I have always been an artist. Born into an Irish-Greek American family, culture and identity were always layered. Growing up between different cultures gave me this sense that nothing has just one meaning. That’s definitely shaped my creative approach and design sensibility. That mix gave me a deep curiosity for symbolism, history, and storytelling, which naturally found its way into my jewellery.
Art was always encouraged in our home. My mother would often have us gather around a bowl of fruit to practice still life drawing – not just to draw, but to observe. As an introverted middle child, it was easy to go unnoticed amidst the chaos of a busy household. Art became my escape – a safe space where I could live in my imagination for as long as I wanted to, making sense of emotions I didn’t yet have the language for. Long before I knew I wanted to be a jeweller, I was creating little emotional landscapes with my hands – small gifts for people I cared about. This experience taught me the true value and power in what it means to make someone feel seen.
When I was around seven, I found colourful thread in our sewing box and thought to make a simple loom with a plank of wood and two nails. I spent hours weaving friendship bracelets for my seven best friends. The next day at school, everyone wanted one. Soon I was taking orders, restocking and charging €2 each (or €3 if they wanted beads). It makes me laugh now, because looking back, the signs were always there. That probably was my first jewellery business. I just loved creating something that others would wear and cherish.
When I first applied to NCAD, I didn’t get in – it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. It led me to the portfolio course at Bray Institute of Further Education, which profoundly shaped how I work and approach creativity. It was the first time I truly began to explore process, material, and concept in a way that felt personal, laying the foundation for how I think as a maker. The second time I applied, I was accepted into the Jewellery and Metalwork course at NCAD, and that’s when things really started to gain momentum. Afterward, I set up my own studio and built myself a jeweller’s bench so I could continue honing my skills while apprenticing at Da Capo Goldsmiths – all in preparation for the intensive training at the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland in Kilkenny. This is where I created my portfolio of different works and where a whole new world opened up for me to see what was possible in metal.
I’ve always been drawn to movement and pure form – how a curve flows, how it catches the light. The S-curve shows up a lot in my work without me even realising it at first. I find inspiration in unexpected places – ancient artefacts, mythology, architecture, even car design – but I like reinterpreting those things through a contemporary lens.
I’m also fascinated by the shared symbolism between different cultures and religions – how things that seem separate can mirror each other. I’m more interested in what connects us than what divides us, and that curiosity shows up in the way I approach form, meaning, and material.
After stepping away for a while, I came back to jewellery with a more internal focus. I’m thinking more about symbolism, change, and how objects can hold memory or emotion. The newer pieces are quieter, more reflective and focused on the balance of feminine and masculine energy, and creating space for personal connection.
One of the most personal pieces I’ve made is The Ouroboros Necklace. It was created as part of a cultural collaboration with the National Museum of Ireland, and I’m grateful that it was later acquired for the permanent collections. It was inspired by a Japanese dragon wrapped around a flower vase in their collection – echoing the Ouroboros, the serpent eating its own tail – which represents renewal, cycles, and transformation. When I made this piece, I was reflecting on how destruction and rebirth are intertwined, how we become who we’re meant to be not in spite of endings, but because of them, and holding space for change and growth. My work often carries movement, symbolism, or quiet gestures of personal evolution –sometimes mechanical, sometimes emotional.
The Autobox and Headlight Ring came from my love of classic car design – all those curves, mechanics, and moving parts. I was curious about how to bring that sense of motion into jewellery. So I fitted ball bearings, kinetic elements, and reflections of light into my work. It was a way to explore engineering in a small, tactile form, while still make something wearable and unexpected.
The Ribboned Torc is a bit of a play on words – it nods to Ireland’s ancient, anticlastic ribbon torc jewellery. I reimagined it with the movement of a flowing ribbon. Part of it was also inspired by the winding roads of the Monaco Grand Prix race track, so it blends heritage with speed. I love when a piece brings together opposites – old and new, speed and stillness, soft and strong.
The Apex Brooch is all about the S-curve, it’s minimal, restrained, and intentional. It’s named after the apex: the most dramatic and dangerous point of the racetrack. The Lou Ruvo Necklace was inspired by this building in Las Vegas, Nevada – the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Its curves are surreal and disorienting, and I wanted to translate that feeling into metal. It really pushed me, both technically and creatively, like a meditation on fluidity and distortion.
Each of these pieces holds something personal for me, though not always in an obvious way. They offered to me, as a maker, an exploration, a question, or a feeling resolved through metal.
I’m currently developing a new body of work that is more philosophical and symbolic. It speaks to memory, identity, and how we evolve through experience, with pieces designed to feel like personal relics or modern talismans. The pace of this new work is slower, more intentional. I’m giving more space to silence, intuition, and meaning.
Technically, I’m excited to incorporate more stone setting in my work. I also want to deepen my connection to traditional goldsmithing while continuing to develop my own voice. I see this next chapter as a synthesis of everything I’ve explored so far. In the long term, I’d love to explore how jewellery can become a medium for storytelling, healing, and connection. Whether rooted in the ancient past or grounded in the now, I want my work to be evocative – something that invites reflection.
As I continue to evolve my practice, I’m excited to be exhibiting at Milano Jewellery Week during 18-20 October 2025. My work will be shown as part of Artistar Jewels at Palazzo Bovara, a curated exhibition that brings together emerging and established artists in contemporary jewellery. It’s a significant opportunity to share my work internationally and to represent Irish craft within a broader global conversation. I look forward to sharing this new chapter of work, and connecting with others through it.
Siobháin O’Sullivan is an Irish-Greek/American designer goldsmith. She blends symbolism, movement and storytelling to create evocative, contemporary wearable art.
