love a visit to the seaside but not living anywhere near the coast I don’t get the opportunity to visit very often. But when I do, my favourite thing is walking along the beach searching out interesting stones and shells.
 
I particularly like the pebbles with the stripes in them, which is the inspiration for this piece. But being a lover of colour I felt two grey pebbles would just not have enough impact, so I laid them on a bed of brightly coloured green foiled leather seaweed to give the impression they have just washed up on a beach.
 
I have made a pebble necklace before based on this design, but it wasn't three dimensional like this necklace. Making the pebbles this way gives them a natural shine and really highlights the silver and gold stripes on them making them really stand out.
 
This necklace is part of my Coastal Collection, which will include statement necklaces and brooches inspired by the UK coastline. 
 
Each piece of leather is cut by hand and meticulously fitted together using my unique leather marquetry technique. Some of the grey leather used for the pebbles is taken from some discontinued upholstery samples donated to me, which would otherwise end up in landfill. 
 
Once all the leather pieces are assembled, I stitch them together using my trusty companion, 'Gerty', a 1960's Pfaff rolling-foot sewing machine. Finally, I add the finishing touches to bring the piece to life.
 
I would love to see your photos & hear your thoughts.