I made this pendant (below during the final year of my degree. It was a quick experiment I did using a left over piece of copper from something else I was working on. It turned out to be very successful and lead towards the designs of some of my final collection. However, the simplicity of this piece will always be one of the things about it that make it so successful.

I’ve kept this necklace for myself (sometimes you just can’t let something go) but I’ve had many compliments on it and decided to use this design as the basis for a new collection.

The shape is based on rocky coastlines. I have been using this idea to create necklace and earring sets; finding a way to efficiently cut the copper so there is no waste.

Each piece of copper is then coated with 2 layers of enamel. Many of these are different transparent colours on top of an opaque base. These pieces also have sand fired onto them making them tactile and evocative of the beach. On others I have used firescale or sprinkles of another colour to imitate the rock surfaces and the lichen growing on them.

One thing I love about enamelling (although it can also be the worst thing) is that each piece can be a surprise – sometimes the same technique can turn out different each time and the finest change in firing time etc can alter the colour. It makes each piece unique – like these three necklaces.

Another feature of these necklaces is that they can be worn at two different lengths. I have developed a fastening for my necklaces that is both attractive and versatile. I like my jewellery to work with various outfits with different necklines.

I’m really pleased with this collection – I wear a couple of these quite often myself as they work just as well with a t-shirt as a dress. These two colours have to be my personal favourites.