Hugged by Nature
Eco-conscious silver and sea-glass wedding accessories inspired by found wild objects
Who are we...
I’m Nicole (aka Hugged by Nature) and I make thoughtful, one-of-a-kind fine silver jewellery using foraged and found pieces of nature, and/or sea-glass. I’d love to create a truly personal piece inspired by nature and infused with meaning for you, to bring a little bit of wild and a lot of heart to your special occasion.
I’m a self-taught jewellery maker creating one-off, bespoke and limited-edition eco-conscious silver and sea-glass necklaces, earrings and charms that are inspired by things that can be foraged or found when out and about in nature, or from the garden.
Most of the nature objects I use are foraged or found near my home (in the South Downs near Winchester in Hampshire) or when I’m out and about visiting the UK coast and countryside. Finds include sea glass, shells, fossils, hedgerow plants, seeds, herbs and flowers from the garden, which are transformed into solid fine silver versions of the originals, using a variety of techniques from simple moulds and imprints through to hand-building more complex pieces.
I use silver clay to create my solid silver pendants, earrings and charms, which are all fine silver (99.9% pure) and fine silver wire for wrapping the sea-glass I find. My jewellery often brings together solid silver nature objects combined with a carefully selected simple wire-wrapped nugget of sea-glass.
I work with the natural forms of the sea glass I find, letting it guide how I use each unique nugget or bean. This could be drilling, adding silver wire/bezel or a touch of silver leaf to create a pendant or earrings, or creating small sea glass elements which are carefully selected to compliment her silver pendants/charms. I also curate pairs or collections of sea glass that work well together for earrings earring/necklace sets.
I create a small amount of ready to buy items, but what I love most is making personalised made to order or fully bespoke pieces that are personal and special to you. So I’m also happy to work with nature objects or sea-glass that you own and would like turned into a piece of jewellery.
My ethos is to be eco-conscious, with a focus on ensuring that my making is as sustainable as possible, and to care for the natural world. I seek to minimise waste at every stage of the process, preferring to make to order so I know the pieces I make already have a home, and I aim to use recycled and recyclable materials at every stage of my making process, from the silver that transforms the foraged and found-nature objects through to the packaging I use to send the jewellery to its new home.
The silver that I use is mainly in the form of silver clay, a form of recycled silver (made up of left-over silver from industrial processes), all other silver I use is recycled wherever possible. Similarly, sea-glass is a waste product (from discarded bottles/other man-made items) so it’s the ultimate recycled material – all the sea glass I use has been found personally by me, mostly on UK beaches.
I ensure that when I am foraging for leaves, flowers, shells and so on, that I am careful to take only from areas where there is ‘plenty’ and only small amounts, so the wildlife can still use it too.
“Beyond happy with the bespoke 70th birthday gift Nicole made for my mum – it’s one of a kind and she loved it as much as I do. Nicole was so easy to work with, she involved me in each part of the making process and it was lovely watching the final piece of jewellery come to life. Thanks so much Nicole – my mum treasures her sunflower necklace, so special. ” – Donna Lawrence, Hants
“I wanted a very specific piece to wear on my wedding day. Nicole had some beautiful ideas and together we chose a simple design that reflected my style and complimented my dress perfectly. Nicole is very talented and my necklace is everything I asked for and more. The craftsmanship is wonderful and I know that I have a piece of jewellery that is extremely wearable, personal and made with love.” – Gayle MacDonald, Hexham
“Hugged by Nature jewellery is truly special. Each piece is unique, inspired un the beauty of the British countryside. I absolutely love my Field Maple leaf, it feels so special to wear a necklace that has been lovingly created and inspired by nature through foraging.” – Sharon Worth, Winchester.
We Supply...
UK (excluding Northern Ireland)