A natter with: Emily Jones

Join us for a natter with northern creatives and the people behind the places that drive the creative community.

Next up is Whitby-based maker Emily Georgina Jones. With a decade of silversmithing behind her, Emily’s pieces feel like poems cast in metal. They're rooted in the rhythms of the North Sea, shaped by solitude, strength and shoreline walks. Her jewellery holds both texture and feeling, often echoing the shells she pockets on her daily walks to Sandsend. You’ll find her work at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park right now—and you’ll probably find her barefoot on the beach, too.

Hi, Emily!

How long have you been designing jewellery, and what inspired you to start?

I started back in 2014 so over a decade now! I was living in Sheffield at the time, I've always been into crafts and making things by hand so I joined a jewellery making evening course which led to me starting a college course and eventually a university degree in silversmithing and jewellery, which I completed in London.

I moved back up north to Whitby in 2020 and started designing and making jewellery full time in 2021.

How has Whitby influenced your work?

I cast lots of shells which is a not-so-subtle reference to the immediate area where I live. The act of collecting something from the shore and creating a piece of jewellery directly from it roots the process to the place in a very straight forward way.

There are also more subtle influences in my work that relate to where I live. I muse a lot on how silver as a material references the sea, there’s connection within the symbolism of both silver and the sea. Solitude, impermanence, strength — all of which I try to express in my work through its shape and the treatment of surfaces.

Where do you like to go when you’re not busy making jewellery?

Im always going for a walk across the beach from Whitby to Sandsend and back. I try to fit this walk into my day as often as I can, especially in summer months so I don’t feeling cooped up in the workshop all day. I work from home so getting myself outside and next to the sea helps me get in the right headspace to work.

Anything coming up that we should know about? 

A selection of my work is currently available in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park MADE Showcase which is on until October 2025.

Who would you like to nominate for us to have a natter with?

Whitby and the surrounding area is full of so many talented creative people. Aphra O'Connor is a fantastically colourful sculptor living and working just outside of Whitby, she also curates at The Redcar Palace Gallery.

Show us something you made today.

Thank you, Emily, for the natter. Catch you again soon!