She’s travelled in India, found inspiration in the colours of saris and the patterns on barnacles in New Zealand. She finds beauty in old milliner’s stamps and translates her discoveries into new designs. Her name is Milly Swire, and she’s evoked SUPERSWEET’s inner magpies with a penchant for her shiny things.
Like every little girl, Milly Swire loved her mother’s jewellery box. However, mere looking wasn’t enough for her, so she rolled up her sleeves and started making her own trinkets: ”I think I must have been four or five - can't remember exactly, but I don’t remember a time, when I didn't have beads or fimo in my hand!”.
Growing up, playdough and glass beads changed into other materials as Milly decided to move to Florance to attend Le Arti Orafe, a school for jewellery and crafts. Later, she set up her own studio and started making bespoke jewellery, putting together inspirations from her voyages to far away places as well as to good ol’ rural hills of England.
To Milly jewellery is more than just pretty things to wear. “I like the fact that in a way jewellery is portable art that can have huge sentimental importance - a person can love it and wear it every day and then pass it on through the family to the next generation to wear. It’s something that can stay with you forever if you choose,” she says. Milly’s rings, pendants and bracelets are all hand made, each of them having their own character and natural imperfections: “What I feel is very important about the jewellery I make is that no two pieces are the same. Each mark is made individually and can never be identically repeated.”
Milly’s means of making jewellery relies on traditional techniques, however she’s a lover of experimentations, a master of many methods and materials. The natural, hand-made appeal of her designs gives you plenty of shapes and lively colours to marvel at. They are rough diamonds in the kingdom of prim rings, irresistible just like your mother’s jewellery box.
Check out Milly's jewellery from millyswire.com