For the Love of Nature, Silver and Sea-Glass
My Story
Probably much like you, I’ve always been an avid lover of the natural world - from a very young age, connecting with nature has been a sanctuary from the busyness and stresses of life, my sensitivity feeling soothed and understood by the trees and butterflies!
Something I lost for a while as I was being busy in the corporate world.
I rediscovered my deep connection to Nature in a different part of my professional life, as I sought to work out what to do with my ‘next phase’, shortly before Covid Lock-Down hit. Then I, like many people, sought refuge in the great outdoors and I truly remembered how much I feel calmed by a good vista, being near water, or under trees. And I noticed how much joy and soul connection I felt in really seeing the small and tiny details of a bee or butterfly on a flower, or the textures and patterns of leaves, bark, moss and lichen.
I’ve also always been a bit of a collector, and a crafter, too - From the rose-petal potions, shell collages and pet caterpillars of my childhood, to the berries, leaves, flowers, shells, fossils, sea-glass and pottery I collect now to make sloe gin, elderflower cordial, rose-hip syrup and….. jewellery!.
I have learnt a lot about our innate connection with other life on this planet of ours, and how vital that inter-connectedness is for our wellbeing (and survival).
And one of the ways that connection has shown up for me is through my self-taught jewellery making.
In truth, I see myself as a Nature Nerd who happens to make jewellery infused with a little bit of wild - rather than ‘A Jeweller’
It’s a far cry from my Corporate life, I’m still evolving and growing as a maker - And I am LOVING it!
Hugged by Nature
As I took my first tentative steps into jewellery making, (and plucking up the courage to share it with other people - initially as gifts, and then at local craft fairs) I realised that if I was going to take this more seriously, I probably needed a name.
I had been thinking about Hugged by Nature for an entirely different reason - and a friend excitedly pointed out that it was a PERFECT description of my jewellery.
The leaves, flowers and seeds, the shells, fossils and sea-glass - all nurtured, shaped and ‘hugged’ by nature’, before being transformed into silver jewellery by me.
And so Hugged by Nature Jewellery became ‘a thing' which is evolving and growing, and I am thoroughly enjoying the ride.
“Purchased three necklaces for family/friends and my only regret is I didn’t purchase one for myself too. The detailed beauty of nature - flora and shells, captured in silver. Special gifts very much admired by the recipients” (Liz S,)
About My Jewellery
Honouring my eco-conscious values and a wish to reflect the individuality of nature by creating individual , organic and delicate pieces that are unique, one-of-a kind or very small batch pieces so that you know you own something that no-one else has are at the heart of my making - inherent to which is a desire to ensure that I don’t over-produce (thereby creating unnecessary waste).
This means that I produce only one-off or very small runs of a particular style/design to be ‘ready to buy’, preferring instead to make to order, or to work with you to create something truly special and personal to you.
Designs that are available as made to order are those which I can re-create in in the same style - though they won’t ever be exactly the same as similar ones I have made: Sea-shells or seeds from which I have made moulds, imprints of particular plants, my signature wire-wrapped sea-glass necklaces and earrings, or silver clay painted leaves, are typical examples. They are ‘of a type’, using a particular method, but they will all still be ‘one-of-a-kind’ - just like each leaf picked, each piece of sea glass and each hand-made press of clay into a mould has it’s own character, texture and form.
And if you’re after something totally unique, with personal meaning for you or a loved one, I welcome commissions to make special requests. Recent commissions include a Bramble flower (for a 21st), a Sunflower (for a 70th) and a sea-glass necklace to match a previously purchased pair of earrings.
I use silver metal clay for the majority of my pieces, which is a soft, malleable material consisting of silver waste fragments ground up and combined with an organic binder - which can rolled, shaped, textured and moulded much like normal clay. It is then fired (I use a blow torch) to burn off the organic binders, leaving solid fine (99.9% pure) silver. Sea-glass is also a waste product - glass from bottles, jars, vases, and even windows, that has found its’ way into the sea and been smoothed and shaped by the sand salt and waves over many decades. Some sea-glass is over 100 years old. All of the sea-glass I use has been personally gathered by me or friends and family, mostly on UK but some from France). I never buy sea-glass or make ‘artifically aged sea-glass’ because the provenance is as important to me as how it looks.
You may also like to know that the packaging I use for gift-wrapping and posting my pieces is also fully recycled and/or recyclable and sourced from the UK.
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“Hugged by Nature immediately got my attention when I saw the range of beautiful sea glass jewellery. It immediately conjured up my childhood beach visits where I loved finding different coloured glass and shells in the sand. Each piece was so beautifully made and such gorgeous colours”
Angie H.