My latest collection evolved from observations of historical artefacts - particularly broken statues and ancient busts, battered stonework that has survived the aeons still showing the marks of the maker’s tools, and archaeological jewellery finds, dug up from the earth with gold and gems as bright and vibrant as ever but with surfaces scratched, worn and dented from the passage of time.
I have always been drawn to history, mythology, stories told to explain the origins of the world we live in, and art and architecture made to honour values and themes that we seek to understand, and have found inspiration for this collection in the stories and art of past ages.
Many of these piece were created through the spring and summer when the sky was bright and the sun emphasised the natural beauty of those precious metals and gems that have been so desirable since humans first learned to craft gold and silver into jewellery - and so the collection is named THEIA - according to Greek mythology she was Titaness of sight and of the aether of the shining sky, and the one who endows gold, silver and gemstones with their brilliance, fire and value.
The THEIA collection is full of rich, raw textures, and as part of the creative and technical process I experimented with different ways of giving the jewellery a worn, weathered, ancient-looking but contemporary surface. Working directly into the metal, I like to leave room for the gold and silver to tell its own story of making, and forging on different surfaces and with different hammers gives a beautiful surface which is full of variation and always unique - in this way every THEIA piece is one-of-a-kind, because no two will ever be completely the same.
Life is full of tiny moments that build upon each other to make up momentous occasions, and these pieces are made to be a reminder of the multitude of moments that have passed and which lead each of us to where we are now.
The precious, timeless THEIA designs are staple pieces, crafted to be worn daily and whose form and surface invites you to allow your own marks of daily wear to impact the surface. Jewellery comes to life when worn, and I think that the marks and patinas of wear add to the beauty, mystery and individuality of your own jewellery.
You can find THEIA online now.