Brass and Bone: How three siblings turned $1200 into a $1million dollar business

Three siblings with no previous business experience have turned over more than $1million after launching a jewellery brand from home.

Kate Ritchie, 26, Chloe Ritchie, 24, and Nicholas Manukau, 33, from Brisbane, started making colourful earrings as a fun side-hustle before turning it into the brand ‘Brass and Bone’. 

Today the brand is known for earrings that replicate the look of everyday objects in miniature form – such as Vodka Cruiser bottles, Chupa Chups and UNO cards. 

The idea took off when Kate noticed a lack of bright, unique earrings in Australia after returning from a trip to Japan. 

Since launching in August 2019 and investing $1,200 on the idea, the brand has made $1,047,603 in revenue. 

Today the brand is known for selling earrings that replicate everyday objects in miniature form – such as Vodka Cruiser bottles, Chupa Chups and UNO cards

The idea sparked after Kate noticed a lack of bright, unique earrings in Australia after returning from a trip to Japan. Since launching the brand has turned over $1,047,603 in revenue

Chloe told Daily Mail Australia the trio tested the market prior to launching and invested a small portion of their savings to reduce the risk factor.

‘We made a few pairs of earrings, advertised in Facebook groups and made $1,900 in the first month – the response was fantastic,’ Chloe said.

‘We didn’t have any goals in mind at the start – we just wanted to do something fun in our spare time.

‘We learnt everything we know about business and making earrings by watching YouTube videos,’ Chloe said

‘We learnt everything we know about business and making earrings by watching YouTube videos.’

It only took a month to get the brand up and running, which included creating stock inventory and building a website.

Sales started ‘snowballing’ from the first month, and the siblings decided to introduce new unique designs. 

Last year in six hours alone the brand turned over $25,000 selling the Vodka Cruiser bottle earrings for $19.95 a pair, which are all labelled by hand

Last year in six hours alone, the brand turned over $25,000 thanks to strong sales of its Vodka Cruiser bottle earrings for $19.95 a pair.

The trio admitted they were overwhelmed by the 1,253 orders that needed to be packed and shipped, but were grateful for the support. 

They said attention to detail on the earrings is time consuming, with the need to ensure every item is perfectly shaped. 

This financial year the business is projected to turn over more than $500,000.  

The attention to detail is highly time consuming with the need to ensure every earring is perfectly shaped

All three siblings struggle with various mental health issues, but have still managed to create a successful business. 

Both Chloe and Kate agreed the brand has helped keep their anxiety and ADHD at bay. 

The three siblings enjoy working for themselves and have learnt how to communicate on a business level.