about the designer

Nature has long served as inspiration for jewellery designer Holly McAfee. Since creating her first ring and falling in love with making jewellery, Holly has been fascinated with the natural life cycle of plants and flowers, and how that intricate process can be shaped into a solid piece of metal and celebrated in a beautiful piece of jewellery.

A graduate from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (2010), Holly draws inspiration for her delicate and detailed collections from the nature that surrounds her and the all-encompassing natural life cycle - from tiny buds sprouting in spring to the intricate veins and textures of autumnal leaves, fluttering to the ground. Holly uses traditional metalworking techniques to recreate textures she finds in nature, forging them into wearable pieces of art that she hopes will bring joy to her clients.

“I love celebrating the little details that may otherwise go unnoticed in the natural world by weaving them into my designs. These could be the subtle textures of a petal translated into the surface of a piece of metal, or the arrangement of tiny leaves inspiring the layout of a design.”

Holly has been one of the resident jewellers at Double Door Studios since 2020 where she regularly works alongside fellow makers & designers Islay Spalding, Christina Vernon & Ieva Jankovska, sharing inspiration and planning events and exhibitions together.

Holly’s latest work is an elegant edit of alternative wedding rings and delicately detailed pendants and earrings in gold, designs inspired by nature and refined by a material led approach. Holly’s work has evolved in style through previous collections while retaining the same principles - each piece containing delicate details and contrasting textures.