Jewellery can be a great way to express your style, and bring an outfit together – but can you also make your jewellery buying more sustainable? In this article, we will be giving you our top three tips when it comes to purchasing a new jewellery piece, and putting the planet first.
1. It’s All About Mindful Consumption
Everyone is trying to make more eco-friendly choices in their day-to-day purchases, and your jewellery collection is no different. We all want to ensure that what we buy is created with the best practices, and is built to last.
That’s why our first tip for shopping for more sustainability is to have a low-consumption mindset. With our range of jewellery, we create pieces that make for the perfect accompaniment to any occasion. As well as many colourful and statement options which bring any outfit to life, we also have ranges which can go with everything – but are still just as interesting!
You can rest assured that the Hepburn & Hughes team carefully polish and package every order by hand. We use high quality, stylish branded sustainable jewellery packaging and ensure our use of plastic is absolutely minimal, as our small business is constantly looking for new ways to be kinder to the planet. For example, our postage bags are not made from plastic – they are made from cane sugar, which bio-degrades and is also recyclable.
As well as offering a more sustainable way of sending you our products, customers can also have peace of mind knowing that many products come with certificates of authenticity or provenance. For many of our ranges, we only have a small number of our pieces, as we work hard to source original and genuine artefacts. We want to ensure that as well as getting a beautifully crafted piece of jewellery, you are also receiving a piece that is unique, high-quality, and authentic.
2. Supporting Small Jewellery Businesses
Nothing is better than supporting a small business – you get products which are fueled by love and passion. But there are also many benefits when it comes to shopping with sustainability in mind.
Hepburn & Hughes was established in 2018 using pre-existing jewellery pieces which we inherited from our father and father-in-law Kelvin. We spent the last five years building a new jewellery business and establishing a devoted customer base while working around our families.
Our process involves extensive online searches and rummaging through antique shops to discover distinctive items that can be repurposed into one-of-a-kind cufflinks and jewellery, perfect for both men and women as gifts, or simply to treat yourself. Every piece of raw material is selected by us, and every order is polished, packed and shipped out by our own hands.
3. Upcycled Jewellery
Our upcycled jewellery range is ideal for anyone looking to wear a piece of history in their daily life, and make a much more eco-friendly purchase. At Hepburn & Hughes, we are massive fans of upcycling historical memorabilia and ceramics. One of our favoured and most popular lines are the Clarice Cliff jewellery and Minton Willow Pattern jewellery. We have pendants made from original pieces of Spitfire, HMS Victory and Berlin Wall, to name a few.
Upcycling means enhancing the worth of an existing item, by modifying it or increasing its longevity. We craft fresh jewellery using materials from an existing piece or from an interesting piece of history.
Take our WWII & Military range for example – every piece in this collection is made using reclaimed pieces of military craft, which includes historic ships, and military or World War 2 aircrafts. This range is ideal for any aviation and maritime lovers, making them perfect presents. Our collection features a variety of jewellery items including Spitfire cufflinks, rings, and pendants, as well as Hurricane and Lancaster Bomber cufflinks.
Not to mention, as well as giving back to the planet and immortalising these pieces of history forever, for every sale of WW2 cufflinks and jewellery, £5 will be donated to SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity via Work for Good. Upcycled jewellery is a great way to wear interesting pieces, which make for a perfect present or a conversation starter, as well as being more mindful about your purchases.
Also in our upcycled range is our Clarice Cliff collection, made with upcycled ceramics from this 1920s Art Deco artist herself. These beautiful pieces are made with broken plates from Clarice Cliff who was known for her vibrant Art Deco style. We have scoured auction sites and antique dealers to get our hands on these eye-catching pieces, using them to create stunning pieces of jewellery that are carefully crafted by a skilled silversmith. Without giving these broken plates a second life, they would have been lost in time, and maybe even have ended up in landfill. In this range, you will find authentic pendants, earrings, and rings.
