As a child I played for hours with the buttons in mum’s green Bakelite button box. I would sort them into sets of colours, big ones, small ones and those I thought particularly special.
As a contemporary jeweller I’ve focused on the recognisable form of the button- its roundness, the concentric rings, the myriad of textures. Immersing myself in a childhood sense of play, I add textures which conjure up the feel of a good linen fabric purchased from a general store in the big country town a long drive from home. I add in the texture of the sea because this is where I live now. I add some gold because a very special button must have gold.
I pause to connect to a memory of a much-loved mother, to a time when things were kept, recycled and valued, to a simpler time.