I love messing about with materials. It’s a bit weird, but it makes me happy. So what do I mean by ‘non-traditional’ materials? A quick poll would likely tell us that most people think of gold, silver and perhaps copper, plus pearls and gemstones as traditional jewellery materials. That leaves quite a lot of materials in the non-traditional range - things like plastic, resin, ceramics, glass, wood, paper and textiles.

These sorts of materials are interesting because of their relatively low cost (making them ideal for experimenting with), their versatility and their unusual properties. For instance, wood can be carved and painted, paper can be printed and folded, textiles can be sewn and stretched, plastics can be cut, etched and layered…the possibilities are almost endless.

Crucially, unusual materials force us to re-think our relationship with jewellery, begging us to question the purpose of adornments that are made from cheap materials. They challenge us to find new ways of appreciating pieces for their material properties. Of course, most people don’t consciously think this when they choose a pair of wood studs or a rolled-paper bead necklace, but they are usually impressed by the ingenuity of the maker in producing something innovative and attractive out of everyday materials.

Recently I have been experimenting with different materials - paper, faux leather, paint and balsa wood - to determine the ways in which these materials can be used as part of mixed-material jewellery. Why am I doing this when my current practice is laser cut jewellery? Well, as part of my teaching with the Stirchley and Stratford Schools of Jewellery I will be running classes in ‘experimentation’. These classes will encourage students to play with non-traditional materials to produce their own custom pieces of wearable jewellery.

I’ve really enjoyed experimenting because it has enabled me to play with materials I don’t usually have contact with. I’ve also learned some new things while solving problems. For example, I discovered that faux leather can be painted and that it dries quite fast, but using a spray lacquer to seal it is a total no-no as it remains sticky for far too long.

The prototype pieces I have made this summer will be used as examples for my students, but I’m sure they will produce some unexpected combinations that I haven’t thought of, and hopefully we can all learn together.