Eco-designer launches collection
CMS graduate Hattie Rickards is launching her ethical and environmental jewellery collection Kaleidoscope this month.
After the success of Rickard’s first collection designed for the Fairtrade brand Made, Kaleidoscope explores recycled glass fused with metals such as brass and bone.
“I wanted to design pieces with the main focus on colour and shapes, using minimal metal,” she says about her newest collection, including bulbous rings, statement necklaces and dazzling bracelets.
Simple shapes
“I designed simple shapes, which accentuate the colours. Shapes which encourage one’s eyes to flow, round the piece to suggest movement,” she says.
Her company Hattie Rickards Jewellery is one of the first 20 Fairtrade and Fairmined companies to be registered in the UK. Rickards feels it is not only the responsibility of the designer but also of the consumer to demand greater ethical visibility.
“It is important to myself and my brand that the materials used are as ethically and environmentally friendly as possible,” she says.
Columbian gold
“This isn’t always easy in the jewellery industry. For my collections I now only use gold sourced from a particular mine in Columbia that has full traceability.”
The designer developed her skills while studying at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
“I was so grateful for my place on the BA Jewellery design and making course that I didn’t skip a day of college. I worked so hard and put everything I had into every project,” she says.
After graduating Rickards went on to work with renowned jewellery designers including Kara Ross NY and Solange Azagury-Patridge.
“I learned a great amount in my five years with Solange. She taught me that it was important to remain true to your vision and maintain your own creative direction. I have huge respect for her endless courage with design,” she says.
With inspiration from Solange’s designs when helping her set up her first American enterprise, Hattie went on to launch her own company in 2010, Hattie Rickards Jewellery (HRJ).
“I have always been a creative so knew that one day it would be right to set up my own business,” she says.
“HRJ is a British designed and made luxury brand focusing on sophisticated design with an ethical backbone.”
Inspired by travelling in foreign cultures, her jewellery is aimed at ethically conscious buyers without the need to compromise on design and style.
After being selected as the Bright Young Gem of 2011 by International Jewellery London, her next agenda is to attend the workshops of Turquoise Mountains in Afghanistan and to design a collection of jewellery to be launched Christmas 2012 in London.
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