About

Hi, my name is TJ & I am the person behind The Charmed Maiden.

I am a one woman business offering a variety of handmade headpieces, girdle belts, cloak fasteners, jewellery & accessories. I offer a wide & varied range of designs to suit all tastes & pockets, including one of a kind & limited addition pieces.

I am proud to say that I have had many a piece purchased over the years by a variety of both television & theatre production companies as well as re-enactment groups & for photo shoots. I have also had headpieces featured in the magazine Glittery Bride & the music video: The ENIGMA Men by the US band: Marquis of Vaudeville.

I have had a love of jewellery making since childhood with many a happy day spent back then, stringing necklaces from my Nan's very large & seemingly never ending button tin! Throughout the years I have enjoyed learning many crafts but beading & jewellery making has always been my No 1.

After leaving school my first job was with a well known porcelain company handpainting china birds, from there I progressed to handmaking flowers & foliage with roses, tiny forget-me-nots & calla lilies being my favourites. I moved on from making flowers to working with the real thing as a florist & through this progressed through the ranks from trainee to manager. From then on, retail management became my career.

In early 2011 I started to feel unwell & tired all the time & was diagnosed with M.E. The first three years were the worst with weeks at a time spent in bed, constantly feeling exhausted & confused plus terrible bouts of joint & muscle pain & headaches galore! By 2015 the 'fog' started to lift & I found myself longing to work again & so The Charmed Maiden was born!

I am now the proud owner of not only this website but I also have a shop on Folksy where you will find a variety of my handmade one of a kind pieces as well as a few of my more popular well known items. I also have a smaller outlet on Etsy.

Many of us dream of running our own business doing something we love & I consider myself to be one of those very lucky people! Being able to create once again has given me a whole new lease of life & along with much love & support from my lovely husband, it has also helped in giving me my confidence back. Yes, I still get days when I feel worn out & have to rest & the aching joints are still regular visitors but I have learnt how to pace myself & plan my day & am loving every minute of working again for a living!