Beautifully crafted Shetland jewellery: an interview with Karlin Anderson

Karlin Anderson is the proud owner of her own jewellery company which she launched in 2008 and now runs from her workshop studio in the village of Hoswick in Shetland. She has been a professional jeweller since 1994, giving her thirty years of experience crafting meaningful and beautiful jewellery.

I love being able to create meaningful pieces of jewellery for people. Being able to create a piece of jewellery that you know someone will hold dear for the rest of their lives is very special.

We were delighted to speak with Karlin, who kindly told us more about her story…

Q. Could you tell us a bit about yourself?
A. I was born and raised at Setter Farm in Tingwall Valley, Shetland – one of only two remaining dairy farms on the island. I have 3 sisters and a brother, and we’re part of a wider family – I have 16 aunties and uncles and 27 first cousins – and many of them still stay in the Tingwall Valley. I loved my childhood, surrounded by space, beauty, and the freedom to play and explore, and I was surrounded by skilled, hardworking, and creative people.

I’ve done a fair bit of travelling and lived in other places, but there is just something about Shetland that I love. It’s a joy to live here and I feel a real sense of home and belonging. Besides family, Shetland and jewellery, my other love is my motorbike, my 900CC Triumph Street Twin. It’s the best way to get out and about in Shetland!

Q. What inspired you to start your jewellery company?
A. When I was in school, I got the opportunity to do work experience at a local jewellers in and I absolutely loved it, but I never imagined I would get to do it as my job. Yet, thirty years down the line, I still love making jewellery and I’m lucky to do it as a profession, and in such a wonderful location. The work experience definitely inspired my journey into jewellery, especially as it was with a female business owner. This was in the early 1990s so I hadn’t really seen that many women in business! And now I employ 3 women including my sister, Marie, and Shona, a jeweller I’ve known for many years – we all live within a few minutes walk from the workshop, and it’s a lovely daily commute!

I moved to Glasgow in 1996 to study jewellery making while working at a jewellers before moving to London in 2004, where I stayed for fifteen years. When I first moved to London, I worked with some prestigious companies and made jewellery for high profile clients. It was quite an experience for a girl who grew up on a farm in Shetland! I’m privileged to have worked alongside some incredibly skilled craftspeople over the years, and I’m grateful for the time they have taken to pass on their skills and advice.

After four years in London, I started my own company, driven by a desire to infuse jewellery with deeper meaning beyond its materialistic aspects and ‘bling’ (although I do love a bit of bling!). Yes, jewellery is precious metals and sparkly gems, but it also about memories, relationships and bonds between people. So I wanted to start my own company to create jewellery that tells stories, captures memories, and celebrates relationships, and is made in a way that fits with my ethics.

In 2019 I decided to move back home to be closer to my family, particularly my nephews and nieces who were growing up fast, and to live in a close knit community surrounded by nature. I still have a workspace in the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London and have a network of suppliers in the Hatton Garden area, and I travel back to London for business and client meetings regularly.

Q. How do you turn a Shetland inspired idea into one of your collections of jewellery?
A. I spend a lot of time researching and getting immersed in the subject. For instance, my Oppenwark Collection is based on traditional Shetland lace, so I spent a lot of time gathering pictures of the lace and studying its patterns, and handling pieces of lace to get a feel for them. I also thought about the people from the past who made the lace and their stories and surroundings – what it would be like to see the world through their eyes, and how making the lace changed their lives?

After this, I spend time engaging with my research and letting it percolate and feed my imagination. I then play around with different shapes and ideas on how the stories can translate into jewellery. It’s quite a lengthy process, but I come out the other end being so absorbed and inspired by the subject that I can’t help but make the jewellery!

Q. How long does it take to come up with a new collection?
A. It varies from months to several years. It really depends on how much time I can dedicate to it, but I have more ideas than I have time! For example, my Wolf Collection was created for the 2024 South Mainland Up Helly Aa. There was a set timeframe, so I was able to create it in about four months. It was exciting to be a part of the South Mainland Up Helly Aa – making Up Helly Aa jewellery wasn’t something I had considered doing but my husband is in the squad and we are friends with the Jarl and his wife so there was a strong connection.

At the other end of the scale, I have collections that have taken many years, and have evolved as new pieces are added. My Freedom Collection started life in 2008 as simple silver rings with a single diamond and I sent them to women and girls who had been rescued from human trafficking. At that point it wasn’t even a collection and the rings weren’t for sale, but as my friends heard about what I was doing they wanted to buy pieces to support the cause, and I gradually added earrings, bangles and necklaces, and before I knew it the Freedom Collection was born. It was officially launched in 2021 and 10% of the price paid for each piece goes to International Justice Mission in their work against human trafficking and modern slavery.

My first full collection was Wings, and I recently added a new range of ‘black diamond’ versions, which is an example of revisiting and developing an established collection. Or my Sparkles Collection of rings, which I regularly add new designs to, or Tutti Frutti which has core designs but I added new gem colour combinations to.

So in summary, I suppose I never really finish a collection!

Q. Do you have a favourite design or product amongst your collections?
A. It would have to be the ear jackets from the Oppenwark the Wolf collections. They’re a type of earring with a front-facing stud that goes through the earlobe and a jacket that attaches behind the lobe and hangs below the ear. The Oppenwark ear jackets are designed to flow from the ear like a lace shawl, and they feature studs set with Shetland stones from Skeld, Northmavine and Unst. The Carnassial ear jackets from the Wolf Collection evoke the visual symbolism of wolves’ teeth and are paired with onyx studs. I wear a pair of ear jackets every day and people always take notice and comment on them!

Q. What does an average day look like for you in your job?
A. Like any small business owner, there are so many different hats I have to wear. I try to organise my week by working on related tasks for a day or two at a time – that way I can get into a flow. For a couple of days I focus on creating bespoke designs and meeting clients. On other days I work on the bench where I make the jewellery. And at least one day a week is spent on admin and the nuts and bolts of running the business. Because my workshop is open to the public, we have visitors popping in throughout the day so my assistants and I take turns chatting to them and showing them our jewellery collections. It’s a real joy to be able to meet the people who buy my jewellery, and it’s great to get their feedback.

I need to be organised with my time because there are so many different phases of making a piece of jewellery, from initial client consultation and design, through to metal casting and forming, stone setting, polishing and finishing, and hallmarking phases. At any one time I may have 10 or 20 bespoke pieces at different stages of the process.

Q. I read that you have had the opportunity to create jewellery for clients including Kate Moss and even members of the Royal Family, can you tell us more about this?
A. When I was living in London, I worked for a company based in Notting Hill. It’s an affluent area where lots of famous people live. The company had a high-end client base, meaning I had the opportunity to design jewellery with clients including Claudia Schiffer and Kate Moss – it was quite surreal and a little overwhelming to meet them in person. I was thinking “I’m just a lass from a peerie farm in Shetland, and here I am designing jewellery with a supermodel!”.

When I first set up my company, as well as having my own clients, I worked under commission for several jewellery houses. There are many jewellers that don’t actually make jewellery – they may meet clients and do some of the designing, but they hire trained jewellers to actually make the pieces. And so I was commissioned to make jewellery for members of the Royal Family. I had the incredible opportunity of making Kate’s earrings she wore on her wedding day, and various elements of the bridal group’s jewellery including acorn brooch pins for Prince Charles and Prince William. Although I didn’t meet them in person, it was a very cool to play a part in it!

Q. What do you enjoy most about your job?
A. There is so much that I enjoy about my job, but it has to be that I get to create meaningful pieces for people. I love being able to sit down with someone, get to know them and discover what is important to them and what the piece might symbolise. It’s a lovely journey to go on together. Creating a piece of jewellery that you know someone will hold dear for the rest of their lives is very special. Knowing I’ve made it with my hands and seeing their appreciation of what I have created is amazing. It’s quite a buzz! Seeing the joy it can bring to people is so rewarding and a real privilege.

Q. Where can customers purchase your jewellery?
A. We sell our jewellery at our Workshop Gallery here in Shetland and on our website, and occasionally at local and national exhibitions. I do get featured on other websites, for example Shetland Arts and Crafts or the Goldsmiths’ Centre in London, but customers come to us directly to make purchases.

Q. Do you have any new collections on the horizon?
A. One collection that’s in the design process, and I’m absorbed in, uses Shetland stones. My husband and I spend a lot of time walking around the rugged coast and cliffs of Shetland and reflecting on the rock formations, and the unfathomable timescales and extreme forces that create them. Sourcing gem quality local stones, getting them faceted and polished, and setting them in precious metals to show them at their best is quite an involved process – I’ve made several bespoke pieces in recent years and there’s something really special about using the rocks from where I grew up and live as part of the jewellery I create.

So yes, there is a new collection featuring Shetland stones which I am really excited about – but I won’t say too much until we actually launch it!

To find out more about Karlin Anderson and her beautiful jewellery designs, please visit: https://www.karlinanderson.com/

By Amy Leith
Born and raised in Aberdeen with an admiration for Orkney and Shetland, loves to travel and visit new places, enjoys cooking, always listening to music, spends a little too much time on TikTok.

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