I've ridden horses all my life and the first time I saw jewellery made out of horse hair I was captivated.

 

Over 20 years ago I took with me on holiday a little hank of horse hair (borrowed from my mare) to figure out how to braid it. Two weeks later I'd mastered my first "Kumihimo" braid and The Burnished Horse was born. From the outset my aim was always to make the highest quality, contemporary jewellery to my own original designs. Rather than buying in jewellery "findings" (the clasps, connectors and other components used to construct jewellery), I wanted to design my own and so I took some jewellery making workshops to learn traditional bench techniques.

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I hooked up with one of the UK's foremost casting houses to realise my designs, turning my 2D pencil sketches into precious metal. 

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There are myriad ways to work horse hair in addition to braiding. Teaching myself to weave with it as well opened up all sorts of possibilities for creating fine jewellery. At a thickness of just one hair, my woven horse hair ribbons lend themselves to lighter pieces with intricate inlays.

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Feedback from customers has been amazing. The Burnished Horse jewellery adorns many an equestrian and I've been privileged to create pieces from the tail hair of some famous horses, not least the four 2012 London Olympics British gold winning showjumpers.

 

In 2016 we won our first Burghley! We were judged "Best in Show" out of more than 600 trade stands.

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The Burnished Horse continues to innovate, embracing the latest technological trends in jewellery design and making. I love to draw and paint and my ideas always start off in my sketchbook but digital modelling and 3D printing are the new tools that are helping me to take my designs to a new level of personalisation.

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Diane

Designer/Maker