sugarpressed interview: spring-time jewellery to sweeten up quarantine

So, first of all, what made you want to start making jewellery?  

I got into wearing earrings at the end of my first year of university, (I didn’t have ears pierced until summer 2018!) and immediately liked really big dangly metal ones. This time last year I started trying to make earrings out of beads and wire, but I really didn’t have a knack for it at all. So, I tried looking at other fun ways to make earrings online. Resin videos are really popular on YouTube and Instagram right now because the process is so fun to watch! 

What, if anything in particular, attracted you to pressed flowers and resin? 

I had this thought the other day, people always ask me where the idea came from and I always say I literally have no idea! Actually, I think my friend Jenny made a phone case with pressed flowers that I thought was really cool. Ages ago, I think for my 18th birthday she got me some earrings that had tiny pink pressed flowers in them, I lost one so sadly they’re gone now, but I’m pretty sure that’s where I got the idea from. 

Where did the name Sugarpressed come from? 

I really wanted my shop to have a cute name and originally I was going to keep making glitter pieces too, but I just can’t think of any new glitter concepts that are very exciting - also, the glitter seemed to like damaging my moulds! I thought sugar was cute, to be honest. At first, I liked ‘honeypressed’ but I think the @ had been taken on Instagram. I like the really feminine style right now, like hearts and pink - also I now ship my orders in old-style striped paper sweet bags and put a boiled sweet in each order because I like the sweetshop theme! 

Where do you find all the flowers that you use in your work?  

It’s a bit of a mixture really! In August when I started making stuff it was still summer and there were so many wildflowers in my garden (particularly lobelia, daisies, dandelions and forget-me-nots). Then I noticed my auntie had left a huge bunch of baby’s-breath in her conservatory and asked if I could take some because she was about to throw them out. When it came to winter, I had saved a lot of various wildflowers from the streets of South London haha! Then I also started buying some online. If anyone wants to buy pressed flowers online, I recommend taking your time doing research carefully and for a long time because most of it is pretty bad. You can find some good stuff if you look hard, from people that you can tell put a lot of love and effort into it!  

I also buy potted plants from local flower shops (Lloyds flowers in Bristol) like pansies, forget-me-nots etc. often they have reduced roses or beautiful purple/blue stemmed flowers and baby’s-breath. Then at home, I press them in books or my flower presses. In the last few months, most things have just been wildflowers, because spring is being so beautiful! Every week I go on a walk to pick new flowers by the downs and it’s honestly so nice. The amount of huge forget-me-not patches that Bristol has is insane! In the last 2 months, I would say I have individually pressed over 600 forget-me-nots that are all 100% wild. 

Do you have a favourite piece and/or flower – either aesthetically or ease to work with? 

Forget-me-nots are definitely my favourite flower right now, I have so many ideas for them, I’m just waiting for my wire and bezel shipments to come from abroad, who knows how long that’ll take at the minute! 

This is my favourite piece that I’ve made - I’m making a lot of these over the next few weeks because I just love them and they’re perfect for summer! What I really like about flower confetti styled earrings is that there’s so little waste – even the flowers that press kind of strangely can be preserved and used in these. 

More generally, how are you finding lockdown? A lot of artists and creatives are struggling to keep working and remain positive; do you feel this has impacted you? 

I’m actually finding lockdown really nice, I’m with my boyfriend and all my housemates have gone home so there’s a lot of space and a lot less mess in the house [haha!]. Creatively I’ve been having a great time, I’ve done loads of painting and making things. My dissertation is due in 4 weeks and I’ve got a big brain block on starting writing that properly because it just starts the anxiousness… Ah well…tomorrow will be the day, as I keep telling myself!  

If anyone else is feeling intellectually brain dead don’t be too hard on yourself, it’s not going to make starting faster and the ideas will come eventually! 

Please check out @sugarpressed on Instagram! I’m moving slowly now but hopefully will be making lots more stuff all throughout spring and summer! 

Maya’s jewellery can be also purchased from her Etsy: www.sugarpressed.etsy.com