Friendship, Fire & Festivities: A Year of the Wolf Collection
A year has passed since the Wolf Collection was launched - and what a year it’s been! I’ve had a lot of fun, made many good friends, and was even welcomed as an honorary Jarl Squad member! Thank you to the squad and their families for making it such a memorable year.
It began with a commission from Leigh and Vicki Smith to design Viking-inspired pieces for their 2024 South Mainland Up Helly-Aa Jarl Squad. It grew into an entire collection, deeply rooted in Norse mythology, the power of the wolf, and the unbreakable bonds of the pack. And to me the journey and the jewellery signifies the strength of community here in Shetland.
This collection has been a real adventure - from the design and making process, to the positive response from Squad members and customers, to the SMUHA festivities, and a trip to Edinburgh to join the squad in the Hogmanay torchlit procession (but as with all great sagas, things didn’t go quite as planned in Edinburgh - we’ll get to that later!)
An honour and a challenge
When Leigh and Vicki asked me to create jewellery for their Jarl Squad I was a little unsure about taking the task on. Creating a new collection from scratch is a very involved process for me, and can often take me years of research, design iterations, prototyping and refinements. But it was an honour to be asked, and my husband Bryan is a good friend of Leigh, and Bryan was to be a member of the Jarl Squad, so I accepted the challenge.
The Wolf Collection was the most collaborative collection I’ve worked on. Leigh and Vicki’s vision of unity, strength, and Viking heritage guided my designs. And so the process of turning initial ideas into a collection of jewellery began.
research and concept development
Firstly, I immersed myself in the subject - the Norse Saga Leigh and Vicki based their squad on, the wolves of mythology, and lives of wild wolves. Bryan and me spent many evenings watching wolf pack documentary series - we became a little hooked and were fascinated by the wolves characters and habits. They really are noble and intelligent creatures with complex social hierarchies.
I gathered pictures, wrote notes, sketched details and ideas, and reflected - making connections and getting to the heart of this collection.
Teeth surfaced as a key theme - the tools wolves use to protect and provide for their pack. Incisors, carnassials, and fangs became central to the collection, symbolising survival, protection, and the unbreakable bonds of a pack.
I filled page after page with evolving sketches - exploring, questioning, refining the concepts. Ideas were stretched, distilled, repeated, and reimagined, as I pushed and pulled at every element. Through this layered process of iteration, the essence of the collection gradually took shape and revealed itself.
Concept to reality
Once I had the core concepts, I moved from paper to physical design, creating master patterns from which I would be able to cast multiples from. Wax carving is one of my favourite techniques - I could sit at the bench all day every day and just carve waxes…(and that is exactly what I did!). I love the tactile physicality of wax carving. It’s like creating mini sculptures. Within the block of wax I imagine the piece waiting to be released it as I strip away materials to reveal the forms.
From the master wax patterns, we created moulds and cast copies in sterling silver, yellow gold and rose gold - each metal giving the pieces quite a different look and feel, and each piece meticulously hand-finished in my Hoswick studio before being sent to Edinburgh to be Hallmarked as a guarantee of metal purity.
As with many designs, it was a challenge to turn striking concepts into wearable pieces of jewellery without compromising the aesthetics. Pieces that are sizable yet not too heavy. Pieces that are bold yet subtle. Pieces that could adorn a party outfit and a fearsome Viking warrior!
I imagined how the jewellery would be worn by it’s owners - how it will comfortably rest on the body, how to make it strong and durable, and the practicalities of how it will be worn in different situations. Most of all, I image how it will make the wearer feel. In the case of the Wolf Collection I wanted them to feel confident, bold, and proud.
The Reveal
A few weeks before SMUHA day, a ‘reveal’ event was organised in our village hall. I was a little nervous about seeing the finished pieces together as a collection for the first time, and for the Jarl Squad and their families to see the designs for the first time too. I explained the core concepts and spoke through the design stages before showing them the finished pieces. I was thrilled, and relieved, that the Wolf Collection received a very positive response!
My relief was short lived as me and my team had to get back to work to finish enough pieces for the squad and their loved ones in time for the big day!
The Wolf Collection in the wild
Friday the 8th March 2024, SMUHA day, was when it all came together. During the day the Jarl Squad has a busy itinerary of visits to school children, care home residents, and village halls where they sing, cheer, and spread good will around the South Mainland!
I was invited to join them for lunch at the Sumburgh Hotel. As they mustered around the galley (their Viking Longship) in the daylight my heart swelled at the sight of the jewellery pieces in action. Vicki has said that she wanted the jewellery to look beautiful, unique and striking and she wanted to feel strong like a warrior, proud and united as a family, a squad and a community - and the women warriors certainly looked that, and more!
The highlight of SMUHA was yet to come - the torchlit procession where the Jarl Squad is joined by hundreds of ‘guizers’ to march and sing their way down a winding country road before throwing their torches into the galley as it is launched to sea in a blaze of flames. It truly is a sight to behold!
My first year guizing
This was my first year as a guizer. It was an unforgettable and emotional experience as I carried my flaming torch, sang the Up Helly Aa song, and saw the Jarl Squad Warrior Women looking resplendent as the fiery light of the torches reflected on their jewellery. For me, jewellery is all about capturing stories, and here the story of the Wolf Collection vividly came to life.
After the procession, a night of high jinx and revelry around the village halls of Shetland’s South Mainland ensued. That’s for another story…!
A Viking invasion, of sorts!
I was humbled to be invited to become an honorary member of the Jarl Squad and make the trip south to lead the torchlit New Years procession in Edinburgh. And of course we were wearing pieces from the Wolf Collection too, so I really felt part of it.
Every good saga has a twist though and Scotland’s famous weather put pay to the Hogmanay celebrations which were cancelled at the last minute. But we didn’t let the weather get the better of us and we marched, sang and cheered our way around Edinburgh for the day. At one point the police stopped us, told us we were having an illegal march, and ordered us to disperse - which we did… until they had gone! It was a humble tribute to our Viking forebearers who enjoyed nothing more than storming a city!
Post script
It’s been incredible to see how deeply people connect with the Wolf Collection. Some see strength and resilience in the wolf motifs; others find meaning in the Norse connections, and everyone loves the story of the SMUHA Warrior Women!
One of the most moving stories came from a customer who found a personal connection to the Wolf Collection. The ring she chose for her husband wasn’t just jewellery - it was a symbol of family, heritage, and resilience.
They had just completed their IVF journey, and their Wolfpack was finally complete with their two boys. With Norwegian Viking roots on her mother’s side and Scottish heritage on both sides, the collection resonated deeply with her. Their boys even have Scottish Viking middle names, making this piece a tribute to their legacy. But this year had also been bittersweet - she had welcomed her youngest son into the world while grieving the loss of her mother. This ring, in many ways, became a touchstone of strength, remembrance, and the unbreakable bonds of family.
It’s moments like this that remind me why I do what I do. Jewellery isn’t just about metal and stone - it’s about the stories we carry and the connections that shape us.