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I aim to make jewellery that captures the freedom and personality of custom car and motorbike culture. Using skills from my previous career as a dental technician, cast metals are the primary materials. There is excitement and danger in working with metal that relates to this vibrant culture, and a high level of individuality as some pieces are moulded specifically to the wearer.
My work is influenced by the creativity of a specific custom vehicle culture or “Kustom Kulture,” established by skilled people modifying their vehicles in garages and workshops in America post WWII. I aim to capture the essence of this grassroots community through jewellery design.
People express themselves with a high level of craftsmanship and originality through their personalised vehicles. There are skills and patience in maintaining a vehicle. There is a feeling of achievement in customising it to your own taste and personality as the required mechanical and aesthetic elements come together.
I gathered skills in wax carving and metal casting in my previous career as a dental technician. I found CAD and the lost wax process to be vital tools for metalwork. Stepping into the jewellery world allowed me to use these skills to create more imaginative designs, naturally progressing into dental jewellery. This is a custom-made, highly personal form of jewellery as the piece is moulded to the anatomy of the individual.
Metals are the primary materials in my work. There is excitement and danger in working with metals, especially in controlling a flame to melt, cast and join pieces of metal together. Metals can be shaped and polished to a smooth high shine, or hammered, filed and patinated for interesting textures. Metals have personalities and there is a great deal of learning about how they behave and complement each other, this journey of experimentation has led to a body of work that celebrates individuality and freedom of expression.
