TIERNEY GEARON, photographer
Most of the jewellery I’m wearing is by Pippa Small. I met Pippa in the late 1990s when a friend asked if we could host a trunk show of her work at my house in London. When we finally met, there was an instant connection. We even share a birthday: September 9.
I’ve always related to jewellery in a very personal way. Once I put something on, I rarely take it off. I wear pieces until they fall off, and even then, in some cases, I’ll restring them and keep wearing them. Pippa wears her jewellery the same way – it’s deeply personal and meaningful to her, not decorative or seasonal.
What I love about her work is that it’s collaborative. Her jewellery grows with you. You can add pieces over time, and combine different clusters she’s created, and also wear them together or separately, which allows a necklace or bracelet to evolve and become more personal, more yours.
I tend to wear all my jewellery all the time. Because I wear it every day, it simply becomes part of me. It goes with whatever I’m wearing. The jewellery never changes, the clothes do.
What I also love about Pippa’s jewellery is that it isn’t immediately recognisable as a name brand. It doesn’t announce itself as ‘expensive’. Instead, it carries meaning. Pippa works closely with Indigenous and tribal communities and supports many people through her practice. There’s a spiritual and soulful quality to her pieces.
Many of the forms she uses come from nature – seeds, flowers, organic shapes – which are my favourite pieces of hers. I also wear jewellery made by close friends. One is by Louise White, whose work is deeply intentional. She believes the stones you wear should align with your energy. From her collection, I wear a yellow sapphire.
One of the pieces I always wear is a gold bangle. A friend once told me it’s good to always have gold you can sell if you need to, something tangible, something safe, in case of emergency. So I bought about $5,000 worth of gold. I modelled a bracelet myself out of clay, then had that form cast into gold. It became not just jewellery, but a kind of quiet security, something practical, personal and symbolic all at once. And then there’s a bead necklace I found through the sister of a friend who lives in Kauai, Hawaii. Her pieces are made with Japanese beads and I love how it sits alongside everything else. All of these pieces, with different hands, different places and different meanings, live together on my body. The mix matters. Together, they feel complete.
Photography by Tierney Gearon and production Sonya Mazuryk. Taken from 10 Magazine Issue 76 – CREATIVITY, CHANGE, FREEDOM – out NOW. Order your copy here.
