How it all started...

Looking through my mother’s jewellery box (wen I was allowed) was my idea of heaven! I’ve always enjoyed making things, metalwork especially….finally I listened to my heart and started Glasswing Jewellery in 2005….

…whilst living at the very tip of my native West Cornwall with my young family. I collected sea glass along the beautiful rugged coastline, and using traditional silversmithing techniques with simple handtools, began designing and making jewellery full time. It soon got busy!

Where we are now...

In 2016, the family moved “up country” to South Devon. By then a full time business, Glasswing moved into a lovely stone workshop minutes from the harbour. The children Olivia and Tom more or less grew up on the beach (on, in, or beside the water), continuing the family tradition of collecting sea glass and lending a hand in the workshop from time to time.

I’m so delighted that they’ve now decided to join Glasswing in vaious roles in the team!

Olivia studied zoology and conservation in Cornwall, and when she’s not busy conserving fragile coastal habitats from UK sand dunes to coral beds in Thailand, she is a wonderful designer/ maker, and also our social media whizz.

Tom brings with him a love of making jewellery, especially using traditional techniques, plus an absolutely infectious fascination for historical jewellery and unusual gemstones.

As a family, we can be found making the most of the wonderful Devon landscape, hiking or camping on nearby Dartmoor. We also still enjoy sea glass hunting trips to Cornwall (and further afield).

More likely, one of us will be walking our bouncy lurcher Caspar on the local beach, inhaling daily lungfuls of fresh sea air - something we never take for granted - best perks of the job!

more about sea glass

Our Jewellery & our Ethics

Our passion for protecting the environment is reflected in our workshop practice

Taking Responsibility

LIGHT FOOTPRINT
The way we make jewellery reflects to a great extent the way I have always lived - striving to leave as light a footprint as is practical in the modern world and with an aversion to over-consumption or unnecessary waste.
That’s why from the outset in 2005, when I set up Glasswing, I knew I didn’t want my business to go against my principles.
Acting responsibly with regards to how materials are sourced, and my working practice, was key to what Glasswing has always been about.
RECYCLED PRECIOUS METALS
As soon as I realised 100% recycled silver was available (only small amounts to start and in certain forms), almost all the silver I used in my jewellery was recycled. Thankfully now more and more recycled and sustainable materials are available to source for jewellers, which is great news for the industry, and the customer! All Glasswing’s gold, silver and other metals are either recycled or Fairtrade.
Fairtrade Gold

GOING FURTHER WITH GOLD
That the most beautiful, luxurious and valuable items in the world, are made by exploiting some of the poorest and the most vulnerable people on the planet, working in unthinkably hellish conditions, is an ugly reality that finally, is impossible for the jewellery industry to ignore.
Campaigners and activists working in mining communities, and a growing handful of companies, are now helping artisanal miners set up safe working conditions in the mines. Increasingly, jewellers and consumers are demanding to know where the materials they are buying come from.
REGISTERED AS A FAIRTRADE GOLDSMITH SINCE 2014
This is something I am passionate about and in 2014 I registered as a Fairtrade Goldsmith, joining a scheme set up to enable small business designer/makers like myself to buy Fairtrade Gold.
Find out more about Fairtrade Gold
Ethical Gemstones

GEMS
Our gemstones come from a very small handful of truly ethical suppliers, those that have the knowledge of the gem’s supply chain, leading right back to the environmentally responsible and safety-conscious mine from which the gems were extracted.
Most gems I use come from the USA, Australia and Canada plus from ethical, environmentally responsible mines in Africa.
DIAMONDS
I use recycled diamonds, in my opinion the most environmentally responsible, conflict-free option possible, as well as Canadian and Australian origin diamonds. Occasionally lab grown diamonds are sourced on an individual basis.
SEA GLASS
I also use genuine sea glass, which I collect on the beaches of the beautiful Devon and Cornwall coastlines, and sometimes I buy from trusted collectors here in the UK and around the world.
Find out more about Ethical Gemstones
Our Ethical Process

GREEN
Along with ensuring the materials we use are fairly and ethically sourced or 100% recycled, we use a 100% renewable, green energy for the workshop and office’s energy needs.
TRADITIONAL
In the workshop, we use simple tools and traditional techniques, including a lot of elbow grease!
VEGAN
None of the disposables used in the Glasswing workshop (such as polishing compounds) contain animal products and since Febrary 2018 I’ve not bought any equipment that contains animal products (many traditional tools contain leather and many compounds contain animal fats).
UTILISING UK SKILLS
For processes that I outsource, I pay UK contractors, such as setters, casters, fabricators and finishers a fair price for their highly skilled work.