My Story

My first taste of working with silver was a number of years ago at a silversmithing group run by local mental health charity Oxfordshire Mind.

I had been through a tough time and felt I needed to try something creative.

I learned how to make a simple ring from silver and that was the start of my journey, during which I have attended a variety of courses and produced a number of unique, individual items of jewellery.

The first thing I ever made from metal clay made was a small round pendant, using a button mould. After firing it just looked like a dull piece of clay. The next step however is where the magic happened. When I placed my pendant on a rubber block and began to scrub it with a wire brush, I began to see the silver shine emerging bit by bit until the whole pendant was gleaming.

 

That was the moment when I became hooked on using silver metal clay.

Since then I have continued developing my skills in both silversmithing and precious metal clay by designing and making unique pieces for myself and for friends and family.

In October 2022 I was put on notice of redundancy from a job that I loved, I looked on this as an opportunity to finally realise my dream of turning my hobby into a career. I found I now had the time to experiment with new designs, and my redundancy money enabled me to buy more materials and produce my very first collection of items for sale.