Hannah Walker Jewellery

I have been trying to source over sized beads for ages. The biggest I had managed to find was about 20mm. These beauties are 45mm. I found them in a bead store in NY, unpainted. I made a bold move and bought quite a few. I had such a clear idea of the necklace I wanted to create, but wasn't sure if it was a step too far. You can see the end result above. I think it works really well. Its not heavy or uncomfortable to wear, just super chic. The grosgrain ribbon finishes it off nicely.

In an attempt to display my jewellery in a more personal way, I made this mirror. It's a carefully chosen branch from a tree (Lilac, if you really want to know), painted and attached to a rennovated vintage mirror. It works really well - I have somewhere to hang the jewellery and a mirror to see what it looks like when my clients put it on. I'd like to make a whole series of them now - a wall of twiggy mirrors. Lovely.

Just before it was time to fly back to the UK, I managed to squeeze in a whizz around The Metropolitan Museum NY. It is so famous, I was looking forward to having a rummage around the galleries. To be honest, a lot of what was in there we have here in our London galleries. What I'm not aware of us having though is the exquisite Tiffany stained glass windows. Above are some photos which really capture the colours of the vines. It reminded me that sometimes it is worth spending time on something to make it really special. Each grape is a different shade of purple, some fade to green or black. It was very inspiring to see such craftsmanship.

On a recent trip to New York, I finally made it to Henri Bendel on Fifth Avenue. This is a store I had heard about, but never visited. It was fabulous. I think it was probably my favorite store in NY. A high end boutique department store, it seemed to specialise in accessories and I have heard that people queue round the block to try and get their work selected. I can see why. There was a jeweller there called Kendra Scott who had a 'bead bar' where the customers could choose the colour mix for a selection of her jewellery designs. Its a clever idea and taps into that whole 'child in a sweet shop' appeal that loose gems and beads have.

Far be it for me to show off - but look! Those are actual sweetcorn from our garden, no word of a lie. So are the broccoli, strawberries & peas - slightly less impressive I'll grant you, but still quite exciting. Of course I had very little to do with actually growing these, I'm not allowed to venture into the hallowed soil that is the raised beds. But I did have a lot to do with cooking and eating them. Yum.

Phew, another birthday over till next year. I find they loom like a black cloud on the horizon - the excitement, the pressure to make it fabulous. Now that my eldest is six I have the added worry that she is going to start remembering things. So a duf birthday party is just not an option! But, I do love decorating the cakes. This year I got a bit over excited and put lovely green jelly round the base to look like grass. Lush colour and it wobbled. What more could a little girl want? A trip to France I hear you say? Yes indeed, that is what she wanted, and that is what she got. A day trip where we spent more time on the boat than anywhere else. Still, she enjoyed it - I think.

When my echinops came out in the garden a couple of weeks ago, they reminded me how much I love the sculpture by Ruth Molliet. A few years ago, her oversized Allium seed heads were in every home magazine going. I loved her work then, but didn't realise, she also made other massive metal flowers, Echinops being one of them. She also does lovely layered glass art works with flattened flowers. A very talented lady.

It had been too long since I visited my favorite place, the V&A. So I managed to wrangle a visit under the guise of taking my eldest on a trip to the Natural History museum (just across the road). We went to a butterfly exhibition in a tent in the grounds of the Natural History Muesum and on to the V&A afterwards for lunch and some 'quiet time'.

The butterfly exhibiton was amazing. I hadn't realised they would be alive and fluttering! Not only that, there was a display case filled with cocoons so we could watch butterflies emerging from their chrysalis'. For me that was the highlight. Look at the pictures above - honestly, nature is something else. They were like jewels. Some looked metallic, some irridescent and others were dotted with gold. Quite breathtaking, and so rare to see such a thing.

We lived near a wild flower meadow on a hill for a few years, and one summer morning, I did see some butterflies emerging from their cocoons (or chrysalis...not sure what the difference is. might have to look that one up.) I thought that was incredible at the time, but didn't think I'd ever see anything like it again. I'm so glad I have.

Click on the link to find out more. The exhibition 'Butterfly Jungle' is running until September http://www.nhm.ac.uk/visit-us/whats-on/butterfly-jungle/butterfly-jungle-vid/index.html

Having just finished a spell freelancing for a well know high street brand, I feel as if I have just come off a merry go round. The office I was working in is an alladin's cave of jewels. Honestly, it can make your head spin. The pace when designing for the 'high street' is so fast its hard to keep up.

The pictures above show just a couple of examples of some of the product which has just hit the shops. I wanted to take more photos, but the lighting was not great. Take a look at www.marksandspencer.com to see more. The office walls are either lined with samples like this or tiny drawers filled with beads in every colour you can think of. This 'bead library' acts as source of inspiration as well as a useful tool for guiding the factories as to the exact colour needed in a design.

It's been useful for me to reassess my own jewellery line to see where it sits in a world where things are sold at bargain prices and yet still a great product. One of the things that struck me the most was the variety of materials available out there now. Costume jewellery has moved on so much since I began working in the industry 5 years ago. We are all becoming a bit more daring in the jewellery we choose to wear and the high street helps us to do that without having to take a risk with our money too. I love it. Its such a great environment to be allowed access to. I hope that my girls find a career when thay are older that they enjoy as much.

What a surprise. My iris' are out and they are a kind of pinkish purple with orange beards. I am soo pleased with them. I walk past them to get into my house and I stop and examine them every time. They are proper works of art. Honestly, something so simple really brightens my day.