After graduating from the University of Central Lancashire in 2015 with a degree in Contemporary Craft, Melissa Yarlett is now based in her hometown of the Wirral. With the welsh mountains nearby and rich sandy beaches there is no shortage of inspiration.

With a fascination for growths, lichen and taking inspiration from her love of rock climbing, Melissa makes all of her jewellery delicately by hand. She strongly believes in making individual bespoke pieces and does not use casting or mass production, so each and every piece is different, a little piece of nature you can wear.

“The spark that formed my degree show collection ‘Spore’ was to bring new life to lifeless materials, for nature to re-take over. So the combination of stark square bars and the unpredictable ‘Growths’ of handmade lichen where formed. I then used a combination of Enamel, Gold and Gems to create the varying pieces.”