Established in 2013

It’s a one woman show at She Shed Gems: and she is called Emma.

She Shed Gems have been making and selling handmade and hand-finished jewellery for 10 years. Creations involve a combination of silver-smithing, wire-work using a mix of silver plated wire and stainless steel and just stainless steel. The aim is to create pieces that won’t irritate skin. All of She Shed Gems’ creations are designed and made in the ‘She Shed’, trying to use genuine gemstones in each and every design. 

She Shed Gems is an attender of craft and artisan fairs, along with local community events. There are FB and Instagram accounts (find links at the bottom of the page) to follow, along with an easy-to-use online shop.

Welcome to the gem-filled world of She Shed Gems, where it’s hoped that you find something a little bit different.

The Story So Far…

It began back in April 2013, when Emma was visiting family in Liverpool. Her cousin, who had learnt the technique of beaded jewellery, introduced her to the basics of jewellery making via a trip to Haydock Racecourse for the Bead Up North Fair. 

During that (what is now ‘fateful’) weekend, Emma came up with her first jewellery making name: Emaz Beadz. Simple: her name is Em(m)a and she uses beads in her work.  Check out the Evolution blog to discover why the name was changed.

So the jewellery making bug was caught. As much as possible, supplies and materials were bought from other small businesses from around the UK. This was either online (The Curious Gem), craft shops (The Works) and specialised fairs, such as The Rock and Gem Show Exhibition (best one – for She Shed Gems that is – is at Harrogate). This still rings true today.

Not being completely satisfied with one jewellery making technique, an idea was planted into Emma’s head by an ex-colleague to try something like silver-smithing. Which is what she did and it was local too. Emma attended for 5 years, as it went from a class to more of a workshop.

Silver-smithing

During this time, bangles, earrings and pendants were made. Extra courses were also attended in order to expand jewellery making knowledge (silver clay and stone setting to name a few). The moment Emma realised that it went from a class to a workshop, was when other students were asking her to help when the tutor was helping/demonstrating in another part of the barn (the building where the workshop took place).

The reason why this happened, was due to Emma attending the longest and in their eyes: she knew what she was doing!

Sadly, in 2019 The Jewellery Maker Lancaster (NOT to be confused with the Gemporia Partner, Jewellery Maker) closed. The tutor moved to Portugal. There has been talk of her opening a workshop, where she can offer silver-smithing workshops/holidays. Sun, sea and silver! A holiday that would be enjoyed by She Shed Gems.

The Story Continues…

Jewellery making began on the bedroom floor, which wasn’t the best place as the room was quite small. There wasn’t even a desk to work at. Since then, a desk has been introduced, but it is more for admin than creating.

The second stage for She Shed Gems’ jewellery making was the kitchen table. A familiar place (and for many a starting point) for most crafters. It wasn’t ideal either, having to move unfinished work so the family could sit down and eat.

Third stage: a desk in the bay window of the living room. Furniture was moved and a desk (second hand from Emma’s brother, who was replacing his) was put there. Great, natural light helped to design and create and unfinished items could be left! There were complaints though: ‘spreading out’ into the living room was the main one. It was hard to admit, it was becoming more and more difficult to contain everything.

COVID-19

Finally, in lockdown May 2020, the decision was made to purchase a shed. A 7 x 5 ft shed. Big enough for what it was wanted for. Plus, the back garden isn’t huge, so this was the biggest shed that could be bought.

It is now where She Shed Gems creates her work. It has now become a proper creative space. After the first year from purchasing the shed, it has been insulated and decorated, finished off with a radio.  Which is always tuned in to BBC Radio 2.

Post COVID-19

In 2023, Emma became a home owner for the first time. This meant that her ‘She Shed’ was to move indoors. Yes, she was able to get a property with two bedrooms and make one of them her craft room.

Since moving into her new creative space, Emma has struggled to find her creative flow. She knows it is there, but with a few relatively unsuccessful events over that past few years (since COVID) where she didn’t make as much as she hoped and in some cases nothing at all, she is feeling stuck. 

Her goal is to create high end silver jewellery using genuine gemstones, along with some other gem based items. 

A goal which she will achieve. 

My Creative Purpose

I love making things. Always have and always will. When it comes to jewellery making, I love using a range of gemstones: from chip beads to rounds, fancy shapes to standard ones. The main aim is to always create something different, to make unique, one-off pieces for people to treasure. 

Over the years, I’ve tried and tested various techniques and the inspiration is also quite varied. They can come from: the media, the surrounding environment to what I have in my stash. Most of the time, it’s what I have already that instructs me to what is created! I enjoy going into charity shops and purchasing jewellery to take apart and create something else, but my favourite bit of jewellery making is when people marvel at my work and sometimes buy it!

Emma