I create jewellery which is fun to make a lovely to wear.
I'm Rosie and I run Tumble and Forge, a jewellery studio in the countryside in Oxfordshire. I live in a small village, which is about as far away from the sea as you can get in England. I grew up in Rye, East Sussex and miss being by the beach so a lot of my work has some kind of link with water and the ocean.
My first steps into metal work was when I was 15 and had a go at silversmithing for my Art GCSE. I loved it but a career in the Arts would never be for me... or so I thought! My bread and butter job is as a teacher and over the last few years I rediscovered the joy that drawing and making gave me whilst working with the children. I found a book in my local library about silver clay and realised that this was a gateway into silversmithing... so, thirty years after my first try with metalwork... here I was again but this time I had a plan! One year later, here is Tumble and Forge. The inspiration for the name comes from the seaglass which I use that is tumbled in the ocean for years (sometimes hundreds of them) and the method of moving and moulding the metal into the shape I want - that bit is the forge.
I am currently a self-taught jeweller and I use sterling silver, fine silver clay, copper and brass. I combine these metals with seaglass and other gems and stones to make elegant jewellery from earrings to pendants to one-of-a-kind brooches. My favourite things to make are boxes and structures - there's something so pleasing about those clean lines!
My seaglass is real seaglass which I have found on the beaches of Cornwall - especially the Isles of Scilly - and Gozo, Malta.
All my work is hand-crafted and designed by me in my little studio which is tucked into one corner of our house. In the pictures it will look tidy but in reality it's always a bit of a creative mess. To me, hand-crafted means: designed by me and made by me. I use recycled silver for all of my work and make every effort to keep the environmental costs of my work as low as possible. So - I try really hard to keep my gas usage low!
I make one-off designs but can repeat them if you see something you like. I also take commissions and am always happy to chat through what I do and how I do it. For instance, would you like to wear a piece of seaglass that you collected on the beach? I can work with you to create a piece of vitamin sea that you can carry with you wherever you go.
Thank you for taking the time to have a look at Tumble and Forge - do get in touch if I can help you with anything or have a look at my instagram page to see how my journey learning about metal is going.
Rosie x
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