A 16-year-old from Templeton who has set up her own handmade jewellery business is helping the marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage

Sadie Pearce, a student at Pembrokeshire College, is to donate ten per cent of every sale of jewellery from My Coast to the marine conservation charity.

Sadie launched My Coast after completing her GCSEs with the aim of creating an enterprise with a conscience.

She used online jewellery-making tutorials, and within weeks, My Coast and was operating.

Sadie makes and sells a selection of silver-plated, plastic-free jewellery via an online shop, with products costing around £10. Her designs are inspired by the ocean and its inhabitants, including turtle earrings and wave pendant necklaces.

She said: “Living by the coast I have seen first-hand the devastating problems facing our oceans with a growing issue around plastic pollution. Every day approximately eight million pieces of plastic finds its way into our oceans, which paints a picture of how massive and detrimental the problem really is.

“I wanted to do something to help, and during the summer holidays I had a lot of free time which made it a great opportunity for me to start a business. The jewellery design allows me to be creative while raising money and awareness for charity.”

Only a few months since its launch, Sadie has seen My Coast’s custom continue to grow through her website and Facebook page, in particular in the run-up to Christmas.

Sadie is currently running her business alongside her A-Levels at Pembrokeshire College and hopes to go to Swansea University to do a degree in media and business studies which will help her continue her enterprise.

Sadie started her business with the help of Big Ideas Wales, part of Business Wales and part funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government. The service is aimed at anyone between the age of 5 and 25 who wants to develop a business idea.

She found out about the service through an enterprise fair at the college, where Big Ideas Wales business advisor David Bannister spoke.

He said: “Sadie is very talented and determined, in just a few months she has managed to turn an idea into a business while being in full-time education. Sadie joins around a third of UK 16 – 24 year olds who generate income from a side hustle. I am looking forward to seeing what she can achieve and the impact the business can have.”