Spark to Sparkle: The Shell Earrings

Welcome to the fourth edition of my blog series, Spark to Sparkle.

Here's a look behind the scenes at how my pieces come to be.

The Shell + Shelly Earrings

The idea for these two pairs of shell-inspired earrings came from an actual seashell fragment that I found on a shoreline in North Carolina many years ago. It's been sitting on my window sill in London, where I keep a small collection of stones, pebbles, and nature treasures that have spoken to me.  

I decided to pick it up one day and study it more, trying to remember what drew me to it in the first place. I loved the profile from the bottom. The thick, undulating curves, the in-and-out of the surface of the shell, so perfectly formed. I wish I could somehow see a time-lapse of the creation of the shell, which was created through biomineralization. This happens when the mollusk takes minerals and proteins from the seawater and secretes a hard, protective outer layer. 

The Design

I began my process of turning this into jewelry by creating a 3D-model of the outline of that bottom edge profile that I loved, and used it as the basis for this design. I began playing with various ways of extruding and moving the shape in my 3D-modeling software until I found a result that I liked.

The ultimate jewelry pieces vary a bit from the original shell, with the larger statement Shell Earrings having a taper to the top and a softly curving base. 

The smaller Shelly Earrings have a slightly boxier, more subtle shape to them. They still evoke the feeling of a wave, or the sea, but with a lighter presence and profile.

The Outcome

My goal in jewelry design is often to evoke the essence of something without making it a direct representation. Though these pieces feel like a shell to me, people often find other ideas, shapes, and forms in them. If you see a wavy potato chip, or theater curtains and drapery, you're not wrong. Either way, to me, the elegance is in the form, the feeling, and the memory.

The original shell is still part of my windowsill collection, where it will stay. I sometimes think about the creature that made it, and how it would have never been able to comprehend the beauty and inspiration that it's once protective home led to...

Read Spark to Sparkle: The Shield Ring about a design for protection and safe-feeling.

Read Spark to Sparkle: The Mopani Earrings about a nature-based design inspiration.

Read Spark to Sparkle: The Facet Earrings about an architecturally-influenced design.

Interested in custom jewelry? Get in touch.