Process
Quality and the ability to last years to come are of upmost importance. I feel strongly about the idea of consuming fewer, better things when possible. I have a deep appreciation for the incredibly ancient metals and stones that are used to make jewellery, and use them with the intention that they will be enjoyed for years to come and can accumulate meaning. I feel that often we have lost touch with the story of the materials around us, and their connection to history, the earth, and other people. These connections are central in my work, and through each piece I hope to foster an understanding and appreciation for
A well made piece of jewellery, made with hand skills, must consider the materials. Pieces made in this way are a continuation of a thread going back hundreds, if not thousands of years. To how it is to hold a small connection to this pool of knowledge, and a small connection to people spanning ancient times to today. It may be sentimental, but I believe this ability to relate to those before us is essential. There are many larger ways of forming this understanding and connection, but I find craft to have a specific, powerful one - these objects, formed by hands, make us think specifically of an individual, rather than an abstract group. To look upon a battered gold cirque dug up from a tomb is to imagine that person wearing it, to think about why they had it, what their daily life was like. To see the fingerprints on a ceramic bowl made thousands of years ago is to think of that specific person, not as an abstract idea, or someone so far from us, but someone quite like us. This may be a lot to fit into a simple piece of jewellery, but when it comes down to it, the simplicity of a single thread connecting past, present and future, and subtle meaning and connection in the everyday objects we use, is something worth valuing.
At times I find the sheer quantity of options overwhelming when it comes to the things we furnish our homes with, the items we cloth our bodies with, and the objects we express and adorn ourselves with. In my jewellery I aim to make pieces that are unique and expressive, but timeless. They are made to endure beyond seasons, and become personal objects that you will be able to enjoy many years from now as well as today, markers of a specific time, experience, or connection. That a ring or other piece of jewellery worn by one person for years can be passed along through generation is something very special, I believe, and I make my pieces with this intention in mind.