Hattie Rickards

It was while studying Jewellery Design at the renowned Central St. Martin's school of Art & Design that Hattie developed her highly skilled ability to convert simple ideas and concepts into exquisite pieces of jewellery. Hattie's raw talent was quickly noted by the fashion world and although still only in her final year at St. Martin's, Hattie's jewellery was already being featured in the likes of Vogue and Dazed & Confused.

After graduating, Hattie went on to work for a range of top jewellery designers including Francesca Amphitheatroff, Kara Ross NY and most notably Solange Azagury Partridge who has been a huge inspiration. Hattie remembers, "I was attracted by the way Solange's work was so utterly unique; breaking the boundaries of mediums and techniques, taking design to new innovative levels which I had never seen before and found so inspiring." Working for Solange in London was a dream come true and Hattie quickly became responsible for taking Solange's designs from their early stages right through to the finished product.

With her highly skilled natural talent and deep understanding of Solange's brand, Hattie was given the opportunity to set up Solange's first American operation on Madison Avenue, New York. Two years in New York saw Hattie negotiating, sourcing, training staff and, most importantly for Hattie, developing and executing ideas with clients for bespoke commissions. After five inspirational years with Solange, Hattie said good bye to New York and headed back to London to set up her own brand Hattie Rickards Jewellery that will launch in November 2010 and will comprise of a selection of limited edition rings, with a focus on using 18ct fair-trade gold - www.hattierickards.com.

It was the fair-trade aspect of Hattie's first collection that lead her to Made and a friendship was quickly formed. After seeing Hattie's designs, Cristina Cisilino, Founder of Made, immediately invited Hattie out to Kenya to work on her inaugural collection for Made. Of her time in Nairobi, Hattie comments, "The workshop environment is dynamic, vibrant and artistically stimulating and I was incredibly touched by the deeply caring ethos of the company for its workers..."

The 'Hattie Rickards for Made' collection is a stunning interpretation of Hattie's love for organic forms and natural textures. "I spend my life collecting up pods and seeds wherever I am. I love drawing them because of their delicacy, intricate detail, the way they age and the secrecy of what's inside them. The challenge is to find a feature of the pod and make it your own as people don't need to recognize what planted the seed of your design," Hattie Rickards.