Is your jewellery real silver?

Yes, it’s real silver! All the jewellery made from silver clay and silver paste is fine silver. This means that it’s 99.9% silver. 925 sterling silver means that the piece is 92.5% silver. In the Netherlands there is no specific hallmark for fine silver so it gets the 925 sterling silver hallmark (everything above 92.5%). The eyelets I use are fine silver as well. The earring hooks I use are 925 sterling silver. If the silver content is below 92.5% I have mentioned it on the product page and therefore it will have another hallmark. For instance, very vintage silver could be 80% silver (mentioned as 800) but this is not common anymore in modern times.

How do you create your silver jewellery?

It depends! I will explain a few techniques. Silver paste is used for the leafs. I use a painting brush and I paint the paste on the leaf. This dries for 24 hours. Then I will add another layer. This process repeats itself a few more times, depending on the thickness I desire. Silver clay is a clay which is moldable. I made my own silicone molds and these I use to create for instance, the angel collection and the sea shell collection. After these steps I sand down the pieces and I fire them for 20 minutes. Then, I sand them and I polish them. Finally I use sulphur to oxidize the pieces. This is purely an aesthetic choice. Then I will polish the pieces again and they’re done! On my instagram I share more of the process in video, so get over there if you’d like to have a look.

Is the silver upcycled?

Yes! Silver clay and paste is made in Japan from recycled silver. There exist a lot of electronic devices in the world which contain precious metals. These are made into a clay so all the silver can be reused.

Prices of the craft explained

I’d like to give a bit of insight into the cost of making my jewellery. The silver clay and paste I use are a premium quality. The raw material cost is about twice as high as the current silver spot price per gram (for paste a bit more). This means that about half of the price you pay are just material costs for the silver itself because it’s a precious metal. Other costs include for instance the eyelets which are about 5 euros per eyelet or an earring which costs about the same. I try to source ethical gemstones. I find it important to look into this because I know a lot of gemstones are mined by children and people who don’t get a minimum wage out of their work. Therefore I don’t use specific stones which are infamous for being mined unethically. Then there’s hourly cost of work. I deserve a minimum wage. In the Netherlands that’s 17.41 euro an hour. Now you can calculate everything yourself. I hope I have informed you enough on this matter so you can make up your own mind. Thank you for being ethical and supporting a small creator!

What is slow fashion to you?

Slow fashion to me is conscious fashion. I don’t think there’s a perfect way to walk around in ethical garment all the time. In my knitting I solely use natural materials like wool, alpaca, linen, cotton, silk and mohair. I try to use not too much cotton because it needs a lot of water and the cotton industry has created literal deserts (for instance the Aral Sea between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan). Although it’s hard to escape greenwashing, I only use certified brands for the fibers I use: Sheep and alpaca need to be sheared every year (or twice a year) because otherwise they’ll overheat so I like using wool. I don’t use wool of which the sheep have been mulesed (an animal harming practice). For silk and mohair too, I only use certified brands or secondhand fibers because I think that’s the most ethical. I don’t use fibers which have polyamide or acryl or any kind of plastics in them. This, to me, is the most important discussion point. It’s a very personal choice. I just don’t want to shed microplastics everywhere and contribute to polluting the earth by using plastic. Also because of the impact it could have on our hormones. By cutting out fibers containing plastic (e.g. wool blends) and fibers treated with chemicals (like bamboo is famous for this) I try to avoid greenwashing. This means that all knitted products are baby safe. Baby safe automatically means safe to me. This is all my personal opinion, I just want to share with you my personal motivations for using and nót using specific fibers so you can see if you resonate with that too.

Do you take commissions?

I do not take commissions currently.

Do you sell sterling silver colliers for my charm?

Not yet.

Washing instructions for knitwear

Only hand wash your knitwear. Make a bath of cold or lukewarm water and use a bit of washing detergent suitable for wool and silk. Let your garment soak for half an hour and then rinse it with cold water. Try to not agitate the fabric too much, otherwise it will felt. Use a towel to roll up your garment in it. Gently press the water out of it. Lay flat to dry. I know, I know, it takes up some time and energy to do all of this! But you know, it’s a bit of a self care thing to create time to do this and to respect the clothes that you wear. If you have invested in a luxury item it’s worth investing in caring for it too because it can last you a lifetime! Fun fact: you don’t need to wash wool that often. Just hang it outside to air out every few days. If you wash your balaclava once per season, you’re good! Wool contains self cleaning properties which are anti-bacterial, so there you go, nature is magical!