About Hannah
All my pieces are handmade by me using traditional silversmithing techniques in my workshop in the Surrey Hills.
My love of working with metal started at art school in the late 90's when I was first introduced to a forge, some mild steel and a bunch of hammers. Heaven! For a couple of years I focused on architectural metal and sculpture, often having the opportunity to work with established blacksmiths in their own forges, a really wonderful and treasured experience. I became increasingly interested in how different metals respond to different manipulation techniques and treatments. The versatility and qualities of silver really excited me and I went on to complete my degree in Jewellery and Silversmithing at Edinburgh School of Art.
When not in my studio, I'm out in the fields and forests that surround our home walking with my best four legged friend. Photographing the light, colours and textures for inspiration as we wonder. I also really enjoy hiking in our stunning British mountains and fells or dinghy sailing our unique coastal areas, but that doesn't seem to happen enough!
Inspiration
My work today is very much driven by the qualities of the materials I work with. Most of my pieces are made from silver as I find it so wonderful to work with. It has a warm, reassuring softness and happily accepts hammering, filing and textures. The different finishes that can be applied, highlight it's beautiful characteristics.
A love of traditional, hand fabrication and forging is important in my work. My inspiration often comes from the subtle colours, textures and shapes in the landscapes and nature around me. Experimentation, new processes and learning are still very much a part of what drives my work. I spend a lot of time sourcing beautiful and unusual stones to use in my pieces from all around the world, often directly from the stonecutters themselves. However, sometimes I just find something intriguing on a beach or up a mountain that I want to see paired with silver somehow.
My pieces are sometimes planned in detail, but I also very much enjoy designing three dimensionally with my hands and tools - rather than trying to force a preconceived idea onto beautiful materials. The texture, form and finish of the metal is as important as any shape or feature and my pieces tend to be tactile and super comfy to wear or fiddle with!
