An Interview ….(not with a vampire)
This is a bit of unusual blog and is an interview we did for a lovely local night market organiser a little while ago… we thought you might like to read a little about our journey!
We hope you enjoy !
Can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your business?
We are Jesse & Al Dickson, jewellery designers, artists and owners of ‘A Wolf and I Jewellery’, ‘The Wolf and the Wild things’ and ‘Millie and The Wolf’ Art.
We are primarily silver and goldsmiths and at ‘A Wolf and I’ we use silver, gold, gemstones, stories, fairytales and a sprinkle of magic to create a world of creatures, talisman, charms and our specialty Story Lockets.
For us, jewellery has to be more than just a pretty accessory, it’s a story, a personal connection.. something personal to you that holds true…
…resonates.
For me, animals, symbols, plants…the stars…. nature, makes themselves known throughout life when you need to see / hear certain messages. A subtle voice that nudges your subconscious and awakens your gut feeling …
It is this energy we hope to tap into when we create pieces for A Wolf and I.
We make each piece with authenticity and intention guided by our intuition to bring you exactly what you need, exactly when you need it.
It’s not magic, it’s just listening …
walking through life with your eyes and ears open to the strength and guidance that’s been laid out before you.
We all have it… it’s right there…
We make a range of pieces that we sell through our website and at shows etc. and we also love to work to commission, working with customers to bring their dreams to life.
Some of our most popular pieces are our Story Lockets.
We think of our lockets a little like a book.. our customers tell us a bit about their story, what they’d like included in their locket, from images, animals, places to people, memories, favourite gemstones and words.
We then design a magical piece which is a little opening box telling their tales. To me they’re almost like tiny theatre sets .. each segment of the locket with layers of silver creating little three dimesnional scenes.
Little capsules of someone’s life story …
like a sealed box of someone’s breath ..
waiting to be opened and read and remembered years from now.
Al and I work together in a tiny workshop where each piece is lovingly hand made.
We use a huge variety of techniques to make our pieces, each animal charm is hand carved in wax by us and then cast in silver, while our magpies, ravens, owls, bears and many other creatures are pierced by hand. Commissions are designed the old fashioned way with a pencil and made using traditional techniques.
We absolutely love what we do and feel so grateful to be able to work with passion for something we love.
What was your motivation to set up your business?
In a way this part of the story starts with me. (Jesse) I began to make silver jewellery in 1996 in my final year of my Art History degree.
I had always been an artist / creator of ‘stuff’ and had my first taste of metalwork during my foundation diploma at Bournemouth & Poole college of Art.
Rediscovering this incredible medium during my degree was a lightbulb moment. I attended a weekend course with the wonderful Jinks McGrath near Brighton and was instantly hooked.
When Al and I met it was a definite serendipitous clash of worlds ( I think there was thunder and lightning and everything!!) … his vast metalworking experience gained through working as a panel beater on prestige cars brought an inspirational way of working and way of manipulating metal to my traditional skills knowledge base.
Combined with our love of dark tales, wild hearts, the natural world, connection, intuition and our wildly overactive imaginations and ‘A Wolf and I’ was born.
We knew instantly that we wanted to create something magical, spread some positivity, do something different and work together.
So, in 2002 , after a spot of travelling we started making and selling our work together and established a jewellery school alongside which ran successfully for 18 years.
What drew you to your chosen materials and style of working?
We have both had a lifelong fascination with metal. For me, it was always silver.
There’s just something so incredibly magical about forging a piece of jewellery from gold and silver, taking a natural ore from the earth… or even better, using recycled metal that already exists in the world and working it back into something new and wonderful.
I have always loved the duality of the often dramatic techniques using fire, hammers and molten metal to create such delicate, intricate designs… so strong and permanent they will outlast us!
Why is it important to run your own business?
Apart from a few part time jobs as a student, I have always worked for myself and can’t imagine doing anything different now.
Al had a 20 year career before we met and although he enjoyed it, he realised the parts he most enjoyed were the parts where he was left to work independently.
We originally built our jewellery school and A Wolf and I from a tiny workshop in my Dad’s garage. We worked solidly together to figure out the daily challenges that come with starting something from scratch.
Neither of us had any business qualifications but we pooled our skills and previous experiences and learnt as we went along, working to each other’s strengths. Of course we love the creative side of our work but we are so lucky in that we both love the business side of things too and like nothing more than sinking our teeth into the next project!
Running our own businesses gives us the freedom and opportunity to direct the vibe and consciousness of what we put into the world. We are strong believers in creating positive energy and creating connections and supporting our tribe.
Through our art, our jewellery and our work ethics we hope to touch, connect and send a little smile out into the community…
What does a typical day look like for you?
We are cat slaves.
So our day begins by trying to figure out what each of our three felines need to make them happy … once we have achieved some level of cat joy, we usually have breakfast and discuss the day / week ahead when we allocate jobs and work out time schedules.
Then we get to work.
I usually take care of communications, emails, social media etc. while Al takes charge or ordering metal, stock, tools, cat food, packaging and anything else we need to run smoothly.
I tend to draw up our design ideas for commissions while Al focuses on the precision elements of our work, stone setting, lockets, catches etc …
I fill our lockets with magic and create artwork for our prints and greetings cards while Al is our tech hero … turning images digital, designing layouts and making sure our websites work well, happily and can be found.
We both work on accounts and the background stuff required to run any business.
I would say I am impulsive, creative and messy … I will dive into an idea with minimum forethought and figure out how to make it work as I go, whereas Al is our considered grounding force. He is quietly confident, thoughtful and measured. He will pre plan things in detail and is always able to take my crazy ideas and find a way to make them work.
No two days are ever the same but they are always peppered with too much tea, lots of creativity and laughter.
What’s your favourite piece you’ve made and why?
A specific piece?
One that sticks on my mind in particular was an elaborate bracelet and ring that were inspired by the film ‘Malificent’.
Our lovely friend and customer Nick came to us with an open brief to make something special for his wife Mary.
He just said to work on the concept of ‘Malificent’.
It’s always so exciting to be given free reign with a commission like this, it really gives us the opportunity to let our imaginations fly … especially when the theme is suitably dark and mysterious…
We took the look and vibe of the Malificent movie and hinted at elements we saw in the film to create a magical, thorn encrusted, horned bracelet with black diamonds, labradorite, Smokey quartz, moonstones and spinel . Malificents horns were captured in a double ring joined to the bracelet with tiny delicate chainmaille .
Such a wonderful project (thank you so much to Nick and Mary!!)
We also had the immense opportunity and honour to be commissioned by Historic Royal Palaces to make a collection of dark fairytale pieces to feature in the ‘Enchanted Palace’ exhibition at Kensington Palace alongside fashion designers such as Vivienne Westwood and William Tempest.
We were invited to hand deliver our work to the palace and were privileged enough to experience the exhibition privately before the general public opening.
Such an incredible moment, to see our jewellery as part of this historic exhibition.
Another unusual project we also had lots of fun with was the creation of six metal crowns which were used by an internationally well known fashion photographer at Paris Fashion week to drape Cartier jewellery over while they were worn by the models.
We were thrilled see our crowns featured in the photoshoot in Italian Vogue magazine.
Each and every commission we work on, we get to connect with our customers in a really special way. We hear their stories, which are usually so packed with love and memories, sometimes heartache but so often inspirational.
To be able to take these precious thoughts and turn them into something tangible, an heirloom piece that will be treasured is truly an honour and we are always so grateful that people trust us enough to share some of their most beautiful emotions.
Where do you go for inspiration?
Ha ha I think Al and I are hardwired for inspiration!!.. we are always bursting with ideas, from jewellery designs to new creatures, paintings to T-shirts and business ideas !! We draw our vibe from the darker side of fairytales, the ancient art of storytelling, myths, legends, goddesses and our magical woodlands.
For us, magic is everywhere and we hope we can help others to capture a little piece of it to hold and treasure.
What challenges have you faced in setting up and running your business?
Gosh, there are so many challenges.. as Al often says ‘every day is a school day!’.
We have faced many many challenges over the years from actual business challenges that most self employed people will face such as renting the right premises and employing the right people etc. to the challenges we face as humans with life still happening around us while we still maintain running a successful business ( or two at the same time in our case ). For us, all of these have served to teach us to be calmer and more considered in the face of adversity.
One thing that you’ll often hear many creative business owners say is how you have to be able to wear all the hats … often at the same time! As well as jewellery designer makers, we are accountants, photographers, social media content managers, IT experts, website builders, marketers, PR and HR all rolled into one ( or two ) quite small people…. who are also married !!! That’s quite a challenge, but it’s also one of the most exciting aspects of our job.
Do you like taking on commissions?
Yes… absolutely, it’s humbling to experience the connections we make with people and hearing their stories.
We love that we can translate a moment of their lives, whether a celebration, a landmark in life, or a happy memory tinged with sadness into something tangible that may become an heirloom piece, treasured forever.
Where do you work?
We work from our tiny workshop at our home in sunny Dorset !!
What are your goals for 2024?
2024 is off to a great start!
We are already nearly half way through the year and as usually we are bursting with ideas and inspiration.
We have many new jewellery pieces making their way to our website in the second part of the year including a pair of brand new bangles for all the corvid and hare lovers!
We are also working on some wolf inspired pieces that will be featuring in a fantastic Viking inspired photo shoot with real wolves! (Stay tuned to instagram for the photos!!)
My artwork at The Wolf and the Wild Things has been featured in several magazines already this year and we will hopefully be bringing it and some jewellery to the Samhain celebration at the Ancient roundhouse in Cranborne again in the autumn.
We also have some very exciting side projects gaining momentum in the background which we will announce a little later! (Intrigued ????)
Artwork at Millie and the Wolf is still going strong with Roger up to his adventures… booping the noses of all scary things he meets and we have added gorgeous mugs to our range of merchandise, cards, tees and hoodies available !
Where can we find you?
We can be found at:
www.thewolfandthewildthings.co.uk
www.millieandthewearwolf.co.uk
As well as Instagram, Facebook , Threads and TikTok
We have a mailing list at A Wolf and I and you can subscribe via our websites for news, nonsense, special offers and just general chat!
