My creative process

Hello friends! I hope you are well. I often get asked about my making process and where I get inspiration.

My jewellery is very much inspired by nature- I love walking and I get a lot of ideas when I’m outdoors. I especially love exploring woodlands and am drawn to the ancient symbolism and folklore of trees, flowers and plants.

I recently made a new ring design, my Rowan engagement ring, and I documented some of the making process. The Rowan tree, the tree of life, is a sacred tree that can thrive even in the harshest of conditions, and symbolises wisdom and protection. I love the shape and formation of its leaves and its beautiful flowers and berries.

I always start with sketches and drawings- I often pick leaves and twigs and use these as reference material, with the help of photographs and botanical illustrations.

My jewellery is hand carved in jeweller’s wax and then cast into metal- this technique is called the lost wax casting method. It’s an ancient technique that remains largely unchanged over the years. I love carving wax, it often takes me hours and I’m completely absorbed by it.

This particular ring design is to hold a gemstone, so I ensured the wax was carved as precisely as possible to fit around the stone setting seamlessly.

The wax was cast into silver which I spent some time refining and tweaking before a mould was made. I can now cast the model and stone setting into gold.

This is the finished ring after lots of filing, sanding, soldering and polishing. It’s now ready to set!

The ring was set with a beautiful Australian green sapphire, and given a final polish. Once the jewellery is finished, it’s hallmarked at the London assay office with my maker’s mark.

I hope you like the ring design and found my process interesting. If you have any questions I’d love to hear from you- feel free to leave a comment or send me an email/message me on Instagram.

Thanks for reading! Erica x