Rachel Jeffrey has teamed up with conservation charity Buglife to help the bees. And you too could benefit. Anyone who registers in the Great British Bee Count app created by Buglife, Friends of the Earth and Waitrose will be entered into a prize draw with one lucky winner gaining a bespoke handmade gold plated silver bumblebee pendant with a retail value of £250.
This June, contemporary jeweller Rachel Jeffrey, will be celebrating 10 years at the historic Mill Walk shop and workshop in Wheathampstead, Hertfordshire. To mark the decade Rachel is launching a new collection of ten limited edition bee pendants. One of these pendants will be given as the prize to a lucky person. The remaining nine and a future bee range will be available to purchase from her shop with Buglife benefitting from a percentage of sales.
Matt Shardlow, Chief Executive of Buglife, said. “Buglife are delighted that Rachel Jeffrey has chosen to collaborate with us on this bee project. Buglife are leading the way in championing our bees both by lobbying government for positive change and through practical on the ground activity such as the creation of a national network of wildflower rich B-line meadows.”
On designing the bees Rachel Jeffrey said, “I am very excited to collaborate with Buglife on this competition. The app is so innovative and a great way to get people involved and interacting with nature. I have always wanted to include a bumblebee in silver or gold in my collection and these are going to be very special. Taking inspiration from The Mill’s surroundings is very important to me and I have managed to include a traditional silversmith method of granulation in the making of the bee to achieve the fluffy texture to the body. This very much reflects the way I work as a designer, using historic techniques as much as possible.”
With half term week ahead this is an ideal time to engage your children with nature by using the bee app. To have a chance of winning the pendant all participants need to do is complete their contact details when registering in the app. Anyone who has already downloaded and registered will automatically be entered into the prize draw.
