A special commission

Making jewellery is a wonderfully creative task and combines a physical element with problem solving. I love seeing where my design idea will go - hence letting the whimsey lead the way. A commission isn't like that though. You're not creating for you; you are bringing someone else's idea to life and this means a fair amount of pressure. Can you actually do it? Will they like it? What if they don't?

Over the last few months I had been chatting with a friend at work about a special piece that he wanted to be made for his daughter. About two years ago she sadly lost her mum and her dad wanted a pendant to be made for her. We chatted about ideas and what he would like included (the design had to have a feather and a butterfly incorporated in it) but it wasn't until I actually met the client's daughter that the design came to life.

Playing with design ideas

She wears a very special necklace from which hangs a small pendant in which her mum's ashes had been set. Understandably, this pendant was incredibly precious and was not often taken off. We developed the idea to create a pendant that could sit around the original thereby giving her an option to wear it or not depending on how she felt.

I put together the design and then commenced work. Nerve-wracking doesn't cover it! I SO wanted to get it right. I used silver clay to make a butterfly and then created a feather from sterling silver. Finally, two sparkly cubic zirconia were added to represent the client's grandaughters.

Ready to go to my client

I was happy with the finished piece, but would it work? Would the client like it? There was only one way to find out and that was to be brave, wrap it up and hand it over. The result? It worked! An early mothers' day gift for a young mum, which incorporated the mum she lost.

Do you have a piece of jewellery you never take off? A wedding band? A bracelet? A pendant? I know I do!