The Nope Nugget 😎 It's giving "not today" energy

You’d think designing from a creative brief would always be a tidy process – like: idea goes in, lovely little piece of jewellery comes out. Not always the case. Sometimes it’s messy. Sometimes the design argues with you. And sometimes… it straight-up melts. Literally 🤦🏻‍♀️

Back in March, I pulled a theme from my jar of creativity (yes, it’s a real jar – yes, it’s full of cryptic prompts and yes, sometimes they hit me right in the gut). The theme was:

“It’s okay to say no.”

Ooof. As a recovering people pleaser, that one landed hard. I’ve spent years doing mental gymnastics to avoid ever just… saying no. I’d sooner fake my own death than say “I’m not available” without a long, polite explanation. Can you relate?

I wanted to create something that would remind me – and anyone else who struggles with this – that it’s okay to say no. Like, really okay. So I started thinking about all the cheeky ways we say no without actually saying no. Some of my favourites:

“I don’t think so”
“I’m not sure I can”
“Absolutely Not”
“I’d rather stick pins in my eyes”
“Are you kidding?”

I even asked Instagram for your fave ways to say no and the runaway winner was a bold, unapologetic:

 “NOPE”

Honestly? I’ve thought about it but have I ever said it? It feels rude. Direct. A bit much. But then I realised – that’s exactly why I needed to make a piece with just that word.

I had the perfect font – bold, classic, but still kind of fun and cheeky (I named her Adler, did you get the reference 🕵️). I imagined the ‘O’ replaced with a stunning blue Amazonite gem – known for courage, truth-telling, and expressing yourself. Perfect, right? 🙌

Plot twist: the ring did NOT want to be made. After multiple failed soldering attempts, I melted the whole thing down in a bit of a strop.




And then it hit me…

What if the ring wasn’t meant to be a ring?

And so the Nope Nugget was born – a chunky, solid silver reminder of the power of saying no. It’s not subtle. It’s not dainty. But it is what it says on the tin, no excuses.

Sometimes the best ideas show up when things fall apart. Sometimes your jewellery fights back. And sometimes, the thing that refuses to work is giving you the clearest “Nope” of all.

And honestly? I’m into it.

So here’s your little reminder: it’s okay to say no. To channel your energy into what lights you up. To walk away from what doesn’t feel right. To make space for joy.

Because sometimes, the universe – or your jewellery – will remind you exactly what direction to go in.