Alice Catherine

I’m so excited that I can finally share the summer piece that Mikaela Lyons and I have been working on since before Christmas time! I still can’t quite believe how well the first collection did, and I really do pinch myself every-time I see you guys wearing the pieces and styling them in your own way. I really wanted to make jewellery that was classic and versatile the first time around, so this summer collaboration was a chance to have a little more fun and tap into the other side of my personal style…

Long time readers of the blog will know that I’ve been vocal about my struggles with female/mental health on here. I really wanted to create a piece that symbolised femininity whilst also embodying two elements that Mikaela and I care about a lot – sustainability and giving back. With this in mind, we put our heads together and started drawing up ideas…

Having spent a lot of my childhood by water – shells have always felt nostalgic to me. We both loved the challenge of trying to create a shell inspired piece that was different to anything we had seen so far. Mikaela’s Lioness Double Coin piece was the first piece she ever sent me, and we both loved the idea of creating a shell inspired version of such a classic design…

“I wanted to create a piece that felt classic but also a ‘little bit fun’. I feel as though my style can often be summed up in a similar way, and jewellery has always been a point of expression for me. Shells are definitely a trend right now, but they also feel very nostaglic – they remind me of childhood trips to the seaside, and many summers spent collecting them in France. They also symbolise femininity. Something I’m still discovering new ways to explore as I get older, and something that’s constantly changing in terms of what it represents. I love that femininity looks different for everyone, and in that lies the beauty of it. The sacredness of it.”

I’m so happy with how our shell piece turned out! It really feels like the perfect piece to team with summer dresses and sun-kissed skin. It also reminds me of how important it is to keep having conversations surrounding female health. When I look at shells on the beach, I see how unique they all are but equally beautiful. All different shades of the sea bed, some of them chipped, but all of them worth collecting as part of a bigger picture. It doesn’t matter what a shell looks like, when all laid together you can create a beautiful mosaic. That’s how I feel about women – we are always stronger together. When having important conversations, when sharing sacred information – when we are unified.

As well as creating the Sacred Shell necklace, we also wanted to do something extra special as part of this collaboration. We wanted to create a tote bag with all of the proceeds going to a local charity that was close to my heart. I’m happy to say that our tote bag dreams came true and we managed to find the most perfect design! An amazing artist named Paul Binks created the design and we couldn’t be more pleased with it! I think his drawing perfectly captures the sentiment behind the Sacred Shell necklace, and I’m so happy that we got to work with other creatives on this collaboration. Speaking of, I also wanted to say a special thank you to Cloud Hunter who created the most amazing handmade silk scrunchies for the PR send outs. Cloud Hunter create sustainable and ethical clothing, so I knew that they were the perfect fit…

It was such a joy to shoot these images in Portugal with Catherine – we had such an amazing time on this trip, and I’m so grateful to have paved a career for myself where I get to be surrounded and inspired by so many great women… 

I really hope you like the new piece, and for those of you that invest – I hope it serves you well on many summer adventures to come… 

Photographs taken by Catherine Booty 

Shop the Sacred Shell necklace here | Find the charity tote bag here

Tote bag artwork by Paul Binks, Silk scrunchies by Cloud Hunter