The process is thoughtful and slow. It starts often with a sketch or pieces of foraged botanicals. The double leaf earrings, for example, are made from catkins gathered from ash trees in Blackwell’s Gloucestershire garden, pressed into wax, “then I start carving the shape of the leaf and creating textures.” The fern drop earrings “start off with a real fern leaf that I sketch, then I carve that into the wax”. The pieces are then cast in gold or silver, and finished by hand.
Tragically, Eden had died after struggling with breast cancer and the aftermath of the brutal treatments, in December 2011. “She knew that I was going to start my own thing, and I’d been able to make her a brooch and an eternity ring, so she saw my work.”
Blackwell has just launched a new collection, but unlike a fashion brand, they merely add to the growing overall collection, designed to be worn together with old faithfuls (the best-sellers are “all the Princess pieces”). Blackwell herself is wearing an enviable décolletage of stacked rings on her fingers (including the engagement ring she designed herself) and layered necklaces. She says many women over 40 come into her showroom in the Cotswolds keen to try the trend, “but don’t know where to start, and it is actually harder than it first looks. But I hope that by showing them what pieces to layer, it gives them the confidence to do it too.”
At home, Blackwell has a huge trunk filled with playful pieces that her nearly-two-year-old son, August, loves to use while playing with his friends. “I love that boys and girls open up the lid and get jewelled-up to the max. It’s such a fun way to interact with them.” It’s a memory she has from her childhood: “My mum had an amazing collection of jewellery that she had from her mother, and some of which my sister and I have now. We were allowed to play with it and dress up, and I remember all the tiny details of them, all the sparkle and how special it seemed. Looking back, it’s what drew me into this world.”
You can see more of Blackwell’s designs at catherinezoraida.com
