The Jewellery Making Process
I use a wonderful medium called Silver Clay to create my jewellery. This Clay is made up of microscopic silver particles combined with water and an organic binder. It can be moulded and shaped in a variety of ways, before being left to dry where the water evaporates from the clay, and it becomes hard. It can then be filed and sanded, working through numerous grits to achieve a smooth finish. The piece is then kiln fired at a high temperature for two hours where the organic binder burns away, and all the tiny silver particles fuse together to form 99.99% pure solid silver. The resulting silver is termed ‘fine silver’ which is purer than sterling silver. The silver is then polishing by hand, again working through many grits to achieve a high shine. Finally, it is tumble polished to add strength and give it a beautiful final polish.
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The versatility of silver clay in its 'wet clay' stage allows me to use a wide variety of natural objects and replicate them in pure silver. I pick leaves from the local hedgerows and by rolling the leaf into the surface of the clay I can transfer all of the beautiful details of its veins onto the clay, which I can then cut out, polish and fire, to create a near identical replica of the original leaf in solid silver. I am also able to make perfect little silver reproductions of other natural objects that I find, such as acorns, ammonites, or shells and ocean treasures found on the beaches of North Devon. I do this by making a mould of the item using a silicone compound, and then pushing the wet clay into the mould, and letting it dry, before sanding, firing and then polishing it to reveal a perfect little copy of the original item. It really is magical!​
Every piece of jewellery that I make is individually and lovingly crafted by hand by me in my studio by the sea. Each item is unique and therefore no two pieces are the same, this means that your jewellery may differ very slightly from that seen in the photographs. Please be assured though that these differences are minimal and so subtle that they are barely noticeable. The rustic and natural nature of the items that I use to create my jewellery is also translated into the finished piece, nature isn't always symmetrical and perfect and I love this, and feel that these subtle variations add to the charm and organic feel of your piece of wearable nature!