About the designer
Nature has long served as inspiration for designer Holly McAfee. Since creating her first ring and falling in love with making jewellery, her practice has been guided by a fascination with the natural world, particularly the subtle textures and organic shapes in flora. She translates these delicate details into precious metal using traditional metalworking techniques, recreating the organic textures in a lasting form. Her designs evolve intuitively, often led by the materials.
Her practice is also grounded in a strong ethical foundation. She works with recycled metals wherever possible, avoids harsh workshop chemicals, and aligns with vegan principles to ensure no animal products are used in the creation or embellishment of her jewellery.
“I love celebrating the little details that may otherwise go unnoticed in the natural world by weaving them into my designs. I might translate the subtle textures of a petal into the surface of a piece of metal, or the arrangement of tiny leaves might inspire the initial layout of a design.”
Holly LOVES a wedding, and the spirit of joyful celebration is woven into her design process. She believes each piece should spark joy for the client every time they see it. While she loves every piece of jewellery she makes, there’s something particularly special about creating a set of wedding rings which will be cherished forever and be a constant visual reminder of a beautiful day. This concept of infusing joy and celebration into design drove the initial development of her current collection of contemporary fine jewellery which showcases tiny, hand formed petals, intentionally layered to create complex yet minimal, refined designs in recycled gold.
Holly has been one of the resident jewellers at Double Door Studios since 2020 where she regularly works alongside fellow makers & designers Islay Spalding, Christina Vernon & Ieva Jankovska, sharing inspiration and planning events and exhibitions together.