As an artist, I think I make a pretty good swimmer.

That's a shorthand way of saying I can't draw for toffee and flunked art at school totally. My academic skills were in maths and science, and I trained as an engineer and worked for several years for one of the world's biggest aerospace companies.

I started to make jewellery as I expect many people do: I bought a bracelet at an art market and, when I got it home, realised just how simple it was (for the record, it was a coil of memory wire threaded with orange and brown-toned gemstones and tiny brass beads). I went to a bead shop, bought a kit and a few tools and made one in blue.

I started wire wrapping after buying my first beading magazine. I am almost entirely self-taught, the only classes I have ever attended in jewellery making were some basic classes on silversmithing and metalworking. I've always had an interest in materials science, particularly gemstones, and almost all of the pieces I make feature gemstones. Recently I've learned to love working with pure metals as well.

Filigree has become a form of expression for me: I love how every piece is different and unique - makes earrings a bit tricky though as symmetry is almost impossible in Russian filigree, the style I am principally working in.

I've lately been experimenting with microwave-fired dichroic glass and you'll be seeing a few of those pieces appearing on the site over the next few months.