Making jewellery completely by hand is a much slower process than you might think. There are no industrial machines involved, no template stamping out identical pieces one after another, and no start/stop button. Every single pair of sunflower earrings that leaves the Arias studio has been handmade at every stage - rolled, cut, shaped, sculpted, cured, sanded, buffed, drilled, assembled, cleaned and checked. This much care takes time, especially when it's just the one pair of hands!
Conditioning comes first
Polymer clay is supplied in fairly unassuming blocks. It starts out quite firm and slightly waxy, a completely different state to what it will eventually become! Before you can really get into the making process, polymer clay needs to be conditioned: worked by hand until it's warmed up and pliable. It needs to be just the right consistency so that the clay can be rolled, shaped and sculpted without tearing or cracking at the edges. Conditioning the clay also helps massage out any air bubbles that may have been hiding away.
I've always found this part is strangely meditative. Getting stuck in and feeling a material working in your hands has this grounding effect, and there's the gradual sense of something coming together in a way that's really satisfying. Bonus points awarded when mixing new colours! Seeing the different colours start to blend and melt into new shades is what I can only describe as a sensory delight.
Rolling and sculpting
Once the clay is ready, it gets rolled to an even thickness, thick enough that the finished earring hangs in the right way and doesn't feel uneven when worn. Depending on the design, the ideal thickness can vary slightly, but for most of our handmade jewellery our clay is rolled out to just a few millimetres thick.
Different sunflower earrings require different approaches to how the sunflower shapes are made. The flowers are cut using a combination of cutters, molds and handiwork - which is where the variation comes in. Each of our sunflower styles has it's own sense of character, and despite being made with the same tools each time, no two pairs are identical. We wouldn't want them to be - it's that variation you find in handmade jewellery that makes it such a special form of art.
See the full sunflower earrings collection →
Curing the clay
Unlike it's mineral counterpart, polymer clay doesn't need to be fired in super hot kilns. It cures at a low temperature in a regular oven, not needing anything too fancy. It'll be done in under an hour, depending on how thick the clay you're curing is. What goes into the oven soft and impressionable, comes out firm, lightweight and surprisingly durable (accidentally proven by my flatmate inadvertently running over a stray earring with her car, which didn't break!)
Usually, this part should be straightforward. But the more finnicky pieces require a very gentle hand, and fine details can easily burn before the base clay is fully cured. Occasionally, the clay might warp slightly as it cures, or an air bubble might show up, or something else isn't quite right. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, I'll remake the piece again rather than risk sending out something that isn't made as well as it can be - it's all part of the process!
Refinements & polishing
Once the clay is cured, it's ready to be polished up to be perfection. This looks slightly different depending on the design being worked on, but is an absolutely essential part of the process. Without taking the time to manually check every piece, you end up with jewellery that looks a little rough around the edges or unfinished rather than the high quality I strive for at Arias. It's also really quite relaxing to slow down and lock in to each individual component, so I really enjoy this stage.
Most of our jewellery needs sanding - and I use that term loosely - to smooth out the edges. This can look like traditional sanding, using different grains to make sure the backs of the earrings are free of any grooves or dents, or it can look like whipping out the tools to buff the edges and remove any cutting lines. For the finer details - think in between the petals - I need to get out the blades and carefully trim away and excess. I also use acetone to smooth some surfaces when precision is needed, which definitely doesn't fall under the usual 'sanding' umbrella, but has the same effect!
This part of the jewellery making process asks you to slow down a little bit, and to really see the earrings and necklaces through your customers eyes. You get a chance to really appreciate the colours, and the way different parts look in different light. When I first started making polymer clay jewellery, I wasn't in the headspace where I was able to notice much at all, and so this little moment of actively paying attention to something tangible in my hands was pretty meaningful.
Sunflower Stud Earrings – Silver ($16) →
Detailing & Assembly
Some of our sunflower earrings have every single detail sculpted in clay, while some need their finishing touches painted by hand. For a minute it's just me, my fine brushes and my acrylic paint, bringing the jewellery to life one brush stroke at a time. Any paint applied to polymer clay also needs sealing to make sure your jewellery can move through your day without the paint rubbing off or chipping over time.
Once the clay components of the jewellery are finished, it's time to assemble them into their finished version. My tiny pliers take centre stage, and using high quality stainless steel or 925 sterling silver findings, transform what was previously a lump of clay into high quality, artisan jewellery.
Presenting and packing up
No single use plastics. This is a core value of Arias Design Co, something I committed to before I'd even decided on the packaging I wanted to use, and something I've stuck to since day one. How could I make nature inspired jewellery that hurts nature?!
Every order is carefully wrapped in either recycled, recyclable, or reusable materials to make sure we aren't leaving any unecessary mess for our planet. How could I make nature inspired jewellery that hurts nature?! It just wouldn't be right, so it will sinmply never happen.
In every package we also include a small care card for both your jewellery and yourself! Each care card has details on how you can best care for your new handmade accessories, and also includes some pointers from the Mental Health Foundation about how to practice self care. We also include information about our Lend an Ear campaign — 20% of our annual profits go directly to the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand. It's built into the very fabric of the business, not an afterthought. When you shop with Arias, this is what you're becoming a part of.
Why handmade matters
Lots of jewellery brands talk about being handmade, but not every brand means the same thing by it. For some jewellery makers, this means simply buying the components from a factory overseas and assembling them on New Zealand shores, then calling them 'New Zealand made'. For me it's a little more than that. It means one maker, two hands, at every stage. It means the earrings, necklaces and hair accessories you receive has been genuinely handmade - not assembled, not outsourced, not produced at volume and called artisan.
It also means there's a real limit on how many we can make, and I'm totally at peace with that. Slow made, small batch jewellery is what I'm creating here. I'd much rather make fewer things well than many things quickly.
Browse our handmade sunflower earrings →
Want to read more about our sunflower jewellery?
What is it about sunflowers? →
How to actually wear sunflower earrings →
