Hello! My name is Harlie and I live in the South West of England with my partner Jonny and our dog, Indie.

I have struggled with my mental health for my entire life, and feeling depressed and anxious is a something I’ve managed since childhood.

Starting school seemed to escalate this, I found it difficult to build and maintain relationships while suffering from low self-esteem and no confidence.

As I grew older, there seemed to be no ending to how I was feeling. Secondary school made me start to withdraw and I isolated myself from others as my fear of engaging with people grew. I felt that I didn’t fit in anywhere and I didn’t know how I could express this. I didn’t feel that I could confide in an adult or reach out for help, I kept it all to myself.

I had hoped leaving school would be a fresh start, a change, but my fear of socialising held me back. I struggled to navigate through this and break the cycle. Reaching out for help was still difficult for me.

When I started to plunge into the deepest realms of depression in my teens, it was utterly terrifying. Some days I would feel like I was completely losing my mind and my grip on reality felt fuzzy.

It was then that I finally realised the way I was feeling wasn’t ‘normal’, making my first doctors appointment when I was 17. But this just started eleven years of going backwards and forwards with no real solution or direction, desperately trying to learn what was wrong with me and constantly asking to just be made ‘normal’. And the most I would get in terms of help was various antidepressants and CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy).

Whereas CBT is a wonderful therapy that helps many, many people, it’s not for everyone. It can’t help everyone but it did help me to learn the importance of opening up and talking to someone.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to talk. I feel as though maybe my problems wouldn’t have escalated so far if I was able to open up earlier on.

Looking back now, I struggle to find the words to express how empty I felt during these periods of my life.

I felt as though I didn’t have a purpose and I would agonise for hours, wondering if I’d ever feel ‘normal’. I wished that I could be someone else. Someone that could make friends easily, that could socialise and engage with people without stress, that could manage work, that had interests and hobbies and that generally had more of a love for life.

This used to feel impossible.

But over the last eight years, I have learned so much about how to manage my own mental health and now I want to share this with others. It’s a constant battle, a work in process, I still have my dark days and I’m still learning who I am and what my diagnosis might be but overall, I’m in a much better place. And I feel hopeful, positive, and excited about the future.

Creating Walking Primrose means that I’ve finally found my purpose. I’ve found a place in the world that makes me happy and I know I am meant to be here. Working on the brand and learning about business has given me a new lease of life.

I want to share my story to show that there’s truly a light at the end of the tunnel, and this is coming from someone who used to truly dread life.

I used to think that it wasn’t possible to feel better and that I would never be able to manage a job, learn to drive or even move out of my parents’ home. I used to think that I would just limp through life until the end but thankfully, that is no longer the case.

I want people to know that it is possible to work through mental illness and come out the other side thriving, and happy. I want you to know that you will find your purpose, whatever that may be and that everything will start to fall into place. Yes, it might take years and you might feel that it will never happen but trust me, it will and it’s honestly worth holding on for when it does.

Walking Primrose is a British jewellery brand inspired by experiences of mental health and wellbeing, designed in England, near Bristol and handmade by artisans in Jaipur, India.

I was struck by the idea in 2019 while speaking to an old work colleague. They were explaining how buying a piece of jewellery from a well known brand helped represent to them a special life event that had happened, and it made me think. I wanted to look for a piece of jewellery for myself that represented both how far I’ve come in my battle with mental illness, and inspired me to keep going when I needed it the most.

Unfortunately, I struggled to find a piece to illustrate that. Jewellery is used to represent almost every life event that occurs for so many of us including a new baby, bereavement and even managing/recovering from cancer. So I thought what if I designed jewellery that represented managing mental health and/or overcoming mental illness? Thus the idea of Walking Primrose was born.

I design each piece to be stylish, uplifting and meaningful, as well as illustrating overcoming and managing struggles with mental health. Additionally reminding those of how far they’ve come and to keep going as well as emphasising the importance of making your well-being a priority.

When it comes to maintaining yourself physically we all know the obvious things needed to do this, and I believe it goes the same with our mental health. I have learned we need three things to help with managing our mental health, Purpose, Connection and Kindness and I hope to reflect this through my business and my jewellery.

Perhaps Walking Primrose will be a brand that you will truly connect with. To help you realise your strength, your resilience and your magic.