STANDARDS

I’ve started to betray one of my principles and it turned out to be a very useful decision.

From the very beginning in my business, I’ve have strict standards: vegan, ethically sourced materials, recycled or fair mined precious metals, inclusive, high quality work(wo)manship. None of that is going to change.

I’ve also always had form artistic principles: I won’t put anything out into the world that doesn’t feel like me, I won’t follow trends, I make art for me that I love and, mostly, want to wear (some pieces are too fancy, big or feminine to fit my personal style, but I still love them as objects and want to bring some variety to my customers).

One of these rules I set myself has changed in the past year, though. I always said I wouldn’t introduce any piece to the world that I wasn’t 100% sure about. 

If I haven’t fallen in love with a piece when I’ve made it, I’ll keep it on my desk, wear it, spend a long time looking at it, photograph it and sometimes draw it to try to see if something needs to change, or if my perspective will shift.

What I’ve found, actually, is that my market stall makes a brilliant place to display my work in a different setting and get feedback. So now, even if I’m only 85-99% happy with a piece, I’ll still introduce it to the world by bringing it to a craft fair and seeing how it does or how I feel about it when viewing it nestled in amongst my other work.

Admittedly there haven't been many designs I haven't been sure about, but one of them was the ENDLOS pendant. What's funny is that it's turned out to be one of the pieces people comment on most and I now wear mine all the time, I love it so much!

It’s proven to be a great litmus test and a reminder that, even though I primarily make work for myself, it’s not just for me! It’s for all of you too! I’m proud to have grown enough as a person and an artist to trust others with my work before I’m completely sure about it. It’s a marker that I’m letting go of toxic perfectionism.