Limpet Shell Necklace

Hello! Its been a while since I updated my blog, so I thought I would talk a bit about some of the things I have been doing in the last few months of my final year of my Contemporary Crafts degree. Heres a bit of information about my limpet shell necklace, which is part of my foraged talismanic collection.

Limpet shells form perfect bowls, and I have often thought about using them to make use of quality. The use of pouches and packages is common in the making of talismans, which makes it perfect for this collection because not only does it have talismanic connotations, but it is also a foraged material. I used wool I found on barbed wire, which I spun into yarn using my drop spindle. However, the one in these pictures is made with wool from the Shetlands, as I hadn't found the barbed wire wool at that point. I also used beads which I made with washed up kelp which I found on a Plymouth beach. This means that the whole piece is 100% foraged! If I were to mass produce this necklace, there could be environmental problems with using lots of limpet shells and seaweed, but I don't plan on making nearly that many.

I created this design based around using the limpet shells bowl-like quality, and its suitability for use in talismans and charms. I planned to make a necklace (which can be repeated for sale) that has a limpet shell as a pendant, and this can be filled with what ever objects the wearer chooses. I plan to include a small hand sewn pouch of wild flower seeds, and when put in the limped shell, some will fall out during walking, leading the seeds being distributed, and sprouting where they fall. The necklaces could be worn on special occasions, walking in a park, in the country, in a garden etc. This not only created a use for the jewellery, but also gives animals and insects such as bees, much needed habitat and food, which is good for the planet. This could counteract the fuel used to in the train journey to get the sheep wool, and in the postage of the final piece. I am particularly excited with this design because it works so well with my sustainable aims, and gives the wearer a way to interact with, and once the seeds run out, to customize their jewellery.