I do love a good woodland wander! And it turns out that quite apart from making me feel good and giving me the headspace I need to create my nature inspired jewellery, they are pretty important places for the planet too.
Forests hold a significant role in our existence, and the destiny of these woodlands may also shape our own future. Quite apart from the life they support within their canopy, their benefits are far reaching. They contribute to averting erosion, enhancing and safeguarding soil quality, thus aiding in shielding communities from landslides and floods. Additionally, they generate the fertile topsoil required for cultivating plants and crops, and of course they are the lungs of out planet, essential for capturing the carbon to help offset our less than environmentally perfect lives. Pretty impressive, no?
They can also have a positive effect on our own personal wellbeing too. We hear often of the benefits that spending time in nature has on our mental health, and how ‘forest bathing’ can help reduce stress in our lives. We should cherish the serenity of strolling through the woods, listening to the sounds of nature, and witnessing the forest’s full splendour.
Being born and bred in the North East of England, my connection to forests has been an integral part of my life since I can remember. Hailing originally from Co Durham, where huge swathes of ancient woodland form what is now known as ‘the land of oak and iron’, I have vivid memories of childhood weekends spent picnicking and playing the streams in the heart of Hamsterley Forest. Incidentally, Hamsterley was also home to botanist and TV presenter David Bellamy, a fact that we were very proud of when we saw him regularly on the TV throughout the 70s and 80s!
I migrated from Durham to Northumberland (by way of a few years in Newcastle – well, I was younger then!) over 20 years ago, and still find myself drawn to woodland and forests when I need to take time out. Spending time amongst the trees gives me a profound sense of tranquillity and well-being. I’m lucky that I can get my fix within walking distance of my back door, but for me the jewel in the crown is a trip to Kielder Forest. Less than an hour from home and it’s like I’m in another world, transported back to a road trip through the Canadian outback several years ago (but without the moose and bears!). It was during a weekend camping in Kielder and exploring the isolated forest trails that I found the inspiration to create my Northumbrian Forests collection.
The collection incorporates elements of Kielder’s dark skies, of woodland oaks, and (with some artistic license as it’s not really part of a woodland but I just couldn’t miss it out!) the iconic tree of Sycamore Gap on Hadrian’s Wall. Through the use of copper, silver and brass, I aimed to capture the essence of these landscapes and skies into my nature inspired jewellery with an illustrative design based around trees.
Each piece in the collection is hand pierced; that means using my trusty jewellers saw and cutting through the metal to create the trunk and branches of the tree shapes. All of this is done freehand, without a template, meaning each individual piece of jewellery is as unique as the tree which inspired it. In creating the collection using this process, I get to escape to the forest over and over again, even if only in my mind!
Curious for more? Click here to shop the Northumberland Forests collection.