Wear Your Tea with Claire Lowe’s Jewellery

Claire Lowe is a creative master when it comes to jewelery making. I was in awe when I first came across some photos of her pieces that I didn’t hesitate to ask if we could chat. As a tea lover, you beat I am obsessed with anything, and I mean anything that involves tea of some sort- but tea jewelery? Now that’s something I don’t see every day. I wanted to know every bit of detail about her creations. From inspirations to the process, you name it! Claire Lowe let The Cup of Life inside her studio and gave us some great information…

How did your love for tea begin and how did it evolve into
creating tea jewellery? 

I have always enjoyed drinking tea since I was a teenager,
tea was a big part of my life as a child and it was only natural I became a tea
drinker. I remember being taught to make a real pot of tea by my mum, I loved
the process even at that age I was probably about 8, warming the pot and
measuring out the tea, 1 for pot 1 per person! I started to use tea in my
jewellery making whilst studying for my degree. We had a short project in our
final year and had to bring an object to focus on, I brought in a tea strainer
and it grew from there!

How long have you been creating your tea jewellery? 

I have been making tea jewellery since I graduated in 2005,
the pieces have developed and progressed and grown over this time and are still
doing so, I love tea more than ever.

What’s the process for creating such pieces? (ie. duration,
materials…etc) 

My tea jewellery is made using silver, which I form and
solder to create frames for the resin and tea to go into. The resin comes in
liquid form and I mix it with a hardener to enable it to set. The pieces are
then cleaned with emery paper and polished to get a high shine. The process
takes a few days, as the resin ideally needs at least 2 days to cure fully.
Some of my pieces, which don’t have silver surrounds, are cast in silicon
moulds I have made after making a master out of acrylic.

Are there specific types of teas you like to use for
different pieces? If so, why?

I tend to use a variety of teas to get different affects.
The finer loose tea, which is quite dusty, gives a very different affect to the
thicker twiggy tea like Darjeeling. I also can cast tea customers send me, I
can use dried tea which has been infused already. I cast the tea I drank on my
hen weekend into a bangle to keep.

Describe your most favourite piece you have made and what it
means to you.  

I think my favourite piece so far is a pendant with oxidised
silver surround, Darjeeling tea and white resin, there is an oxidised teapot
and cup with the teapot poised to pour into the cup. It’s my favourite, as I
love the contrast of the oxidised silver and the white resin with the twiggy
tea. I love it most at the moment but I am always developing new ideas so it
could change soon!

If you’re interested in purchasing a tea jewelery from Claire Lowe, or would just like to learn more and see other creations of her’s you can do so here.