As a nature jeweller, I love the National Arboretum at Westonbirt. I can drive there in less than 10 minutes from my home in Tetbury! It’s a place I visit often either to walk in the woods in my own or with Misha, the family dog.
In early May, I visited Westonbirt and walked through the forest, taking photographs and picking up leaves which had fallen in the ground.
If you take a look at my Instagram account @silvernutshell you can see how I turned leaves into beautiful solid sterling silver jewellery.
I have created a beautiful collection of silver leaf pendants, a bumble bee and a dragonfly, which were all inspired by my visits to the arboretum.
They’re a constant reminder that nature is all around us and we need to work to protect it.
I wanted to create a special piece to represent our connection with trees. I can’t obviously make a cast of a tree so I used a different technique to create a bezel stamped with the words ‘connect with nature and trees.’ I etched and shaped a tiny tree to sit inside the teardrop bezel pendant.
