BUCKLE UP! How the founder of Bronze Belts is making her mark.

Once upon a time, Lucy, 21, from Greater London, spent quite a hefty amount of money on a really good pair of jeans. There was one problem - they didn’t fit. No problem, Lucy could fix the sizing issue with a belt. So she searched high and low. She scoured Vinted and asked her friends, but to no avail. She could not find the perfect belt.

Thus, she identified a gap in the market and set out to fill it herself, immediately. 

“After I spent hours looking, I remembered that my boyfriend has some quite good leather skills (he used to make wallets and passport covers for himself a couple of years ago). So I called him up, and I had this great big idea that I wanted to make my own belt, and then realised that it was worth turning this idea into a brand. A brand which created the space in the fashion industry to buy a belt.” 

 First things first, Lucy needed a signature buckle. She had a vision. 

“I wanted a big, good quality, heavy buckle. One that wasn't hollow and plastic. I first ordered 8 buckles off Etsy (£40 total), and they were all awful! Hollow and gold painted, which wasn't my vibe.”

No, Lucy needed something timeless, so she expanded her search. She explored each corner of the web. When the internet failed her, she travelled to Mexico. 

“[I] found the perfect shop out there, but the costs were way too much to import buckles from Mexico.”

But you know what they say about belt buckles, they’re just like buses. You wait ages for one, and then two come along at once. Riding the wave of luck found in Mexico, Lucy found the belt buckle of dreams sold by a UK-based wholesaler. 

Stretching the luck even further, it just so happened that that specific wholesaler also sold leather. Lucy went through a testing process before selecting dark brown and black for her brand's initial product selection. 

And therein lies the birth of Bronze Belts. 

For now, Lucy is focusing on selling a small collection of timeless, classic belts that can be found on the Bronze Belts Etsy shop. For the future, she has bigger plans. 

“There are so many designs I have in my head, some with words, some with gems, patterns, cut-outs, and rivets. And so many colours to come.”

To shop, go to: https://www.bronzebelts.com/.