THREE old school friends have defied the credit crunch by launching their own businesses.
Gaz Evans, Andy Simmons and Ben Jenkins met at Steyning Grammar School more than 15 years ago.
They have started JewelleryBag with mutual friend Samara van de Goolberg, who makes much of the merchandise.
What started out as an idea became a reality and the project snowballed, with website
www.jewellerybag.net quickly launched.
Creative Andy, 29, said: "It stemmed from me originally, and Ben jumped on it.
"He put a lot of the work into producing the website.
"He did the technical stuff and Gaz and I did all the creative bits."
As well as selling online, the friends have been manning stalls at indoor markets and craft fairs, and have already had plenty of interest from people.
Workshops "It has been steady," said Andy.
"Samara did a sale at a church and it went very well.
"Hopefully, we will get a few people to come and see us.
"We are going to be giving kids the chance to make their own jewellery."
High hopesGaz, 28, added: "They can choose what beads they want and put something together.
"Samara is going to be doing demonstrations, too."
While an idea became a reality for the three old school friends, a hobby has become a business for 23-year-old Samara, who has high hopes for the venture.
"We can definitely make it into something of a job," she said.
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