The Jewellery Making Process

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I use a wonderful medium called Silver Clay to create my jewellery. Silver Clay is made of microscopic silver particles combined with water and an organic binder. It can be moulded and shaped in a variety of ways just like standard clay. Once dry, each piece is carefully filed and sanded, before being kiln fired. During firing, the organic binder burns away and the silver particles fuse together to form 99.99% pure solid silver, known as ‘fine silver’. The piece is then polished by hand, before being tumble polished to add strength and give it a beautiful final shine.

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The versatility of silver clay in its 'wet clay' stage allows me to use a wide variety of natural objects and recreate them in pure silver. I pick leaves from the local hedgerows and gently roll them into the surface of the clay, transferring the beautiful details of their veins onto the clay. I can then cut, polish and fire the clay to create a near identical replica of the original leaf in solid silver. I can also create perfect little silver reproductions of other natural finds, such as acorns, ammonites, or shells and ocean treasures found on the beaches of North Devon. I do this by making a mould of the original item, and then pressing the wet clay into the mould. Once dry, the piece is sanded, fired and polished to reveal a perfect silver copy of the original. It really is magical!