Why Scotland Inspires My Handmade Silver Jewellery
By Aimee Sandilands, founder and silversmith at Silver Thistle Workshop
Scotland inspires my jewellery because I cannot create something I do not have a personal connection with. My designs often begin with a place, a family memory or something my mum passed down to me.
I’m Aimee, the silversmith behind Silver Thistle Workshop in Liverpool. My mum grew up in Edinburgh and was very proud of being Scottish. When I am creating a piece, I often feel guided by her and by the strength, honesty and independence she encouraged in me.
A Scottish winter captured in stone
A piece of jewellery does not need to be complicated to bring back a strong memory. Sometimes, a stone set simply in silver can be enough.
Snowflake obsidian necklace handmade in recycled silver by Silver Thistle Workshop
My snowflake obsidian necklace takes me back to a family trip to Scotland when I was about eight years old. I travelled there with my mum for a big birthday party for one of her cousins.
There was a snow blizzard on the night we arrived. We got off the train and then had to drive through it to reach the family members we were staying with.
On the evening of the party, I remember walking across deep snow in my party dress to get to the hall. It was still snowing around us. Scotland always seemed to have darker winter nights than England, and the white snow looked so pretty against the dark sky.
Inside the hall, everyone was very welcoming. My mum looked really happy dancing with her family. I also danced with her cousin. I was so small that I put my feet on top of his, and he danced us both around the hall.
When I look at the black snowflake obsidian with its pale markings, I see that winter night. I remember the snow against the dark sky, the warmth inside the hall and my mum enjoying herself with her family.
That is what inspired the necklace. The design is quite simple, but the stone holds a strong memory for me.
Someone else may look at it and see something completely different. It might remind them of a Scottish winter, a place they once visited or time spent with someone in their own family. My memory begins the design, but it does not decide what the piece must mean to its wearer.
Why I started Silver Thistle Workshop
My mum always told me to be strong and independent. During a difficult period, when I was unsure what to do, she told me to do what I thought was right and to be strong.
Her advice stayed with me. When my mum passed, I felt she was telling me to finally do something creative that I had a real passion for.
Starting Silver Thistle Workshop was frightening. I had never run a business before, and I did not think I could do it. Registering with HMRC and choosing the business name made it feel real. I was excited, frightened and proud at the same time.
The thistle in Silver Thistle Workshop represents Scotland, but there is another reason the name feels right to me.
My mum pronounced thistle as “thestle” in her Scottish accent. When I hear the name of my business, I can still hear her saying it in my mind.
It is a fun memory of her, and that matters. I do not want my jewellery to come only from the sadness of her passing. I want it to include the happy memories and the moments that still make me smile.
More than a Scottish symbol
For me, adding a thistle or another familiar Scottish symbol to a piece is not enough by itself. Unless the symbol has some importance to the person wearing it, it can simply be a pretty shape.
That is why my handmade silver jewellery often begins with a real memory or experience. Other designs have been inspired by heather I remember seeing while hiking in Scotland, the landscapes and seascapes I have visited, and the old objects and relics that connect us with people who lived before us.
The inspiration gives me a starting point. I then allow the silver and gemstones to influence what the finished piece becomes.
Jewellery can become part of your own story
The snowflake obsidian necklace may always remind me of walking through the snow in my party dress and seeing my mum dancing. Its wearer does not need to share that particular memory.
A piece of jewellery can bring back a family member, a favourite landscape, a childhood journey or a place that once felt like home. Those associations belong to the person wearing it.
That is what I hope my jewellery can offer. It begins with one of my stories, but it leaves room for someone else to find their own connection and joy within it.