I’m often asked where I get my inspiration for making jewellery and putting together new designs. For me that is an easy question, in general I am inspired by the beauty of the natural world, but in particular I’m inspired by the rugged nature of the seaside. I love spending time on the coast looking for treasures and ideas. Living on the south coast of England, I have a lot of choice when it comes to choosing a place to visit, but not for me the sandy beaches, give me a rocky shoreline or a shingle beach any day.
I often visit the Jurassic coast, it’s a few hours drive and I arrive early in the morning, my favourite time to go is after a storm or high tide, the treasures are abundant, I have a lovely collection of sea glass, the variation in shape, size and colour of these pieces of tumbled glass never fail to amaze or inspire me. Fossils are to be found almost every step I take, and the ammonites are so intricate, delicate and a delight.
I often find interesting pieces of driftwood, or beautifully coloured stones that I can use for photoshoots, there really is something interesting to see everywhere you look.
As much as I love my studio, sometimes we need to take little time to do something different, Its lovely just to take time out to look, think and absorb the sights and sounds of the shoreline, when, the wind is blowing and the sea is crashing all around you it seems to blow the cobwebs away and clear my mind. It is so relaxing, and I always come back refreshed and full of ideas after a trip.
So back to the studio with my treasures, a pleasant evening of sorting and cleaning ahead of me: I picked up some beautiful shells, and whilst I didn’t want to use them in my jewellery directly, I was inspired to make something that emulated their shape. The project is on my workbench at the moment, so I won’t say any more just now, but keep an eye out in the gallery, and see if you can work out which item it is.
Of course, no trip to the seaside would be complete without indulging in a locally made ice-cream, no matter what type of beach it is… I even added a chocolate flake, but ssshhh! That is our little secret.