Ethos and story
For our founder Annie, who comes from a fine arts background, creating tangible work by hand is a form of self-expression. Growing up moving around the world, Annie came to value small 'talismans' which reminded her of certain places, feelings of comfort, in a constantly shifting environment. These would often be shells or trinkets; 'objets de curiostie'. Building on this, and having studied silversmithing in Hatton Garden, Frances Kirk was launched. The result is wearable jewellery, yet Annie sees these pieces as small sculptures or wearable totems. Made using recycled precious metals and reclaimed gemstones, we aim to have as little impact on our beautiful world as possible. Each piece is hand crafted slowly from either wax or bullion; if wax, the pieces are then cast with gemstones embedded during the casting process. Texture is paramount; the jewellery must be tactile, as if an unearthed rock, the shimmer of a gemstone peeking out mirroring a puddle of water or shaft of sunlight…
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Frances Kirk was born from a dream to create a small sustainable practice, which encourages slow fashion and conscious buying. Founded in 2020 we don’t pretend to make perfect, mass-produced jewellery. Each piece of jewellery is handmade uniquely with care and love from our studio in Bristol. We are for lovers of craft, tracers of history and believers in beauty over perfection.
Founder, Annie Niekirk, studied Fine Art and has a Masters in History of Art. All of our designs are influenced by this modernist history. Annie also has a diploma in Jewellery Making and studied in Hatton Garden.
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