As a working goldsmith and jewellery designer based in a relatively small town in North East England, I never imagined I would receive a request to create a piece for one of Hollywood’s most recognisable actors. But sometimes, extraordinary things really do happen.
It is always exciting to hear the notification of a website sale, especially when the order is from my handmade DUNE collection, named after the dunes at nearby Seaton Carew.
Shortly after one particular order arrived for a DUNE Ankh pendant, we received a telephone call asking whether the initials “JD” could be added to the front, along with a special date engraved on the reverse. The caller then explained that the pendant was intended as a gift for Johnny Depp’s 60th birthday.
Our first reaction was disbelief. Could this genuinely be happening? After speaking further with the friend who had ordered the pendant, we were satisfied that the request was genuine, and the customised piece was excitedly added to our busy workshop schedule.
The bespoke DUNE Ankh was completed and delivered on time. We later received a lovely email confirming that Johnny loved the pendant. Although his contractual commitments meant that he could not officially endorse the DUNE collection, we were delighted to know that he had received and enjoyed something made by hand in our Hartlepool workshop.
Then came a surprise. A friend attended one of Johnny’s gigs shortly afterwards and, after hearing about the pendant, checked through their photographs. One image clearly showed Johnny wearing the DUNE Ankh among his collection of silver chains and pendants.
Seeing a piece of my own craftsmanship being worn by Johnny Depp was an incredibly proud moment. From an idea inspired by the dunes of Seaton Carew to the neck of a Hollywood legend, that is certainly a win in my book.
I also created a short video showing how his customised pendant was made. Every DUNE piece is naturally unique, but the initials and personal engraving made this particular Ankh a complete one-off, created especially for him.
Watch the making of Johnny Depp’s bespoke DUNE Ankh here.
I have always enjoyed collaborating with talented and creative people, so when my friend Adam Bouabda of local production company Sea and Sky Pictures invited me to become involved in a special project, I could not resist.
Adam works with internationally recognised nail artist Kirsty Meakin, creating and filming content for her YouTube channel and social media platforms. Kirsty has her own range of nail products and had often joked that the distinctive polish bottles were attractive enough to wear as earrings.
Adam challenged me to turn that idea into reality by creating a pair of silver earrings modelled on Kirsty’s nail polish bottles.
When Adam presented the finished earrings to Kirsty, her reaction was one of complete surprise and delight, and fortunately, he recorded the unveiling. Kirsty later shared the moment with her followers across her social media channels.
That first commission led to a continuing collaboration. Together, we developed a range of silver nail-shaped pendants featuring Kirsty’s logo, individual laser engraving and numbered certification.
The next project in development is an exclusive collection of Kirsty Meakin nail bottle pendants and earrings. The first release will be strictly limited to only ten of each design, with further ideas already taking shape on the drawing board.
The Lloyd Henshall story continued into 2023 following an unforgettable end to 2022, when we attended an event at the Royal Albert Hall. The evening even resulted in my now-infamous mohawk photograph appearing on Getty Images alongside Scott Henshall and Karen Millen OBE.
In February 2023, we created a personalised affirmation bangle for music icon Belinda Carlisle. The piece featured an affirmation chosen especially for her and was personally presented at her London concert.
Although I was unfortunately unable to attend the performance, Scott secured a prime front-row position and captured some fantastic photographs with Belinda wearing her Lloyd Henshall affirmation jewellery.
Our next celebrity connection came when Lisa Scott-Lee of Steps invited us to attend her performance. We planned to present her with a Lloyd Henshall bangle at Newcastle Pride on Sunday 23 July. Still, the famously unpredictable British weather intervened, and her appearance was cancelled at the last minute. We hope to catch up with her at another event.
From there, we travelled to the Miss North East GB event at the Hilton Newcastle, where we met many wonderful and inspiring people. We chose local contestant Tiger-May Millington to wear our distinctive Lloyd Henshall Unicorn Polar Bear pendant.
Tiger-May was crowned Miss Durham and went on to represent the county at the Miss Great Britain finals in October.
Would the new Miss Great Britain wear Lloyd Henshall jewellery with a Scott Henshall dress? As they say- watch this space.
