Kate Moss

Freya Rose Archer, 42, is the owner of a million-pound business making hand-crafted, jewel-encrusted shoes that are worn by the likes of Kate Moss.

A month after launch, as the first lockdown ended, the Princess of Wales wore them on her first public engagement outdoors. In 2022, with the return of weddings, it’s seen a 400 per cent growth year on year. She had a second brainwave: if women weren’t wearing her shoes to go to weddings, perhaps she could make the jewellery they were starting to wear on Zoom instead. I’m tenacious and passionate, and the hard work is paying off.’ In March 2020, Freya had two children at home — Willow, now four, had joined Jonathan, now 11 — and was married to husband Matthew, 42, who’s a lawyer. ‘I was a single mum to Jonathan by then, and at times living hand to mouth, working on the business when he slept. It was on a trip to Bali, where she watched craftsmen inlay furniture with silver and mother of pearl, that the idea for what would become her signature style began to take hold. Stunned to get a place at the London School of Fashion, she threw herself into life in the capital, working every spare hour in pubs and shops to support herself. I had no real knowledge of business practice and no cash buffer.’ [London](/news/london/index.html) was recognised at the Every Woman Awards, where Freya, 42, became the eighth winner of the Daily Mail’s Aphrodite Award, set up to celebrate women who launch a business while their children are under 12. A bit later, my dad became seriously ill and I had to look after him. Freya Rose Archer's childhood in Portsmouth was the very opposite of luxurious.