Slow & sustainable - the artist behind
I Love Dolly
My life as an independent jeweller was born from a love affair with jewellery. At around age 6, I insisted on wearing (many) bangles to the park one day only to get them caught in the slide on the way down, dislocating my shoulder. Was it inevitable that jewellery would feature heavily in my life?
It was only when my silversmithing collided with my love for the ocean and the natural world that the artist in me became truly fulfilled. Once I had learned how to set gemstones, I became pretty obsessed about what else I could set - more to the point, what I could set from the beach. Sea glass jewellery and sea pottery jewellery have become a huge part of my work - in our throwaway age, this “beautiful junk” is repurposed as if mother nature herself had designed it, as if she had been the one to trash the seas with glass and ceramic, only to be able to lovingly transform them so perfectly into little frosted nuggets of perfection.
Traditionally made.
My handmade jewellery is raw and individual, not factory made and my two hands and some basic tools tend to work much harder than any of the small machines I have. My handcrafted jewellery pieces are textured and unique, all with their own statement to make and are slow and sustainably made where possible. I make small batch collections and one-of-a-kind jewellery in my little home studio so that I can achieve a wonderful work/life balance as an artist and mother. My metals and beach finds are my canvas and my saw and hammer my paintbrushes. Behind my bench is a beautiful place to be but equally my family are everything to me; they are the water to the creative seed that is within me. I couldn’t imagine a world where I beachcombed alone and not with them at my side.
I have quite a large collection of sea glass and sea pottery from the UK and all over the world. I am eco-conscious and a big advocate of upcycling, which is one of the reasons why I love to make sea glass jewellery and sea pottery jewellery. I strive to use ethically sourced gemstones, recycled precious metals and recyclable packaging. I’m a Theo Paphitis #SBS (Small Business Sunday) winner and most recently in 2022 became a Modern Maker Awards winner in the jewellery category with Biz Bubble. I’ve had the pleasure of being interviewed a few times live on BBC Radio Kent with Anna Louise in the small business Sunday afternoon slot.
Please have a browse of my Gallery and my Shop and follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook for day to day I Love Dolly action and a glance at new pieces before they hit the website. Alternatively, please sign up to the newsletter to be the first to hear of any previews and I Love Dolly developments.
Keeley x
My Eco Statement
Living as eco-consciously as possible is important to me and therefore it follows that I would strive for my business to be as eco-conscious as possible.
Materials & Waste
The metals I use in my work are recycled if possible. The silver I use is 100% recycled silver - please rest assured that it looks exactly the same as new silver. Every single scrap, offcut and even silver dust is re-used from my bench. My designs often have an organic sense to them to incorporate the waste silver collected from other projects.
Slow made
I thrive on keeping my handmade jewellery slow made. Aside from the metal I use, I make ethical choices for the other materials used in my art, choosing to incorporate either ethically sourced gemstones or beach finds into jewellery. Sea glass jewellery is predominantly my specialty and the recycling, upcycling, repurposing element makes my heart sing. I choose to traditionally silversmith my handmade jewellery with old basic tools and just my hands and I never mass produce pieces - each item is unique and one-of-a-kind and I don’t tend to outsource anything as I like to keep my carbon footprint small and each piece filled with love and care. I recycle packaging when sending jewellery out to you (so please do not take offence if you receive an envelope which has been used before) and my handmade jewellery is packaged prettily with card and kraft boxes and wrapped with jute and cotton or hessian bags. If it is not possible to recycle a previously used envelope, I use 100% recyclable envelopes. The foam insert in my kraft boxes is not currently recyclable but I am working on this and hope to soon change this element of my packaging.
Ultimately, the ethos behind my jewellery is all about drawing upon nature and our wild coastlines to produce handmade jewellery which has been thoughtfully and ethically made with quality materials and traditional skills. I love our planet and want it to be a beautiful place for my children and for future generations.
Keeley x
