By Emily - Handmade Jewellery

By Emily - Handmade Jewellery Fine jewellery handmade in rural Northamptonshire, England, inspired by classic English literature and nature. By Emily- wear a story!

"Whether it be teatime or gin o'clock, the appropriate adornment is an absolute essential- thus consider designer maker Emily Sidwell, your duchess of artful accessories. The offerings in her By Emily collection are a mixture of poise and playfulness drawing inspiration from beloved childhood stories and English history alike." http://fab.com/

It all began many years ago on her bedroom floor; ins

pired by favourite childhood tales she would sit for hours building houses out of shoe boxes with intricately drawn wallpaper and painted floor boards; she would meticulously glue together pieces of cardboard to create tiny but elaborate pieces of furniture; she would stitch dainty Victorian clothing decorated with ruffles and lace and beads. She was fascinated by history and narrative, swept away by minute detail. Since then it has been a whirlwind of adventure, while backpacking across the world after finishing her fine art degree Emily fell completely in love with jewellery making, a year later in 2011 she realised her dream and established an unmistakably English luxury jewellery company founded in London. Inspired by classic literature, Emily’s jewellery pieces reveal themselves like an unfolding narrative as intricate details are found upon closer inspection. Opening a locket can reveal a bee, the glint of rubies and emeralds can be caught in the eyes of hares or foxes and tiny diamonds can be discovered set in a ring. Her designs are never quite what they first appear to be as each piece had it’s own story to tell. Using the lost wax casting process, each tiny piece is first carved from a unique blend of wax resulting in figures that appear alive and untamed. The wax is then cast in precious metal and lovingly crafted together in her workshop in beautiful Oxfordshire. As each piece is handmade to order we can accommodate personal requests or even create something entirely new just for you so do get in touch, we would love to hear from you! So instead of her bedroom floor Emily now works at her bench designing and creating unique story inspired collections of exquisite tiny treasures from silver and gold for lovely customers all over the world. Our jewellery can also be found in boutiques and galleries across the UK, for a list of our stockists please do follow the link at the bottom of the page.

03/08/2026

What a glorious day! 🚜💛

I look forward to this day all year, is my favourite countryside show, tucked right here in Northamptonshire. Thank you to the organisers for putting together such a wonderful event, year after year, and to all the traders who make it feel like a real community.

I didn’t stop from 7am until we closed at 5pm, and I loved every minute of it. Thank you to everyone who stopped by my stand to peruse and to chat - to those who came back to show me jewellery pieces they bought before and still love, that means more than you know. To everyone who started or added to their By Emily Jewellery collection, thank you for trusting me with something so personal.

And to my friends and little family who helped make the day happen, I couldn’t do this without you.

I crawled into bed with aching feet and such a full heart.
Now I’m off for two weeks of adventure to recover and recharge, but I’ll be back soon with more handmade pieces and more stories.

Thank you, Blakesley 💛

independentmaker slowcraft

My week in pictures. I had a plan. The summer holidays stole that plan.Thank you for being patient with me.This week, je...
31/07/2026

My week in pictures. I had a plan. The summer holidays stole that plan.

Thank you for being patient with me.

This week, jewellery went out to my first stockists in a long time. Stock was replenished, commissions finished, Lego navigated, cardboard castles built. Two o’clock in the morning became normal. Coffee became a food group.

And today, finally, we set up for Blakesley Agricultural Show tomorrow. One of my all time favourite shows, and I cannot wait.

If you’re nearby tomorrow, come and find me. I’ll be the one running on caffeine and excitement. 🌿

🔗 Can’t make it? The full collection is in the link in bio.

23/07/2026

A few of you asked how this little rabbit came to life.
So here he is.

From a tiny wax carving to recycled precious metal, countless tiny details and finally finding his place beside that extraordinary chrome green tourmaline.

It’s always the smallest pieces that ask for the most patience.

And somehow...

I think they’re worth every minute.

🤍 Which stage surprised you most?





17/07/2026

I wasn’t looking for a rabbit 🐇 I found him amongst the vegetables 🌽 🥬🥕

🔗 Link to find yours in my bio

St Swithin’s Day today and the old saying goes that whatever the weather does today, it’ll do for the next forty daysSt ...
15/07/2026

St Swithin’s Day today and the old saying goes that whatever the weather does today, it’ll do for the next forty days

St Swithin was a 9th century Bishop of Wi******er who asked to be buried outside, where the rain would fall on him. When his remains were moved indoors on 15th July 971, it rained for forty days. The rest is folklore.

I’ve always found stories in the world just outside the door. A hare in a field. A snail after rain. A swallow overhead. You just have to look.

That same instinct is behind everything I make. A very old conversation between people and the landscape they live in.

🔗 Link in bio if something’s caught your eye.

Whether it rains today or not, I’ll be at the bench. 🌧️
Come and find me this summer - details in my bio.

09/07/2026

I’ve been making small worlds my whole life. The materials just changed.

There was a Victorian farm shop stocked with cardboard carrots and paper lettuce. Pebble Chelsea buns with tissue paper cherries on top. Cardboard chocolate cake and lemon cake - the sellotape has yellowed with age, but every detail is still there.

A matchstick music stand. A matchstick easel. And my favourite Sylvanian in a hand-stitched Anne of Green Gables dress with lace trim, a tiny cardboard hat with a flower and a seed bead necklace.

I didn’t realise it at the time, but I was already a jeweller. I was just working in different materials.

Some things were always going to end up somewhere. 🔎

🔗 Link in bio if you’d like to see what the cardboard and matchsticks eventually became.

07/07/2026

Not my usual parcel today.

Every day something arrives at the workshop - castings back from my casting company, stones from my supplier, plating returned and ready. But this one was different.

Inside was the most beautiful collection of velvet and silk ribbons from and they’re destined for something rather special.

For the first time this year I’m doing the on 5th September. The space is bigger than anything I’ve done before, and because my jewellery is tiny I wanted something big, bold and beautiful to draw people in before they’ve even reached the stand.

So I’m making a garland. British wildflowers cut fresh from the garden by my friend Suzy at tumbling over the front of the marquee, with velvet and silk ribbons falling in between.

I think it’s going to be really rather pretty.

I hope you’ll come and see it in person but if not, I’ll be sharing every bit of it along the way. 🎀

On this day in 1862, Lewis Carroll told a story on a rowing boat. Alice Liddell asked him write it down. A young Oxford ...
04/07/2026

On this day in 1862, Lewis Carroll told a story on a rowing boat. Alice Liddell asked him write it down.

A young Oxford don, a summer afternoon, a borrowed boat, and three little girls asking for a story.

He didn’t set out to write a book. He just started talking.

What strikes me most about Wonderland isn’t the strangeness.

It’s the smallness. A rabbit hole. A tiny door. A key that doesn’t quite fit.

A whole world hidden beneath an ordinary English afternoon.

I’ve always been drawn to small worlds.

As a child I built Sylvanian houses from shoeboxes; hand-drawn wallpaper, matchstick music stands, a stage light wired into the village hall.

I still make small worlds now. They just happen to be in silver and gold.closely.

The hidden detail. The thing you almost miss.
The tiny snail at the foot of a golden rabbit. The locket that opens to reveal something unexpected inside.

The best stories and the best pieces reward the people who look closely.

Classic stories are never far from the bench. ✨

🔗 Link in bio if something’s caught your eye.

03/07/2026

I get asked about the bark texture more than almost anything else. Here’s the tool behind it.

This little wheel is responsible for a lot. It’s called a wheel burr - a small engraving tool that grinds directly into the surface of the silver. Work it lightly and the bark is subtle, almost delicate. Press it deeper and the texture becomes something altogether wilder, the kind that feels like it belongs in a woodland rather than a workshop.

Every piece gets a slightly different treatment depending on what feels right. There are no rules, just judgement and a willingness to commit.

That’s rather what I love about it.

If this texture has caught your eye, you’ll find pieces with the bark effect via the link in my bio or drop me a DM and I’ll point you in the right direction. 🔗

Address

Wightwick Manor, Wightwick Bank
Wolverhampton
WV6 8EE

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