The outdoors, especially the coast, is where I am happiest and I have so many happy memories of bobbing around in the water, it’s usually somewhere cold (not intentionally… that’s Britain for you), and preferably a bit wild!
I’ve always wanted to capture that feeling and bottle it so it can be opened and breathed in whenever the sea was out of reach or things become a little too much – a little bit of Vitamin Sea if you like!
Unable to travel to the coast as often as I wanted, I looked to recreate that vibe at home. I took to making things and this led on to creating pieces of jewellery that encapsules my love of the outdoors into something I could wear, touch and look at throughout the day.
Surfite is my passion and it brings me such joy experimenting and working with it. The material encompasses so many things for me.
It reminds me of the fabulous years spent studying at Bangor University and becoming part of the University surf club; travelling to Jersey, Guernsey and Orkney in search of waves (often to discover it flat as a pancake but loving it anyway😊); working in a surf shop down on the beach front, watching the smiles on the faces of people as they climbed out of the water. It is not about being the best, but that journey of self-discovery and finding your tribe that enticed me so much into this world.
The outdoors is free to us all but in turn we each need to do our bit to protect it and help it thrive.
Sustainability is an area that interests me greatly and the idea of producing something entirely new from a waste material is central to what I do.
It’s about creating truly unique, one of kind pieces with a low carbon footprint, from a traceable source, and in circular economy with another artist. But it is also about just making people smile with the tactileness (is that even a word? If not it should be!) of the product and the bright colours and patterns.
When you look at the chunk of Surfite in its raw state you have no idea what you might discover inside. Often it is not until the very end that something amazing begin to appear. It reminds me that is it not what is on the outside that matters, and that sometimes it’s the things on the inside that are the most beautiful, interesting and exciting.
I love spotting shapes in the Surfite – landscapes, seascapes, waves and mountains, but I also love hearing what other people see – where I see white tipped waves in a blue sea, they see stormy skies; where the stripes remind me of sunrise and sunset, they see deckchairs and raspberry ripple ice-cream! So, let’s celebrate the extraordinary and revel in the colour – whatever the memory it evokes.
It has taken several years with many twists and turns, and a lot of studying and experimenting (not to mention many wonderful adventures exploring and being inspired by those I met along the way) to finally feel like I have found my voice as a jeweller.
Thank you for being part of the adventure.
"I commission a piece of jewellery off Caroline and she made the whole process easy and a great experience...the final piece arrived beutifully packages and I'm thrilled with it"
Hester, Yorkshire