One Of One of a Kind: A Contemporary Art Ring Exhibition at Diana Porter Gallery

One of a Kind: A Contemporary Art Ring Exhibition at Diana Porter Gallery

In February 2026 I was honoured to be invited to take part in One of a Kind, an annual ring exhibition at Diana Porter Gallery — one of the UK's most celebrated independent contemporary jewellery galleries, based in Bristol. Seventeen designers were each invited to create a single unique ring exclusively for the showcase, each reflecting their own signature style and creative voice. The exhibition ran in-store and online until the end of April, bringing together bold wearable art sculptures, cocktail rings, and one of a kind engagement ring ideas from some of the most exciting names in contemporary jewellery design.

It was a beautiful opportunity to share my work alongside so many talented makers and to reflect on what drives my practice as a handcrafted, nature-inspired jewellery designer based in North Devon. You can view the full collection at Diana Porter Gallery

As part of the exhibition, I was interviewed about my journey, my process, and the ideas behind the rings I make. I'm sharing those answers here.

Sculptural Bespoke Jewellery Handcrafted in North Devon, South West of England. 

I have always been collecting treasures: bits of driftwood, shells, rocks, seaweed, interesting pebbles, branches, or flowers. Drawn to nature, I create pieces that capture the essence of the landscape around me.

I love the idea of a ring as an imprint of nature. A tangible memory of a place, a moment, a feeling encapsulated in a ring. It's about the love of tiny details, little treasures, and discoveries.

The sculptural one of a kind Sea Form ring I created for the exhibition captures a sense of wonder and the essence of the coastal landscape — a small, wearable fragment of place.

It's the obsessive collector in me that wanted to somehow make all those found beach treasures wearable.

I love imagining that the rings I create come out of the sea, or have been brought in by the tide — the slightly magical idea that the rings washed up, fully formed by some mysterious natural process going on for millions of years, impossible to replicate, yet effortless.

 

When did your jewellery making journey begin?

There is an incredible story in my family about rings smuggled in the heel of a shoe. It captured my imagination as a child. My grandparents returned to Poland after the war, young and newly wed, with nothing of their own. Soon after, borders closed. My grandmother, born in Ukraine, couldn't visit her family for many years. When travel finally became possible, her parents wanted to gift them gold wedding rings and a family heirloom ring, knowing these would be confiscated at the border. A shoe was made with a hollow heel where the rings were hidden. I still have those rings. That was my first fascination with the meaning of things, objects being full of memories, carrying traces of our existence.

I grew up in a creative family of architects, surrounded by drawing and making, and close to lakes and forests. Photography became my first deep creative language, a way of slowing down, observing, shaping attention. I studied fine art photography in London and spent many years working as a still life photographer.

In 2016, I made a radical life shift. I left London and moved to North Devon, seeking a slower life, closer to nature, to become grounded in the elements and to expand my being. My practice became this land, learning and growing. Creating jewellery as a reminder of this connection to land, to share with others. Little treasures to hold close.

I fell in love with lost wax carving, a practice that allows me to fuse everything that inspires me, from contemporary art to contemplation of the natural world.

Who inspires you the most?

I love contemporary conceptual abstract art, especially work that blurs the boundaries of art and explores philosophical ideas about the meaning of things.

I've always been fascinated with monochrome painting and the importance of empty space within a work of art. A pause. The sea has the same quality. Single uninterrupted blue. Surface with inner meaning. Absorbed purely in itself.

I am inspired by Gabriel Orozco, whose work responds to his environment. He often incorporates organic found materials and embraces elements of chance, allowing the unexpected to emerge.

Agnes Martin, quietly beautiful work of a Zen painter. I also love her powerful evocative titles: On a Clear Day, Falling Blue, Homage to Life, With My Back to the World.

Emma McNally, huge conceptual drawings, complex maps of the mindscape.

I also love Barbara Hepworth's sculptures and her response to the Cornish landscape. Nature is a starting point for my thought process and creative practice. It's the source of my vocabulary. The rock formations around North Devon. The endlessness of the ocean. The vastness of the space. The contemplative place of stillness. The tidal nature of the ocean. The meeting point of water — soft, fluid, translucent — with solid, hard-edged rocks.

Is there a favourite project that proved pivotal to your work?

Last year I had the privilege to spend a week as artist in residence in a Bucks Mills cabin in North Devon. This cabin, at the edge of the cliff, now belongs to the National Trust, and it was so deeply loved by the artists who lived there: Mary Stella Edwards and Judith Ackland.

Surrounded by the objects that belonged to the artists, totems of friendship, love, and companionship, I was inspired to create a ring for each artist. I studied their paintings: luminous watercolours of the shore, and observed tiny details of nature — shells, seaweed, rocks, light, reflections.

I made the rings with imprints of rocks from the beach, shells, and sand. I pressed the rings on the stone walls of the cabin too, collecting traces of their lives.

I have always been interested in an object's capacity to hold history, to accumulate meaning, and its connection to ourselves, others, and the world around us.

This artist residency set me off on my bespoke commission journey. I realised I want to create rings that are deeply personal, made for a specific person, rooted in their individual story.

How do you work — can you tell us a little about your creative process?

I think of my work as sculptural exploration deeply rooted in landscape: seascapes, rocks, waves, edges, spaces in between. Moments of being. Observing. Walking. Gathering. Creating. Slowing down. Looking closer. Spacing out on tiny details. Being in nature. Swimming, walking. Daydreaming. Translating it into tangible objects to be carried with me at all times.

I make rings with imprints of rocks, shells, and particles of driftwood from North Devon's wild coast. I love the idea of jewellery as an imprint of nature: a tangible memory of a landscape, a feeling encapsulated in a wearable sculpture. It's about the love of tiny details, little treasures, and discoveries.

I'm also drawn to the meditative process of jewellery making. Work emerges from a place of stillness and contemplative space, and the making of each piece is a process of discovery. I want my hands to guide me, movement to be flowing, uninterrupted, intuitive.

My work is about encountering the world with attentive curiosity and a sense of wonderment.

My jewellery is always full of textures, visible marks of creation. Made by hand using hand tools, the action of making the ring remains visible. It is a slow process of careful consideration, carving mindfully.

I use traditional carving and casting techniques in combination with in-place casting of precious stones. Each piece is one of a kind and has the unique tactile quality of a handmade object. Each ring is carved once by hand using various files, then cast in ethical recycled gold or silver. It creates a truly unique design each time. It is a beautiful, creative process of discovery.

The gemstones used in the rings are carefully chosen. Different colours of natural sapphires point to the diversity and beauty of nature, changes of seasons, light, and weather. I take a lot of time selecting the right size, shade, and shape of the precious stones for each ring. I work intuitively in the moment, tapping into the creative flow that guides me. Creating rings is a bit like abstract painting, where you select the colours in the moment, guided by the previous action.

Sounds of the Studio — what are you listening to?

Sound is a big part of my practice. When I'm making rings, I always listen to music. I'm very specific about what it can be. It's all about the state of flow. My go-to is Max Cooper and Max Richter. I love how they deconstruct minimal ambient electronic and contemporary classical music. It's the perfect soundtrack for making. I also love a local conceptual duo, Lichon, from North Devon. Their field recording soundscapes of rocks, plants, and fungi are an epic meditation on nature.

I also love NTS Slow Focus — ambient, meditative, an endless playlist of otherworldly soundscapes.

What's next for you and your brand?

My main focus at the moment is working on bespoke ring commissions — engagement rings, anniversary rings, self-gift rings for birthdays and meaningful milestones, proposal rings, and heirloom remodelling. Each one made with intention, rooted in your personal story.

I have always been interested in an object's capacity to hold history, to accumulate meaning, and its connection to ourselves, others, and the world around us. Our personal tapestry of memories. Our personal archive. Jewellery is often bought to mark meaningful moments in life, to preserve an experience, connection, love. To celebrate life, to remember loved ones. It consists of layers of connections, micro memories and elements that form part of the texture of our everyday life.

Since the beginning of my practice I always wanted to create one of a kind, bespoke, unique rings. It allows me to work closely with my clients — to create with deeper meaning and connection, to spend time listening to their stories, capturing the mood, colours, form.

To create something truly meaningful, personal, and rooted in their story.

Each time I'm approached for a bespoke commission I feel privileged to become part of your story. For the trust I'm given in creating something with such precious meaning. It moves me each time.

Which is your favourite piece from your collection?

Sand Forms and Beachcomber Rings. They truly represent what my work is about: full of textures, meanings, and imprints of nature.

Finally, for fun — your absolute dream commission?

Patti Smith. I love her books: Just Kids, M Train, A Book of Days. She collects traces of life — gravestone imprints from poets she admires, twigs and fragments from meaningful places. I would love to receive a collection of objects from her and transform them into a ring. To hold those memories in a piece of jewellery, to translate her world into a tangible object, would be a dream commission.