The Origins of Second Spring
I began working with metals during a really difficult time in my life where I struggled with my mental health, mid-life hormonal changes and a very demanding job in biotechnology. For a long time I tried desperately to plough on, stuck in burn-out mode, not really knowing what was wrong but with deep, crippling feelings that something most definitely was. I was frustrated at myself for not being able to hold it together and function how I used to. I made the difficult decision to walk away from a near 20-year long scientific career, feeling massive guilt about being a very absent partner to my husband, about the resultant financial instability I had created and disturbingly, a massive loss of personal identity. I can’t reasonably distill exactly what I felt into words apt for this space but I wasn’t well.
My husband, Richie, was and continues to be, an utterly incredible human and partner in my life adventures. He supported me in ways I could never have imagined; dragging me along to his cold and dusty workshop was the start of my therapy I guess. It was a nice feeling to be useful around the workshop while learning about the business he had built single handedly over the years I had been buried in the lab. He taught me to weld and I began being creative with scrap metals available in abundance in his workshop, home of BSSB Design Ltd. My interest grew steadily until some great mates bought me a gift voucher to have a go at making silver jewellery; a spark ignited a passion and I threw myself into learning and making as much as I could.
Metal working calmed my mind and bought clarity from the chaos. I was actively learning and applying scientific principles (you can take the girl out of science, eh?..) while being creative. The process of forming new connections in metals seemed to coincide on a spiritual level with me making new connections of my own, if that makes sense?
I think I previously struggled to marry together science and spirituality. It’s only in recent years I can reflect on this and have realised they are essentially the same thing; a search for meaning.
Metal working has created an opportunity for Richie and I to do what we’d often talked about in our youth; working together in a space of our own. We’ve built a space to learn and create in; some wonderful friends have helped furnish it with an old jeweller’s bench and some tools. I’ve been able to further skill up in Birmingham’s iconic Jewellery Quarter thanks to the support of Heritage Crafts and I’m having a great time experimenting in my own lab again; this time without a white coat!
I still feel a bit lost and confused at times (maybe all of us do?) about myself and my future, particularly as my biological experiences with hormones are proving to be a challenging ride. Peri-menopausal years are often nicknamed “Second Spring”; this gave me some hope that I would reconnect with myself and find a sense of purpose and identity again. It might sound cliched but I decided to use the name “Second Spring” because my own journey through it so far sort of mirrors the news connections and repurposing that I’m doing with metals.
I hope you enjoy my craft as much as I love the experience of designing and making meaningful things with my hands.
My journey goes on…thanks for being a part of it :)
Mindful metalworking at my bench