Scream Pretty
Lucy Lee was an ex-TV producer who, after having children, decided to start an online jewelry business to achieve work-life balance. She had already built Lily Charmed, a successful jewelry brand focused on sentimental charm jewelry, but wanted creative freedom to design edgier, more fashion-forward pieces. After her business partner exited and she couldn't afford to buy him out, Lucy had the financial and creative space to launch something entirely new.
Scream Pretty took about 2 years from initial idea to launch in 2016. Lucy and her sister Jessica worked on designs together, finding the right aesthetic and sourcing an ethical manufacturer who could deliver quality. They used family talent—a cousin designed the logo, another modeled for photography. Lucy taught herself Shopify with no prior tech experience, building the site in her free time while running Lily Charmed. The team prioritized affordable luxury pricing: keeping trade margins low so retail customers could enjoy quality jewelry at payday-affordable prices rather than saving all year.
They launched with minimal fanfare—a social media announcement and one email to the Lily Charmed mailing list. To incentivize early adoption, they offered the first 100 customers a lifetime 10% discount on anything, even sale items. Initial traffic was disappointingly slow despite their pride in the site. However, they discovered their conversion rate was exceptionally high at 33.5%, indicating that when customers found them, they were ready to buy.
Instagram influencer partnerships became their breakthrough. A collaboration with influencer Sammi Jefcoate, who wore their Starburst Hoop Earrings and Opal Huggies, drove significant followers and sales. Instagram became their dominant channel, accounting for 81% of site traffic. Content marketing also worked—a blog post about the #curatedear trend drove substantial US traffic. The trade show circuit in London proved highly effective, with every trade customer reordering and awareness spreading through boutiques. Facebook ads, by contrast, never gained traction despite repeated attempts. They also made costly mistakes: over-ordering designs that didn't sell, and ordering gift boxes that caused tarnishing issues with trade customers, requiring a supplier switch.
Scream Pretty grew to the point where Lucy expanded beyond the home office to a dedicated studio with 6 full-time and numerous part-time staff, plus family members involved. While the brand remained smaller than Lily Charmed due to Lucy's divided attention, the 33.5% conversion rate and strong influencer performance demonstrated solid product-market fit. Lucy identified growth bottlenecks—staff capacity, lack of PR coverage, and competing in an oversaturated jewelry market—and recognized that word-of-mouth and publicity breakthroughs would be crucial next steps.
- •Instagram influencer partnerships were transformative because they provided authentic product exposure to engaged audiences already interested in fashion and jewelry, rather than interrupting cold audiences via Facebook ads.
- •The exceptionally high 33.5% conversion rate revealed that product-market fit was strong with the right audience; the challenge was traffic generation, not persuasion, making influencer reach-building the logical growth lever.
- •Affordable luxury positioning filled a genuine market gap—customers wanted quality jewelry at accessible price points, and the trade show strategy validated this through consistent reorders from boutiques.
- •Building over 2 years self-funded removed investor pressure and allowed Lucy to evolve the brand iteratively, testing designs via pop-ups before committing to expensive photography and inventory.
- •The existing Lily Charmed customer base and business experience gave Lucy distribution channels and credibility that new jewelry entrepreneurs lack, but she still had to build awareness for Scream Pretty as a distinct, edgier brand.
- 1.Identify micro-influencers in your niche with engaged audiences, not just follower counts; start by offering free product and tracking which influencers drive not just traffic but actual sales and repeat customers.
- 2.Test new product designs via pop-up shops before investing in full photography shoots and website inventory; use real customer feedback to prune designs that don't sell, saving cash flow for winners.
- 3.Build an email list from day one and use it to launch new products with existing audiences; Lucy's Lily Charmed list provided low-cost early customers despite being a different demographic.
- 4.Price for volume and repeat sales, not just margin per transaction; Lucy's low trade margins meant higher-volume reorders from boutiques, reducing customer acquisition cost.
- 5.Use niche blog content that ranks in search (e.g., #curatedear styling guides) to capture organic traffic; Lucy found this drove meaningful US traffic without paid ads, proving content-marketing viability in e-commerce.