About Esther Priestley
It is me, Esther, who designs and makes all the jewellery you see here. I absolutely love working with silver and mainly use silver clay as it allows me to easily incorporate my love of nature into my work . I also do everything else needed to keep a small business and website running, thanks for having a browse.
My Story
Making silver jewellery hasn’t always been my job. For 17 years I was a primary school teacher at Triangle C of E Primary School. In fact, as a child teaching and having a family was all I wanted to do, but I have discovered the hard way that life doesn't always go as we hope it might.
In my late 30's I was widowed young and trauma of my husband's sudden death impacted my health. Previously, with his support, I had just about got back to full time teaching again, following my Chronic Fatigue or ME diagnosis a few years earlier. Suddenly adjusting to life on my own again, I struggled to manage and had no energy for anything outside work. So after a lot of sleepless nights and a great deal of careful thought I handed in my notice - deciding to have some time out to grieve and allow my body to heal..
focussing on nature
I was always interested in the world around me but having chronic fatigue meant I turned to nature even more. Just sitting and drawing the landscape or photographing flowers stopped me focussing on what I couldn't do and instead to concentrate on the moment and enjoy the beauty of everything around me.
Living in a rural area means that even on days when I have little energy, I still have stunning views from each window.
.Wanting to still keep busy whilst taking time out of teaching I enrolled on an open university course and did a few art workshops, including tasters in silver clay & silver-smithing. I was hooked and decided to get some of the tools I would need. to make jewellery at home. I went on to specialise in using silver clay, achieving an Extended Certification in Precious Metal Clay, completing three modules - Naturals, High Finish & Innovative Design.
I set up my small business to sell my work.. The name keeps a link to my late husband. and I think he’d be proud of what I now do and so my journey continues with inevitable ups and downs..
I blog and post on social media - follow my pages or join my mailing list if you want to find out more about me, the designs I am working on or more about the process of using silver clay.
