Creative foraging
Jessica Collin crafts finds from nature into beautiful, wearable jewellery pieces that can be treasured for many years to come.
The concept of Cast & Found is beautiful. How did you come up with this idea of having people send through special pieces of nature to be turned into lovely keepsakes?
Thank you! As a small child my mother encouraged me to collect for the nature table; maybe that’s where it started, when I became a curator of nature. Always making, always gathering. A love of nature and a passion for jewellery seems to be in my soul, so crafting our wedding rings from found bark and twigs from our families coppicing woodland was just the most natural, beautiful process for me. I was able to capture the emotions of connection and belonging in our forever rings. I set up cast & Found to enable others to treasure their own stories in a similar way. Nature is so fragile but I help to capture it in metal, to make connections and memories last always, which is just such a privilege.
Can you talk us through the process of turning a client’s item from nature into their chosen piece of jewellery and how long this generally takes?
Personalised pieces take up to four weeks. This is due to the investment and casting process, and all the creative clever bits that go on either side! The first stage is to select the design you would like on the website (select from leaf’s cast into pendants, stems turned into stacking rings, or tiny flowers set into signet rings). There are lots of examples on the website and social media so you can choose a design that works with your special piece of meaningful nature. I love to hear the stories behind the pieces I make so please share photos and tell me more about the piece you are commissioning. Once you have chosen your design and ordered, you will be invited to send in your precious pieces of nature to the studio and I then work my magic…
Describe your workspace for us.
Small but beautifully formed! Floral Studio is east facing so it gets the most beautiful morning light, which is perfect for making when I am fresh and my concentration is best. Our work benches are surrounded by gatherings everywhere, as I am a bit of a hoarder, collecting new finds almost every day on walks. There is often a candle burning somewhere to produce a beautiful scent, and typically a podcast from some wonderfully inspirational independent business owner being played as I work away handcrafting jewellery. My favourite is my friend Anna Dunleavy’s, she covers such relatable topics.
The way you use moss in your packaging is beautiful. Can you tell us a bit about this?
The moss is sustainably sourced and natural dyes are used which sits comfortably with my ethics and the ethos behind Cast & Found. I hate the horrible foam inserts most jewellery boxes are filled with, they are just bad on so many levels! We used moss in our ring boxes at our wedding, and I love the magical natural feel it created, so it was an intrinsic decision to use it for my packaging. My customers just love it too!
Have there been any recent commissions that have stood out for you?
I have just completed the first poppy seed head ‘encapsulated pendant’. The seed head was cast in two halves before being sealed closed to contain the most precious contents, a loved one’s ashes. Quite possibly the most precious of pieces I have created and a piece I feel totally privileged to have made.
Nottingham, United Kingdom
