THE owners of a small bead company in Sonning say they have been “bullied” into changing their name by an industry giant.

Friends and neighbours Karen Bradley and Shelly Lindsell formed Beadessence last year, and transform petals from wedding bouquets and funeral wreaths into bracelet beads, necklaces, cufflinks and other jewellery.

However, when they applied to trademark the name and products, charm bracelet firm Pandora not only objected but gave the pair until Tuesday last week to cease trading under Beadessence.

Pandora’s lawyers wrote to the pair telling them that because the company name is similar to a range of Pandora charms called Essence —launched in November 2013 — customers could confuse the two products in the market place.

The business partners were completely surprised by Pandora’s reaction, but Mrs Bradley, 51, said they have been put in a really “awkward” position because they do not have the cash to fight the bigger company through the courts.

She added: “We have faced unnecessary bullying from them.

“We are in a catch-22 situation where if we try and make a point and go down that line it’s expensive and we could get in over our heads. We can’t put ourselves in that position.” The idea for the company came after Mrs Lindsell wanted a meaningful way to remember a relative who had died. The pair have developed their own production technique from scratch to make jewels from the ashes of pets and loved ones as well as flowers.

But now the partners have decided to launch a competition to find a new name for the business, which is run from Mrs Lindsell’s home in South Drive, and have already had a lot of suggestions.

Mrs Bradley said: “We really thought long and hard about our name. Our beads are infused with what the customer wants in them and are individual.” Mrs Lindsell, 49, said: “Beadessence is about two friends, passionate about what they do, designing bespoke, handmade jewellery that our customers can keep close to their hearts and cherish forever.

“We think this is a big injustice and feel rather bullied by such a large company who have no evidence to support their opposal.” A shortlist of good names will be drawn up and from that a winner will be chosen. The award for the winning suggestion is a £300 voucher to spend on any of their products.

Suggestions for the new name can be sent to info@beadessence.co.uk When contacted by The Chonicle, Pandora did not respond to requests for a comment on Beadessence.