Irish Design Spotlight: Pale Raven Jewellery

I wanted to design sustainably handcrafted jewellery that seemed a bit out of the ordinary.

About five years ago, Pale Raven Jewellery was born. I play with ideas from our Irish heritage and mix them up with contemporary trends. In day-to-day life, I admire harsh mixed with soft. Often, what seems to be contradictory is often complimentary. Such as my crowned skulls – feminine and feral, brutal and pretty. I make jewellery that has that relic-like feel, as if it has been here before; an unearthed mystery. Empowerment and beauty within the piece are my goals and love that the wearer can relate to that too. I love that people are enjoying alternative shapes and forms in their jewellery more, rather than sticking to just the traditional structures. My pieces are designed to be worn every day and for any occasion, whatever life throws at us.

I am dedicated to celebrating female strength and resilience, through sustainable, ethically crafted luxury pieces.

Pale Raven Jewellery is handmade in my Dublin studio, inspired by Irish myths and legends with a modern take. I want to appreciate what our heritage has to offer in most of my pieces. For example, in one collection from 2023, I created a number of my pieces modelled on our pirate queen, Grace O’Malley – such as a skull adorned with a lavish sapphire crown. Ultimately, the aim is to bring the wearer joy, reminding them of how brilliant they are in their own unique way.

I knew from childhood that I wanted to pursue art of some kind.

I was obsessed with making jewellery for years. As a kid in the late 80s and 90s, my mother would relentlessly replace my polymer clay stocks, which were very expensive in those days in support of my endeavours. She has some of those necklaces still hanging around the drawers at home! I wanted to do a jeweller’s apprenticeship when I was young but it was not to be, which I am glad about looking back. Life had other plans and things went in a different direction. I had my eldest child Ben at age 21 and went into make-up artistry straight away after he was born. This allowed me to work creatively with other creative people. I decided when I was 33 or so that I wanted to return to the jewellery dream. With three children in tow,  a full-time apprenticeship was not an option for me. I decided to start part-time classes for a number of years with The School of Jewellery Ireland. One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is to initially doodle various concepts and develop them into future jewellery Its all a learning curve, and the way I love to work is to keep the stream of creativity in the throes. It makes me challenge myself and understand design better. Design is always on my mind and usually I have a couple of collections up my sleeve or on my mind dying to be revealed!

The majority of my jewellery is crown, skull and celestial-themed.

That hasn’t changed much since I was a young adult. My art tutor in college used to say that I couldn’t just draw skulls and planets for the rest of my life but I said, ‘nay’! I love the contrast of rough and elegance so even my crowns will have a textured finish giving it an ancient sort of vibe, or a hammered pendant is polished to have a slick glossy finish so it sparkles in the sun. I have quite a large range of rings, necklaces, earrings and bracelets within these styles on my website. I am always an open to inspiration from other sources and working on designing pieces that are different to my past collections. For example I have a brand new collection which is inspired by Irish maritime history with a touch of sailor aesthetic including anchors, swords and night sky navigation. I also occasionally include some pieces that are a bit cheeky, like my ‘starcastic’ star boy necklace with his grumpy little face or the skulls of my exes rings and ear studs for some playfulness. Life does not have to be all serious, after all!

I always have a few AllSaints garments in my wardrobe.

They’ve been there for the longest time and have been a firm favourite. More recently I have found Hope Macaulay knitwear. Her pieces are so vibrant and cosy I would love to dive into one of her jumpers this winter!

You become very resourceful and sometimes even create better things when you can’t have all the financial freedom in the world for your business!

Money was a concern when starting out, and probably is for a lot of designers. But it was probably a good thing for me. when I started out, I had no idea how to run a business or how to prioritise certain expenses. I would get greedy with tools and materials which wouldn’t be hard with all the stunning gems and shiny things. I realised in a hurry that I had invested in things or programs I didn’t need, it’s a bit difficult when you are teaching yourself to do all these things – mentorship of some kind is useful in this regard. I think in hindsight, if I had more funding I may not have used it wisely as I was learning to navigate my way around self-employment! Things become easier with time and improve when your business gets a bit more established. You overcome the obstacles along the way somehow, though sometimes it feels gruelling. I suppose I appreciate what it taught me though it didn’t feel like that at times!