Reflections on colour, creativity, and finding light even when life feels heavy...
If you’ve been following me recently, you’ll have noticed that things have gotten a little more colourful around here. A little bolder. A little more playful. Maybe even a bit… whimsical 🎡
And it’s not by accident.
This year, I’ve been leaning fully into what I’m calling the Whimsical Era - and not just in my jewellery designs, but in my whole approach to life and creativity. Think joy, colour, softness, silliness, sparkle. Think earrings that make you smile. Little glimmers of delight for no other reason than they make you feel something good ✨
But here’s the thing:
This era didn’t arrive because everything was light and breezy.
It arrived because it wasn’t.
Joy as a response, not a distraction
A few weeks ago, we said goodbye to Jeremy - my lovely, funny, sassy little feline assistant, who’s been with me through some of the biggest, most formative chapters of my life. And it’s been hard. Really hard. The kind of quiet heartbreak that settles into the corners of everything 🧡
For a while, I worried that leaning into whimsy - into glitter and rainbows and sunshiney earrings - might feel at odds with that grief. Like I was pretending. Ignoring something.
But I’ve come to realise it’s actually the opposite...
Joy isn’t a distraction from the darkness. It’s a response to it.
It’s how I find my way through 💖
I’ve always been someone who needs to laugh - even when things are heavy. Especially then. I crack jokes. I wear sparkly things. I look for the softness in a day 🌈
And I do that because I know what the black hole feels like - that space where everything feels numb, or too much, or both. It’s not somewhere I want to live, and it’s not somewhere I want anyone else to be either.
Whimsy isn’t frivolous - it’s a lifeline
That’s why I believe so deeply in this whimsical era 🎡
Because sometimes, when the world is messy or uncertain or heartbreaking, we need the reminder that beauty still exists. That fun still matters. That colour can still belong to us.
For me, whimsy looks like star-stamped studs and bright gemstone charms and necklaces that say “you got this.”
But for you, it might be something completely different.
It might be a walk through a quiet field 🌾
A song that lifts your whole chest 🎶
A deep breath in a safe space that makes you feel held 💖
A mug of tea in your favourite cup that reminds you of someone you love ☕️
Whimsy isn’t about glitter for the sake of it - it’s about choosing the things that spark joy. That anchor you. That remind you there’s still light.
We need joy because the world feels heavy
In a time when the news is relentless, the economy’s uncertain, and many of us are carrying quiet (or loud) heartbreak - joy becomes even more important. Not to ignore what’s happening, but to balance it. To nourish ourselves. To stay soft. To stay hopeful.
I see it in the messages I get from people wearing jewellery I made for them - about how a necklace made them feel brave, or a pair of studs reminded them to hold onto hope. That’s the kind of joy I want to keep making. Joy that’s rooted in meaning 💖
So what now?
I’ll be carrying on with the Whimsical Era. Not because things are perfect. But because they’re not.
Because I want to keep creating jewellery that feels like a little glimmer of something good. A spark of softness. A celebration of feeling things - all of it.
If you’re feeling the pull of something heavy right now - grief, burnout, overwhelm, worry - please know you’re not alone. And also: you’re allowed to seek out joy. Even tiny, quiet joy.
Especially now 💖
Choose the colourful thing.
The small ritual.
The comforting song.
The playful earrings.
The thing that brings you back to you.
