I use Jewellery design to fashion my ideas into the physical because I want to try to show visually what it seems we cannot always express in words. This drive was the focus of my research into my first collection: the need for expression through the body for those rituals for which there is no verbal counterpart. Initially I used glass in its rough and rugged state, more for its physical characteristics and socio-political connotations than for its clarity and gem-like aesthetics. While technically wearable, my glass shard jewellery is not for the faint-hearted. So I sought to alchemise those pieces into a luxurious, fashion-forward collection in precious metal inspired by broken glass fragments. The result is //SHATTERED fragments//, my directional debut collection for A/W 2011-2012. It is cast directly from shards of glass into recycled metals and set with fair-trade gemstones. Although my work is design-led, I believe environmental practice should be an integral part of this process. (Please feel free to contact me if you would like to know any more about the materials used, their source, or processes undertaken.)