It’s wonderful to see the creatures we share our home with taking centre stage as part of the amazing new BBC series - Wild Isles. As Sir David Attenborough says, we’re blessed with some of the most diverse, beautiful and unusual animals, birds, marine life and insects and they need both protecting and celebrating.
Here at iapetus we're known for our fantastic range of jewellery, gifts, homeware,art and cards that celebrate the wonderful wildlife you can find in the UK. Everything is beautifully handmade by our incredibly talented artists who are continually inspired by British Wildlife.
We thought we’d take the opportunity to share with you a few of our artists who give you the chance to bring some of Britain’s natural wonders into your own home.
Left to right: Fern Hedgehog cushion, Honesty Hare lampshade, Gift for Athene placemat.
Dawn Maciocia's work has always been a stand out in the category of beautiful work inspired by our British wildlife. Dawn is a self-taught Scottish artist who has always had a passion for all creatures great and small. Since she was a child she has spent her time sketching birds and animals, her respect for these animals has never left her and remains the main inspiration behind her work to this day. Within Dawn's work you will find friendly wild characters, each with their own personality and living together in harmony.
If you'd like to learn more about Dawn Maciocia, take a look at our #meetthemaker blog here...
Left to right: Up To Scratch Hares cushion, Bittern cushion, Little Egret cushion.
Robert Gilmor MBE is one of the best-know wildlife artists and printmakers in the UK. He has illustrated over 200 books since 1958 and was a founding member of the Society of Wildlife Artists (SWLA) in 1964. His work often features scenes of British wildlife, especially hares and many varients of birds in their natural habitat, captured in beautiful linocut printmaking. These stunning pieces of art have then been adapted to work on cushions so people can bring the wonderful wildlife into their homes.
Left to right: Fox head embroidered brooch, Goldfinch embroidered brooch, Camberwell Beauty Butterfly embroidered brooch.
Growing up in rural Oxfordshire, Vikki Lafford Garside had an appreciation for the countryside and a fascination with nature and wildlife. This love of nature and a passion for art and textiles led her to pursue making gorgeous art professionally. All of Vikki's designs develop from initial drawings and studies to then become the colourful statement pieces that are a joy to add to your brooch collection. As well as the lovely characters you see above, Vikki also creates a stunning range of insect and butterfly inspired brooches.
Left to right: Hare hand cut oak box, Kingfisher hand cut chestnut box, Barn Owl hand cut oak coaster.
Based in rural Herefordshire, Phil Jackson, aka Beamers Designs, creates amazing wood boxes and homeware that are all handmade using traditional fretwork techniques. All of Phil's pieces are skillfully hand cut from locally sourced repurposed English oak and feature charming scenes of wildlife designed in-house by his wife. Reoccuring characters featured in their beautiful work are kingfishers, owls, and a fan favourite - Hares!
Left to right: Heron and Labradorite Moon pendant, Fox Cubs in circle drop earrings, Sitting Hare bronze necklace.
We have some fantastic jewellers who also create incredible handmade jewellery inspired by British wildlife, such as Xuella Arnold. Based at her studio in Devon, Xuella works with silver and bronze to produce her original, delicate designs that are full of imagination and romance. Many of her pieces feature hares and foxes, as well as many other British animals, are handcrafted which gives them all uniqueness and true character.
Left to right: Lying Hare small ceramic sculpture, Leveret ceramic sculpture, Sitting Hare medium ceramic sculpture.
Focusing mostly on our good friend the Hare, Paul Jenkins and his team create beautiful sculptures of animals from ceramic. Paul's inspirations come from his love of nature, especially British wildlife. Many of his pieces are inspired from direct observations of animals in their natural habitat. Paul's lovely hare scultures are cast from his original modelling, then slip cast and finally raku-fired, giving each piece its own unique crackled finish.
Left to right: Family Like The Branches on a Tree card, Otters card, Reflections card.
Sam Cannon creates stunning artwork in her Dorset studio featuring British wildlife, both great and small. Her unique style brings the British countryside and the animals it's home to life. To really capture the wildlife's individual characters she uses watercolours, gouache, colour pencils on to a variety of different surfaces. Most of her beautiful work features inspiring quotes from various authors alongside the detailed illustrations. All of her work is reproduced in the form of these art cards.
If you'd like to see more of Sam Cannon's amazing work, take a look at our full collection here...