Bi-tone fuchsia flower earrings featuring sterling silver outer petals and warm bronze inner petals for a mixed metal look.

Why texture matters

When you look closely at my jewellery, you’ll usually see the surface doing something — a carved line, a softened edge, a wax mark, or the grain left by casting.

I’m drawn to those marks. I often draw directly onto the wax and carve into the surface using techniques borrowed from lino printing. It lets the metal keep a sense of movement, rawness and light — so you can see that each piece has been shaped by hand.

  • A handcrafted Sterling Silver and Bronze kowhai pod drop earring resting directly on a dried, textured natural kowhai seed pod to show the design inspiration.

    Texture from nature


    Leaves, bark, seed pods, flowers and stone often begin the idea. I’m not trying to copy them exactly — I’m looking for the ridges, edges and uneven surfaces that can be carried into metal.

  • Unfinished hand-carved wax ring on a mandrel at the workbench, showing the raw carved surface before casting

    Texture from process


    I draw directly onto wax, carve into the surface, and use techniques borrowed from lino printing to build up line and depth. Sand casting, hammering and hand finishing all leave their own marks too.

  • Stack of handmade textured gold rings showing sandcast grain, carved leaves, fluid forms and sapphire-set surface detail

    Texture for feeling


    Texture gives jewellery movement, rawness and light. It makes a piece feel tactile, individual and shaped by hand — something you notice up close, touch often, and keep reaching for.
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About the Maker


I’m Sally, the designer and maker behind HerbertandWilks. I work from my studio in Mt Eden, Auckland, shaping each piece by hand — building in wax, carving back, and working with texture to let the form emerge. My work is driven by material, process, and the small details that make something feel like your own. Every piece you see here has passed through my hands — made slowly, and intended to be worn often.

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