Filling my days in lockdown.

2020 has been a complicated year, we all know that. It's been full of change and needing to adapt.

When the first lockdown came into effect I was so grateful to be able to still make jewellery. It meant that I could keep my hands well practiced and my brain busy.

I started making pieces at random and responding to various project briefs set on social media. One of those projects led me to make a few flowers. Organic shapes weren't really something I did often but a lot of people said they loved what I'd done!

On one particular day I was feeling a bit stressed by everything going on and I decided that I needed a repetitive project to keep my mind calm…so I made an entire metalwork flower crown. It was solid copper flowers and also leaves carefully cut with vein details.

That was a big day for me.

I enjoyed making that crown so much that I just carried on making them.

I bought beads (even though the snobby goldsmith in me was cringing - totally irrationally) because they complimented the flowers so well and added extra textures and colours. I tried out different colours and methods of making the petals as neat as possible. I experimented with neatly fixing the components to the silverwork stems and I found my days started to fly by.

Well that was months ago.

Since then I've just been making more and more of them. There's earrings and hair combs now too!

I've been very lucky to discover something that allows me to enjoy the process and that acts as a kind of meditation, so I think I'll be playing with flowers for a long time.