My cuffs are finished off by beautiful metal clasps which took two years to develop in collaboration with talented goldsmith Silvia Trabalza from Bevagna, in the stunning Italian region of Umbria.
I learned the beading technique I use in the Masai Mara, in Kenya, where traditionally bracelets are woven as a continuous band that you force over your wrist and never take off until it literally falls off.
As soon as I learned this weaving method, I started dreaming of using real gemstones, rather than the traditional plastic beads. And of finding a way of making it possible to take the bracelets on and off more easily. I experimented with commercial clasps, spending hours on the internet researching the possibilities, trying different solutions that were always, at best, poor compromises.
Enter Silvia, whom I had met when I had commissioned some pieces from her. I started talking to her about the problems I was having attaching commercial metal clasps to my delicate beadwork. We started imagining what a perfect solution might look like, and many drawings, prototypes and hard work later, going back to the drawing board several times and starting again from scratch, we finally arrived at the perfect solution, which fixes the cuffs securely, but also adorns the pieces, a precious embellishment which we make in sterling silver, or brass which is gold-plated or silver-plated.
A dream turned into a beautiful object combining precision engineering and artistry. I hope you love them as much as I do.