Behind the scenes

I have had a long love affair with earrings.  Some days they are accessories, some days they are armour.  Regardless, they accompany me through life's ups and downs.

Each piece on this site has been slow made, by hand, by me, in my home studio in Ireland since 2019.  We are lucky enough to live in the beautiful Boyne valley which has a five thousand year long tradition of jewellery making.  It's easy to find inspiration in the lush green landscape and endless beaches.

My preferred medium is clay.  Some pieces are from cold porcelain and others are polymer clay.  Each provide their own benefits and challenges.

 All designs are my own.  I personally create the custom coloured clay, craft the pieces and assemble them into jewellery.  It's a slow, sometimes body breaking process . 

Cold porcelain is really soft and wonderful to touch but stubborn and unpredictable.  It air dries which causes colour changes, shrinkage and often distortion.  

There is a very small window of opportunity to form the clay before the curing process starts.  I initially draw rough designs but often have to do some on the spot improvising if initial plans don't work out. 

Due to the small time frame I never make more than a couple of pairs of any one design.  It is virtually impossibly to replicate cold porcelain pieces at a later date.  Cold porcelain is definitely more rustic in appearance than polymer clay.

Polymer clay needs to be cured with heat.  This gives me more time to do fine details like floral and marble slabs as it won't dry out while I work with it.

Both clays are really light to wear.  Even large pieces won't drag at your ears.

MarleseMade jewellery is truly unique, just like you!

Every piece is carefully sanded and sealed, sometimes getting an extra little touch of colour or shimmer, before being drilled and assembled.  All earwires and studs are nickel free.  Some pieces are fitted with stainless steel, which is hypoallergenic and a great choice for sensitive ears.

I keep the pricing and shipping cost as low as possible (free in many cases) so you can shop without worrying about hidden costs.  I do all of this to ensure that, not only can you gift my creations while staying in your budget, but you can have nice things too.

I absolutely love what I do, and with your continued support I am blessed to be able to keep doing it.  Thank you so much!

Hopefully you will share in some of the joy I feel when making these pieces.  Sometimes it's actually quite hard to let go when they sell, so take good care of my babies!   I love seeing them in the real world so please share your photo's on instagram or facebook using @MarleseMade.

Thanks for stopping by, and do keep in touch.  

xx

Marlese