The animal collection was inspired by the messages I wanted to give to my two daughters; Mimi and Orla.
I was interested in the concept of giving a piece of jewellery that in some way emboldened the wearer.
My eldest daughter, like many other young children, was obsessed with unicorns. This obsession led me to a line from Lewis Carrol’s Through the Looking Glass. The unicorn says to Alice, ‘If you’ll believe in me, I’ll believe in you.’ It was from this quote that the unicorn necklace was born. If a child can believe in unicorns then when they become teenagers and adults hopefully they can remember to believe in themselves. The message for the Unicorn necklace became 'Believe in You'.
I then started researching other animals and their meanings in different cultures. The simple design of the animals was influenced by naive Scandinavian art and animals drawn in 2D with black outlines as I wanted the animals to have a clean, modern look.
I eventually came up with five animals – the Rabbit, the Orca Whale, the Hummingbird, the Dala Horse and the Unicorn. After reading about their essences, spirits and meaning in many different cultures the following sayings became attached to them.
The Dala Horse : Be Strong
The Rabbit: Lucky Bunny
The Orca Whale : Always By Your Side
The Unicorn: Believe in You
The Hummingbird: Beat Your Wings And Fly.
These five animals now form the Animal Collection.
Rachel
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