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How living by the sea inspires my jewellery designs
When I go to the beach these days, I walk with my head down, eyes scanning the ground.
Not because I’m scared of falling over (although I tend to do that, too – just mention ‘weak ankles’ to my friends and family and hilarity ensues. But that’s another story…).
No, when I go to the beach, I automatically look for things that inspire me to make jewellery.
I love living by the sea. When I started my jewellery journey, I began to experiment with combining silver, and later on, brass, with things I find on beaches. And so the SILVER BEACH COLLECTION was born.
It’s fascinating how the tides change what you can find on a beach, and how different beaches offer completely different things to collect. So far, I’ve identified ‘hotspots’ for certain shells, sea glass and various types of stones. Next, I guess, I’ll go fossil hunting at the Jurassic Coast…
Here are a few of my recent favourites:
Cockles and coils
Few things say “sea” better than … I’m sure we all have a few favourites to insert here. For me, coiled ropes are a typical maritime theme and have inspired me to these wire-wrapped cockle shells.
Stones
If you think jewellery, it’s probably precious or semi-precious stones set in precious metal. Of course I like precious stones – but what I find irresistible is the combination of silver and pebbles or other beach stones. Their organic look and feel is complemented by the clean, refined character of sterling silver, together creating unique, timeless pieces of jewellery that are both contemporary and full of history. There will be more where these came from!
Sea glass
When I was little, I was fascinated by the stories of One Thousand and One Nights. I especially enjoyed the description of the treasure in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves; vividly imagining heavy wooden chests overflowing with gold, silver and precious stones glittering and sparkling green, red and blue in the semi darkness of the cave, only revealed by the magic words ‘Open Sesame’, spoken in a commanding baritone voice accompanied by some foreboding music … (yes, I did have the audio tape).
Sea glass always makes me think back to this childhood fantasy, probably more so than actual precious stones do. Its vivid blues and greens evoke Ali Baba’s cave to me as much as the sea, and in combination with silver it’s just unbeatable.
I choose pieces that inspire me, and I hand-polish them to refine and contour their natural shapes, so every piece is truly unique.
Silver
A collection called SILVER BEACH wouldn’t be complete without pieces made entirely from silver, and I have only begun to explore the endless variations possible here.
Like the sea itself, the SILVER BEACH COLLECTION will always change and move. Because I get inspired by nature, most items in the collection are absolutely unique.
Visit my shop AmpersandDesignbyHB to see which items are currently for sale and follow me on Instagram to discover new additions as and when they become available.
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