i've been wanting to write about abigail percy's gorgeous jewelry for some time, but when i saw her anemone necklace show up on 3191 (an absolutely gorgeous online art project - highly recommended), i knew it was a sign.
i absolutely love abigail's style, and the way in which she mixes nature with modernism. my favorite is that anemone necklace, above, but i also love the hollyhock and the sweet horse chestnut. when i first saw her pieces, i assumed they were laser cut, because they're so intricate. but when i dropped her an email to ask, turns out they're all made by hand! she told me:
All my designs are actually hand fabricated...so absolutely no casting or lazer cutting involved. I hand-saw each piece out of sheet sterling silver...and will then file and sand them to a lovely finish, before soldering on any findings needed, before finally finishing them to a chalky matt, attaching the chain and the hand-made clasp and plating with 18ct yellow gold (which I also do myself so I can get the colour just the right shade of ochre!)....wow. now i know why i didn't become an artist. no way do i have that kind of patience.
The hand-made nature of the work ensures each piece will be ever so slightly different from the next, thus totally unique...plus, I have always found that people really enjoy knowing that each piece has been made entirely from scratch, by me, rather than on a production line! So, when it comes to making multiples of items in my catalogue - there is no more to it that hours (and hours!) at the bench :)
Equally - all the ivory pieces are hand-carved by me too...(from ivory substitute) and I then stain the carvings to age them. All the necklaces are hand strung as well.
anyway, check out all of abigail's stunning work at her website - happy hunting!
