I took part in #MarchMeetTheMaker again this year, a social media challenge for small creative businesses to post a themed story about their work each day in March (you can find out more about it here) . Here’s my 2021 contributions (you’ll notice I missed a few days - oops!). There’s a lack of emojis in the blog, so some of my usual winks and love hearts are missing!

Brand

Day 1 of #marchmeetthemaker and already I’m finding it a struggle It’s been a busy day and I should have had my social media all planned...but I didn’t. Welcome to my world!

For those of you new to following me, I am a jewellery designer maker based in the Shetland Islands, in the north of Scotland. I’ve been designing and making jewellery for 27 years now and I still love it!

I grew up in Shetland but lived on the mainland for 23 years in both Glasgow and London, and in fact still have a base in London which means I get to see my clients at the other end of the country when covid allows.

What is my brand all about? It is all about making beautiful jewellery and trying to ensure my clients have the best experience. I’m still learning when it comes to both areas, but I am loving the journey and being able to do this brings me huge joy - so I am delighted I get to call this work!

Style

STYLE - what’s yours?

Because so much of what I do is bespoke and tailored to my clients, this is a question I always want to know the answer to. My collections give an opportunity to express some of my style, but when it comes to bespoke creations - it’s all about YOU!

BELIEFS & VALUES

Each one of us is precious - we have value and we are loved. Sometimes we forget that and need reminding.

Jewellery can be a great reminder, and I want that to be reflected in everything I do - whether buying yourself a piece because you deserve it, or someone is having a piece created for you to tell you you are loved, or you’re having jewellery from a loved one remodelled as a reminder of that precious relationship - I want my craft(wo)manship and the quality of my service to demonstrate the value of YOU.

ON YOUR DESK

Tools, tools, tools I love tools!! It’s one of the main reasons I got into jewellery making as a 17 year old. Someone told me I got a tool box and I was in!

My newest toy (I mean important piece of equipment ) is a microscope upgrade - makes such a difference, especially when stone setting.

NEWEST MAKE

This is the newest make I can show you - the others need to be seen by their new owner first!

This was another fun remodelling project

My client had some rings she didn’t wear anymore. One was her original engagement ring which was repaired at some point and was never really the same after that. The other two rings were a special aunt’s and I believe a Grandmother’s. None of which she was wearing and so we designed a piece that was simple and wearable and now she gets to wear the memories held in these pieces every day.

WORK IN PROGRESS 1

I always love taking pictures of my work in progress, but I must say - often I forget. When I get in the zone and am really into the piece I’m making, it is easy to forget. With this piece I remembered some stages, but then there’s big jumps till the next stage. But I hope you enjoy seeing the work in progress and get more of a sense of what’s involved behind the scenes.

WORK IN PROGRESS 2

The finished piece

LEARNING CURVE

A huge learning curve for me is understanding that I can’t do everything. My Dad often chuckles at me because I cram my day with what a person can feasibly do, and then try to cram in some more. Dad says I get that from my Mam

But every enquiry I get is important to me as it represents someone’s jewellery dreams, and I want to make them happen for that person. But I have to remember that at the moment I am just 1 person and I have a set number of hours in the day, and a set number of days in the week, and a set number of weeks in the year...and I cannot alter that, no matter how hard I try

I’m probably not the only one like that either! Anyone else think they are Wonder Woman (or man)?

SMALL DETAIL

My work is all about the small detail. People often ask me how I can work with such detailed pieces...and I guess it’s a few things - I’ve always loved the small details, even from when I was a bairn. I have a lot of patience for detail and I will sit at something for hours. And I also have the help of a microscope

Here’s me setting the stone in a ring which I made recently. It always looks so much better when you get the edges cleaned up. I’m looking forward to showing you this piece soon as it’s finished and on its way to its new home

PORTRAIT

I thought rather than sharing a recent portrait pic, I’d take one from the archives. You’ve probably see enough recent pictures of me already

When I was a peerie lass I had curly blond hair until my sister Laura cut my curls off when I was just 2 and she was 4 After that my hair seemed to grow in darker, so this picture must have been after that.

It wasn’t the best haircut she ever gave me, but that didn’t stop us...as when I was 4 and Laura was 6 she gave me a haircut for a wedding where we were the flower girls. The hairdresser had to try and fix it and I ended up with the shortest fringe you’ve ever seen. So to make us look the same the hairdresser cut Laura’s hair the same. I should try to find those pictures!

IN USE

I absolutely love receiving pictures of my clients wearing the pieces I have made for them. There are too many to share, but here are just a few. Each picture represents a story and a valued client who has also become a friend, through the medium of jewellery.

FOCUS & PRIORITIES

My focus is my clients and my priority is their aspirations.

This engagement ring was created by working closely with the gent. He wanted a piece that symbolised them - the union of two families. The opal is her birthstone and a stone she loves. The band has two strands representing them as individuals enveloping the seven diamonds which symbolise the seven children they have between them. A celebration of their families’ unity.

FROM THE ARCHIVE

There is so much I could choose for this one, and I’ve gone with this interview from last year. Jane Moncrieff came to my studio in Hoswick to chat about my life and work as a jeweller to date, and I had the best time! Jane is such a talented interviewer as she made me forget the microphone and it was just a really great chat with a friend. Not sure how she managed to edit it all to 60 minutes - those of you who know me, know I love a chat!

We are speaking in Shetland Dialect, so some words might be hard to understand if you’re not from Shetland. But if you do take a listen I’d be interested in knowing if you understood

COLOUR

Gemstones are how I choose to add colour to my pieces. The beauty of what nature produces never ceases to amaze me.

These three rings are from the Tutti Frutti collection and I’m in the process of making new rings with different and equally fruity colour combinations. They are a favourite of mine and can be a great way to wear birthstones.

JOB/S

I have so many different jobs to do as part of running my business as a sole trader, but it is all about enabling this to happen - creating beautiful jewellery.

This piece is all about the stone - one which was lovingly polished by Ivan of Hascosay Gems for his wife Kim. It was originally in a ring, but didn’t work so well as that. So after we started working together, I took this piece and remodelled it into a necklace instead. I felt the piece had to display the stone to it’s best advantage while following the lines and geometric shape of the stone. I loved the result and I think Kim did too

#lovemyjob