Meet the Team behind CRED Jewellery
CRED is full of passionate individuals, all dedicated to the production of beautiful, ethical jewellery. We pride ourselves on our professionalism and on personal service. CRED works with renowned designers as well as seeking out fresh design talent to create exciting fairtrade jewellery ranges.
When making an appointment in either or London or Chichester studios you will will meet one of our team below who will guide you through the process of choosing, sizing or designing your jewellery. So let's meet the team...
The guy who started it all is Greg Valerio, a Fair Trade and human rights campaigner, and founder of both CRED Jewellery and the CRED Foundation. Greg is passionate about the potential of Fair Trade principles to transform the lives of indigenous communities around the globe, and has tirelessly campaigned for change in the jewellery and mining industries. Read the CRED Story.
Greg has moved on to focus on campaigning for the rights of small-scale mining communities around the world. He represents the jewellery industry on the board of ARM and worked with the Fairtrade Foundation (UK) alongside ARM to launch Fairtrade/Fairmined Gold. You can follow Greg’s progress on his own website, here .
Christian Cheesman has had pretty much every role possible at CRED, since he became business partner with Greg Valerio in 1998 and they set about pioneering the fair trade aspects of CRED and developing the relationship with Oro Verde. Persistence has paid off, and as Head of Supply & Production, Christian now visits all our mines regularly to continue building those relationships.
Christian was the first designer to bring a fair trade ring to a customer and is one of the only people in the jewellery business to have experience all along the supply chain from mine to retail. As CRED Jewellery has grown Christian has continued to head up our design team and to apply his talents to create justice through beautiful ethical jewellery collections and bespoke designs. Read more about Christian.
Sabrina Burley is CRED Sales Manager. Since she left school Sabrina has been working in the jewellery retail business, so it is like second nature to her. She joined CRED in 2009 when she wanted to further her career in the jewellery industry, and decide ethical was the answer. Sabrina loves working for CRED because we help change the lives of people most in need. Her extensive knowledge of retail, and of what customers want, means she has sourced a wide range of ethical jewellery collections from UK designers for the store and website. Working closely with her team she ensures you receive the best customer experience. She will do any thing to guarantee CRED team deliver the best standard.
Sabrina loves all things vintage. You may spot her in one of her own dress-making creations attending festivals like the Goodwood Revival – how handy that it is so close to Chichester!
Monica Garcia is Senior Sales Assistant at the Chichester Boutique. First hearing about Dirty Gold in 2006 ignited passion for the CRED vision. “At CRED I feel fulfilled. From miner to customer: the chain of people involved in the creation of a jewellery piece is endless! The team, the workshop, the designers, suppliers, customers…... they all share the story - fairtrade gold!”
“Being Spanish has given me the chance to talk directly to the miners in Latin America, and build that important relationship with them. But their story wouldn’t be anything without the support of our customers that make my job so enjoyable and I’m honoured to be part of that special time in their life when it comes to choosing an engagement or wedding ring, or just a treat to themselves!”
Annabel Panes, our primary in-house designer, joined CRED on graduating from an MA in Jewellery Design where she specialised in ethical processes. She is inspired by the desire to buck the ephemeral nature of fashion and create long-lasting treasures. Annabel has guided CRED’s jewellery collections and expanded the range of wedding and engagement rings.
Her passion for travel and fair trade has lead her to design jewellery collections, including one to best accommodate the skills of the craftsmen in Nepal. You will meet Annabel if you come to our London Studio.
The guy keeping everyone in check is Alan Frampton who joined CRED as Managing Director in 2010 after selling his business – the UK’s largest flower growing operation. Greg’s wife, Ruth, asked him to get involved as she could see business track record and acumen would help CRED to make a difference in more people’s lives.
Alan is a great believer in social justice and wants his work to bring more than just an income - he wants to improve other people’s lives. So much so, that his role as chairman of bridge2aid, a dental charity, has led him to do crazy things such as jump out of planes and climb Killimanjaro.
Charley Collyer is the most recent addition to the CRED team and is shop manager in Chichester.
"I wanted to work in an area where I can help to make a difference. Here at CRED I love the ethos that we don’t just help but we contribute to enable communities to help themselves. I love jewellery and diamonds are certainly my best friend, I love the fact that at CRED you buy with the confidence and the security that you’re not feeding the unfair, inhumane and corrupt practices which blight the industry. But more than that, CRED are actively trying to make a difference."
Charley has a passion for travel and experiencing other cultures. She has a degree in theatre studies and belongs to various theatrical groups.
Holding the purse strings is Amanda Sarjant. Amanda is a Chartered Accountant and the financial controller at Cred; she was invited by Alan to join the team, having run the accounts department at his previous business. Amanda enjoys taking numbers from their beginning to the final reports, but the added knowledge that Cred is helping to change peoples lives for the better makes it the perfect role.
When not working Amanda is running a busy household involving 4 children, a husband, 1 labrador, 2 rabbits and 1 hamster!
Hayleigh Burley is a part time sales assistant at our Chichester boutique. Her love for any accessories makes her very passionate about anything that sparkles! She really loves diamonds and is interested in CRED and how they source them. Hayleigh brings to CRED the ability to deliver excellent customer service to a wide range of people and her enthusiasm to make a difference shines through.
You are most likely to see Hayleigh on a Saturday, and when she is not working at CRED you will find her flying around the world as an air hostess. When she finds a rare moment to relax she enjoys playing the piano.
The girl hiding behind the website is Niki Clarke. She has a heart for ethical and small businesses, and has worked for various ethical companies including People Tree and EcoCentric. Niki loves seeing the immediate positive impact that fairtrade has for the miners, their families and communities improving their health and education.
When she’s not at CRED, Niki can be found at the park with her 1year old or writing about ethical weddings during his naps.
