When algorithms dictate trends, it’s impossible to find fashion that breaks the rules. Enter Thea Smartt Henry: she’s spent years handcrafting jewellery with colour, texture and personality. Using versatile, vegan-friendly polymer clay to create statement accessories, here is why Thea embraces individuality and imperfections.

What kind of jewellery do you create and what makes your jewellery distinct from other brands?

I create colourfully compelling handcrafted pieces. My work is defined by a love of colour and texture and a commitment to bold designs.

What makes my brand distinct is its ethos of empowering the customer. I don’t follow seasonal trends or what the fashion industry dictates. Instead, I offer statement pieces that allow individuals to express their own personality, wear what they love, and throw out the rules. Each piece is individually remarkable, designed to be as unique as the person who wears it.

What was the inspirational spark for the brand?

I have always had a love for jewellery, buying colourful pieces I’d find on my day-to-day travels, on market stalls, in department stores, and in quirky independent shops. The real turning point came with Pinterest, which gave me access to a huge range of artisan jewellery imagery.

I started creating inspiration boards that eventually led me to save ‘how-to’ videos and tutorials. This curated visual journey ignited my desire to create jewellery for myself and, ultimately, for others.

What is your design and creation process?

My design and creation process is deeply inspired by colour and texture, often drawing on sources like Indonesian batiks and Dutch wax fabrics. The Relic pieces, for example, were born from the aim to reduce waste; I break down sample pieces I no longer need to create something new and unique.

My primary material is polymer clay, which I chose because it’s hugely versatile and vegan-friendly. I’m mindful of using it carefully and reusing where possible.

I also use non-precious metals, sterling silver, glass, and gemstone beads, all of which I source from established UK suppliers.

“My primary material is polymer clay, which I chose because it’s hugely versatile and vegan-friendly”

How long does one piece typically take?

My pieces take time because I’m first making the jewellery component, then constructing the wearable piece. For a leaf drop neckpiece, for example, I’m rolling, texturing and cutting each leaf shape before firing, adding mica powder and wax to each surface. Then, I construct each seed beed stamen before stringing the neckpiece together on a leather cord, making the extender chain and hook fastening by hand.

I take each piece in stages around my other time commitments to avoid rushing any of the detailed work.

I create in two main ways: either through a mood board, sketching an idea then creating in line with what I’ve already laid out, [or] through playing with pieces of clay, colours and surface effects on my table and seeing what takes shape. Those pieces are often more organic-looking as I’m making decisions at every point, experimenting and sometimes going back to the drawing board halfway through the process without curing the piece I’m working on.

How did you learn to create jewellery, and how have your skills evolved over the years since you started?

I first learned to create jewellery by attending a handful of taster evening classes at City Lit and the London Jewellery School. I was hooked the first time I worked with polymer clay. My skills have evolved through continuous learning and creative exploration, and I’m committed to growing creatively.

I’ve found that I like an imperfect look, and many times a ‘happy accident’ has become a unique feature in a piece. My participation in the 100 Day Project [a creative community that commits to 100 days of an artistic project] over several years also helped me expand my creative process by exploring new motifs and materials.

“I like an imperfect look, and many times a ‘happy accident’ has become a unique feature”

What pieces are you most proud of?

I am particularly proud of my Relic pieces. They emerged from a conscious effort to minimise waste by repurposing sample pieces. It feels good to turn something that might otherwise be discarded into a new, unique treasure for someone to fall in love with.

I love my leaf drop pieces. I make a small leaf-shaped pendant, drop earrings, and a neckpiece with several leaf shapes suspended, each accented by a seed bead ‘stamen’ and metal wire.

How do you want customers to feel when they see your pieces?

I want my customers to feel delighted when they see my pieces. My ideal customer knows what they like and wears just that, and my jewellery is designed to support that confident self-expression. I love creating beautiful things that draw people’s eyes to look closer and their hands to touch them!

The most common words I hear as someone approaches my table are “ooh, these are different”. That makes me smile every time. When I have the opportunity to speak with jewellery lovers who have several of my pieces, I like hearing that they “wear them all the time”. They’re often back at my table or on the website to buy something in a different colour to accessorise with outfits their existing pieces clash with.

How do you find that having a creative outlet affects other parts of your life?

Having a creative outlet is incredibly important to me. I’m an advocate for the benefits of using art to improve your well-being.

Experience has taught me that engaging in a creative pursuit can ease the mind, release tension, and help you shift the weight of a difficult day. It’s a way of protecting time for myself that I’ll be thankful for.

What’s your biggest business achievement so far?

Having a booth at Black Girls Rock in 2019 was a joy. I was nervous to have a half booth instead of just a table for the first time, I had no idea if enough visitors to the conference would be interested in my work, so it was overwhelming to be selling throughout the day with multiple purchases each time – that feeling that everyone ‘got it’. And the lovely conversations with each visitor in between was so heartwarming.

Doing a pandemic interview with my sterling silver supplier, Cookson Gold, was also fun! 

What milestone would you like to reach with the brand?

That’s an interesting question. My biggest milestone is to build a sustainable and joyful creative practice. Creativity is a powerful tool for wellness. The act of keeping my hands busy, creating beautiful things that make me and others smile, and sending those pieces out into the world is very fulfilling.

The ultimate goal for Thea Smartt Henry is to grow into a practice that can continue to thrive long-term. I’m building a foundation now so that my passion for making can expand and become more of my focus when I retire from my corporate job. I want to keep selling because I will absolutely keep making.

I can’t imagine what I’d do with all my creations if I didn’t have a way to share them with the world. My milestone is creating a future where my art practice is a steady, lifelong journey.

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