Meet the Maker – BlueHill Jewellery

Meet Su from BlueHill Jewellery

15% OFF BLUEHILL JEWELLERY WITH THE CODE ‘MAY15’ 

We’re absolutely delighted that you are our Featured Maker for this month. We’re so excited to find out more about you, your crafting journey, and your creations! To get us started, firstly, could you introduce yourself and tell us what you make?

Hello I’m Su, the owner of BlueHill Jewellery. A few years after my spinal cord injury, a friend told me she’d heard a podcast about how focusing the mind can help with pain relief. I tried knitting and found that it eased the pain while I was doing it. However, I’m no knitter, so I turned to something I’d always wanted to explore, silver smithing. It’s been over 10 years now and I haven’t looked back since. I love gemstones and making unique textured pieces with gold and silver, that highlight the natural beauty of the stones within.

You talk about BlueHill Jewellery being born following a spinal cord injury that left you in a lot of pain. Could you share a little more about this, and how crafting helped you in your recovery?

I’ve been living with Cauda Equina Syndrome for almost 25 years in May, so chronic pain is part of everyday life for me. I came to silversmithing as a way of managing that, the focus and the physical process really help. There’s very little room for anything else when you’re concentrating on a difficult part of the piece. It has made such a difference to my life.

Were you always creative, or is this a skill you’ve discovered more recently?

No, I can’t say I really was creative before, when I was younger I loved to bake and decorate cakes. I even got to do my sister’s wedding cake about 35 years ago now, which was an amazing experience, but I don’t feel like I really found my creativity till I found jewellery.

Your designs are so colourful and joyful – what inspires them?

I’ve always been drawn to colourful jewellery, especially pieces made with bright, vibrant gemstones. This love of colour was deepened during a period of my life when I began travelling throughout India, immersed in a culture rich with colour. Wearing brightly coloured saris every day which had a lasting influence on my aesthetics.

That experience continues to inspire my work, where bold hues and colour combinations play a central role in my designs.

Do you wear a lot of your own jewellery? If so, what are your favourite pieces to wear?

I do wear my own jewellery. I like dainty gemstone rings, and I’m partial to pearl necklaces with gemstone pendants, but my absolute favourite piece I wore was a pair of earrings I made early on in my journey (which have since gone missing in a house move) that was inspired by my time in India during my mid 20s.

Can you talk us through your creative process when working on something new?

I’ve always been drawn to colourful jewellery, especially pieces made with bright, vibrant gemstones. This love of colour deepened off the back of my travels in India, immersed in a culture rich with colour. Wearing brightly coloured saris every day has had a lasting influence on my preferences and aesthetic. It continues to inspire my work, where bold hues and colour combinations play a central role in my designs.

As we’re entering wedding season, and as you’re a jeweller, we couldn’t resist asking about weddings! Have you ever been commissioned to make something for someone’s wedding? If not, what would you love to make for someone’s wedding?

Recently, I created a beautiful commission for a gemstone wedding band, which was really special to make because it marked such an important moment for the client. If I could make anything for a wedding, I’d love to create a pearl necklace with individually hand knotted pearls, finished with a bright gemstone pendant. It would combine that sense of tradition with a bit of colour and character, which I’m always drawn to.

If someone is buying a ring as a gift for someone else, do you have any tips for finding out their ring size without giving the surprise away?

Honestly, and luckily I’ve never had to do this before, my best guess would be you can take one of their rings and get the internal diameter measured, and find out their ring size that way.

Your product photography is always so beautiful – what are your top tips for other jewellers who struggle with photographing their work?

It’s so kind of you to say my product photography is beautiful, because to be honest, photography is my nemesis, I feel most of the time I don’t get it right, or I’m constantly searching for the perfect background. It is, for me, the hardest part of running a Folksy shop; getting amazing pictures that I’m completely happy with is so difficult.

If you weren’t a jeweller, what do you think you’d be doing? Are there any other crafts you’d love to try or become an expert in?

I’d definitely be a potter. It was a coin toss between the two. I absolutely love shopping for plates, mugs and other ceramic goodies for my kitchen so I was really curious about making my own. Unfortunately there were no pottery classes near where I used to live. My son has started taking pottery classes now though, so I’m going to tag along with him in the summer. I can’t wait to try it out.

Could you share a few pieces from your Folksy shop that you’re especially proud of right now?

Definitely, these are a few pieces from my store I really love (and have been tempted to keep for myself).

Shop BlueHill Jewellery on Folksy

15% OFF BLUEHILL JEWELLERY WITH THE CODE ‘MAY15’ [throughout May]

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