In this series, TheIndustry.fashion continues to celebrate the achievements of the winning brands from TheIndustry.fashion Awards 2025 through a collection of dedicated interviews.
With the Awards dedicated to People, Planet & Purpose, we set out to uncover the strategies driving positive change in the industry – from sustainable and circular practices to strategies amplifying diverse voices and supporting community and charitable causes.
Within the Purpose category, Alice Made This received the award for Charitable Initiative for its AMT Youth Programme.
Founder Alice Walsh shares insights into the initiative for which her brand was recognised, as well as other efforts Alice Made This has made to champion purpose. She also discusses how the brand’s customers have responded to these values, the biggest challenge and the proudest moment on her journey as a founder, and much more.
What inspired you to start Alice Made This, and how has the brand evolved since its launch?
When we got married and found it a real challenge to find decent Men’s jewellery. We were looking for clean, minimal men’s accessories, and everything out there (13 years ago) was kitsch, bling or covered in brand logos. This catalyst evolved into Alice Made This, over the course of the next year, as I realised there was a gap in the market for jewellery led by beautiful materials and a story of craftsmanship.
What are the core values that drive Alice Made This and how are they reflected in the business?
Our philosophies are Craftsmanship; Locally Made; Considered Materials and Slow Design. This has been our blueprint since the inception of AMT. We have always wanted the customer to know how, and who makes their pieces. With this, we also want to share an understanding of the materials we use and why. Our collections are led by their story of craftsmanship, with the design being informed by their process and their materials. This seems expected today, but 13 years ago this was rare.
How have your customers responded to these values? Do you find they’re actively engaged with the brand’s purpose-driven initiatives?
I am extremely grateful to have customers who genuinely care. We are a higher price point than more high street jewellery, for which there is good reason. Our jewellery is so much more than just a piece of copper, silver or gold. Each piece has such a lovely story to it and there are artists and craftspeople behind the stories which add enormous value to the jewellery. This resonates with our customers and adds to the sentimentality and giftability of the pieces. I wasn’t truly conscious of this until we started gathering reviews. To date, I am always so grateful for our customer reviews – giving us a 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot – they really support the effort and energy we put into our business.
Can you tell us about the AMT Youth Programme – what led you to launch it and why is it such an important part of your mission?
Yes, of course! AMT Youth Programme came about after the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. As a business owner with a studio in the heart of Southeast London, this moment opened our eyes to driving change as a responsibility. I started to talk to people across the industry about the state of diversity, or lack thereof, and the reasons why. The creative industries can be hard to access without a preconditioned network of some kind, and we set about coming up with a solution that we would be able to facilitate as a business to affect change. As a small business we knew we couldn’t drop thousands of pounds to a charity or an initiative, but we also knew that time and energy is a free resource if we chose to prioritise it. We approached our direct network to pitch an idea of a grass roots programme to offer experience and insights across the creative industries, organised and managed by us, but working together with them as partners. Gratefully, everyone we reached out to were keen to get involved in some capacity and so AMTYP was founded as a Community Interest Company in November 2020.
The grass roots decision was for a number of reasons, but the main one was the enormity of questions about your future that you tackle at this age. Insights about the breath of roles in the industry can be formative. It also means that it can support creatives regardless of which further education path they are choosing (university, apprenticeships, colleges or straight to workplace).
Working with 16-18 years olds, in Southeast London, the programme prioritises creatives from African and Caribbean heritage to gain access to the industry. The programme has three main focuses: work shadowing, grant giving and networking. With partnerships across art, design, architecture, fashion, film and music, AMTYP has become a personable, creative, inspiring, and informative programme where we can continue to support the programmes alumni with advice, events, and further connections.
We take 10-12 young creatives each year with the main activities happening between July and October. Now in our fifth year, we are funded by corporate partners, which is fantastic. Essentially, the more funding we receive, the more young creatives we can support.
As a small brand making a meaningful impact through this programme, how does it feel to create real change for the young people involved?
I underestimated this actually! I am blown away by the impact that ‘a foot in the door’ can do for a young passionate creative. It allows them to then blow that door open and drive through to their next path with the confidence and gravitas that they deserve.
The young creatives that have come through our programme to date are self-driven, intelligent, willing to learn and have a beautiful conviction that I am always so rewarded by. The youth today are often brushed off and I am so grateful to get time with them to collaborate, share, learn and watch. It is a real privilege. I actually collated a few testimonies from some of the alumni, as it feels wrong for me to speak for them. You can read them here!
What was the significance of winning the TheIndustry.fashion Award for Charitable Initiative?
It is massive for us! Its puts us in the same room as some of the country’s leading businesses and global super brands like Marks & Spencer, Schuh, John Lewis, Selfridge, Oliver Spencer and so many more. Industry recognition supports all aspects of the programme. It helps us when gathering funding, supporting outreach, and presenting the programme to new partners. It makes such a positive difference, so thank you!
Beyond the Youth Programme, are there other initiatives or partnerships where Alice Made This has championed purpose and social responsibility?
We are tiny as a business. We are always thought of a bigger unit than we actually are. It’s just me and my warehouse team currently, so capacity is our biggest challenge! Most of our time and energy is used by the day-to-day business and the youth programme. But our foundation is about good businesses working with local craftspeople and artists, and we always look for opportunity to champion purpose and social responsibility. One project we have on the go is experimentation to turn industry waste into raw materials to create jewellery from. It is slow moving, but I am keen to find a solution to make waste a valuable commodity in our society. I love the longer-term idea of waste channels becoming traded commodities, that have value and growth potential like gold or energy does in today’s world.
Why should brands and retailers be championing people, purpose and planet today? Any advice?
I wholeheartedly believe that championing people, purpose, and planet is a key to future innovation. Old style growth doesn’t really work for society today, and the longer it continues in the same format, the harder it will be for us to move forward. I worry that it will have to get to catastrophic scenarios before change is truly adopted. Second to this, I believe being responsible and purpose-driven is hugely rewarding for everyone. My advice would be to make the effort to make a positive change in your business and just see. I don’t think you will ever regret it, and it just might be the building block of something bigger and better.
What’s been the biggest challenge – and proudest moment – on your journey as a founder?
Goodness, massive question. Hmmm… Well, it’s a big challenge owning and running a business full stop! Massively rewarding, all-encompassing, and full of challenges every day. Our retail world since 2016 has been a bit of a whirlwind!
I think the thing I am most proud of is the network of wonderful humans I have access to. I am grateful to have a global network of creative and business minds that I can access and collaborate with, and this is a consequence the journey I am on.
What can customers expect from Alice Made This over the next year?
Timeless design, meaningful storytelling, and honest business.
If anyone is interested in Alice Made This and the youth programme, please support with your gifting opportunities and feel free to reach out to me directly. I would love to chat more.