Lauren Nicholson-Little
Lauren Jane Metalsmith is a Sheffield-based jewellery and metalwork business, focusing on handmade, unique and sentimental pieces. The business was started in 2022 by Lauren Nicholson-Little, while on the Work for Yourself Sandwich Year Placement with the Sheffield Hallam Enterprise Team.
Inspired by nature, Lauren’s work is heavily influenced by the flora and fauna around her. She creates unique jewellery and metalwork, perfect for any occasion, as well as offering a bespoke design service, making one-of-a-kind jewellery for customers, tailored to their every want and need.
Sentimental value and personal connection are two of the key values her business lives by. Working one-on-one with customers, allows her to create jewellery that will be loved not only for its design, but the sentiment and memories it holds. The materials used to create her pieces vary from sterling silver, copper and steel depending on the design, using these metals alongside recycled glass, found stone or semi-precious stones. All of her work is completely hand fabricated, offering just another level of personal connection throughout everything she does.
So far in her first year of business, she has created an online presence, creating and sharing new content and building connections. As well as selling at local markets, showcasing her work at wedding fairs and opening an online Etsy store.
Recently, Lauren released her first wedding and bridal collection, offering botanical inspired hair pieces that can be altered to fit the floral arrangements of the wedding. As her wedding collection develops, she hopes to extend her services to the groomsmen as well as the bridal party, creating handmade silver buttonholes to match the floral pins in the bride’s hair and the jewellery of the bridesmaids.
One of her newest bespoke design services is her range of keepsake jewellery. This is jewellery focused on having sentimental value and memories captured within. She has been working with breast milk, to create breast milk jewellery, encapsulating the dried breast milk in resin and then setting that in sterling silver, around a design of the customer’s choosing.
“This has felt like such an honour to be a part of making, as to make a piece of jewellery that holds so much sentimental value for the customer, has been truly rewarding.” Lauren Nicholson-Little
As the business develops Lauren hopes to expand her keepsake collections, finding more ways to incorporate memories into jewellery, including the use of ashes within her metalwork. As she embarks on her final year of study at university, Lauren is determined to continue to manage all areas of her business from product development and manufacturing to marketing, selling, and designing. However, upon leaving university she will be looking to set up her own workshop, looking for investment to put towards tools and equipment in order to continue pursuing her business.