Perthshire earring designer raises £10k for charity after Princess of Wales spotted wearing them

A Perthshire jewellery designer has raised more than £10,000 for a mental health charity from sales of her earrings after HRH The Princess of Wales was spotted wearing them.

The EarSass earrings, designed by Perthshire raised Sophie McGown, were created in honour of her cousin Issy Phipps, 17, who died by suicide last year.

The 18k gold-plated and white-gold plated ‘Issy Star’ earrings flew off the online shelves after Kate Middleton was seen wearing them on two official occasions.

Sophie has been donating £5 from every pair of the Issy Star earrings sold, to Berkshire based mental health charity, Brave Mind, who work with rugby clubs, universities, colleges and schools to educate, provide support and awareness of mental health issues.

In true ‘Kate-effect’, after Her Royal Highness was spotted wearing the earrings, sales soared with orders being shipped across the globe.

The Princess of Wales recognition and support continued when Sophie, Brave Mind Founder Simon Trower and Issy’s mother, were exclusively invited to attend the Royal Christmas Carol Concert at Westminster Abbey on 8 December.

The Issy Star earrings were gifted to HRH The Princess of Wales in June, when she participated in team training at Maidenhead Rugby Club as part of her Shaping Us initiative.

There, she met with Issy’s mother, Sarah Renton, who shared that the earrings were designed in memory of her daughter, who played for the club since she was four, before going on to play for England’s U18 touch rugby team.

The Princess stood by her promise to wear the charity earrings and was seen wearing them twice in October – once on World Mental Health Awareness Day, while hosting the Royal Foundation event, Exploring our Emotional Worlds, and again with SportsAid taking part in a mental health fitness workshop.

‘It’s feels truly monumental to have hit over £10,000 in funds raised for Brave Mind from sales of the Issy Star,’ said Sophie.

‘We’re going to do all we can to keep supporting the charity’s crucial work in educating and putting mental health issues at the heart of communities.

 ‘It still feels surreal that the Princess of Wales has a pair of our earrings, possibly sitting on her dressing table.

‘I’d like to say a heartfelt thank you to The Princess, for keeping her promise to wear our earrings, not just once, but twice.

‘The impact of the Princess wearing the Issy Star earrings on World Mental Health Day has been phenomenal and hugely significant for Brave Mind and our beautiful, Issy’s memory.’

Brave Mind Founder Simon Trower said: ‘We’re lost for words on the outstanding effort by Sophie and her amazing EarSass team.

‘We will be forever grateful for these funds. This will give us the platform and opportunity to reach a huge number of people within the rugby community who require our support.

‘There is a huge job to be done, especially with our younger generation. We will continue to celebrate Issy’s legacy in driving forwards the vital job of improving and saving lives.’