ll be going on about all summer are Anna Beck (standard!) and Mishky. Both handmade. Both boho luxury at its finest. Mishky has been one of our most sold items since we’ve all been at home, as has Anna Beck. With messages like LOVE, BELIEVE, DREAM it isn’t any wonder why you lovely lot of big fans of Mishky right now. I think we all need some of that don’t you?
4.) When I need to remember I’ve got this I turn to my ultimate symbol of strength and protection, my lioness necklace by Phine. As worn by Polly Vernon in Grazia and my much loved throw it on go to piece this has got to be a winner Lockdown essential, right? I certainly find it a piece of jewellery holding an important reminder to me at this present time.
Shop the Roar necklace by Phine
5.) Right now we all need something to dream about and look forward to. I’m loving the new Alex Monroe Gather a Dream collection (Discover Alex Monroe collection here) Perhaps it’s the sentiment behind the collection of hope and dreams in uncertain times that resonates right now but I cant stop dreaming about one particular necklace - Rays of Hope. This may well be the next piece of jewellery I invest in.
Shop the Rays of Hope necklace here.
As we continue to stay at home I hope you’ll experience light and hope in the darkness, joy amidst the sorrow and community in isolation. We hope that the personal service we provide instore translates to a personal encounter online with Last Night I Dreamt. We love to hear your stories and see you wearing our jewellery because you guys are thebiggest part of our story. DM or email us here with your pics or tag us using the hashtag #wearinglastnightidreamt and let us know if you’d like to be featured on our website or on Insta. If you’d like to be part of our online community, why not sign up to our newsletter here.
I’ll leave you a reminder of our PICKMEUP10 10% off code which you can use across our entire website. Happy shopping. Spreading love, hope and dreams has never been more important than it is now and Last Night I Dreamt wants to send you a huge dose of love as we remain in lockdown.
Stay safe and stay in touch.
With so much love,
