A young woman who left Forres to learn how to make jewellery has said the natural surroundings of the area inspired her to come back and base her business in the town.
Katrina Rowall went to Glasgow at the age of 17 to pursue her passion and spent ten years in the city before the area she grew up in called her back.
She studied at the City of Glasgow College and latterly Glasgow School of Art and now trades as Karo, the first two letters of her first and last name, making jewellery from recycled silver.
Katrina explained why she felt drawn to come back: “The surrounding nature to Forres is so beautiful. The coastline is really nice. And obviously my family are here, so that’s a big factor.”
Taking inspiration from the coastline
All her jewellery designs are mostly inspired by nature, especially the coastline.
“Even when I was living in Glasgow, I always took inspiration from the coastline up here because for me it brought in a sense of place and a feeling of nostalgia and took me back to my upbringing.
“Throughout my studies, I would come home on a research trip, and beach comb at Findhorn. I’m always on the lookout for a little bit of treasure. Lots of stuff washes up, like beautiful bits of rusted metal, copper and sometimes driftwood. I have quite a big collection of that sort of stuff!
“I guess I was homesick and I was reflecting on that through the work. Particularly the rockscapes along by Hopeman, where it’s just quite expansive, with all the different shapes and forms, I love that. Every time I go I’m always birthing new ideas, it comes to me when I’m there.”
The urge to come home
She said her urge to get away when she was young changed to an urge to return home.
“I changed a lot throughout the 10 years. I think when you’re young, you can’t wait to get away from a small town and experience something different, have a taste of the city. So I was excited for that at the time, but then, as I grew up a bit, I started to value different things like nature, family, and time spent together. That’s what made me want to come back.
“I don’t know if I intended to do the degree from the get-go. I went to City of Glasgow College for a few years. I did the most basic course you could do in jewellery and I enjoyed it so much that I thought I’ll just keep this going for a bit.
“And it’s just sort of like snowballed and I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve been self-employed for about a year. “
Bold, big and irregular
Katrina explained how the focus on nature has made her jewellery different.
“What makes my pieces stand out is that they can be quite bold, quite big in size and irregular in shape. Sometimes they’re mismatched, like mismatched earrings.
My work features a lot of texture, like organic texture that’s quite close to nature.
She sells her pieces through Instagram, Facebook and Etsy, and they can now be found in the new Uly + Ro shop in Forres high street.
Katrina is also offering training sessions for anyone interested in learning how to make jewellery from recycled silver.
“Since moving back here and having a studio and the space to do so, I started teaching.
“I usually offer one-to-one tuition for three hours where we cover the basics of jewellery making and create a finished piece in recycled silver.
“It’s all included in the cost and I’m just about to trial a workshop with two people so I can see how that works, like the practicalities of having more people in a small space.”
The cost of the workshop is normally £100, but is currently reduced to £75.
Katrina has a website at https://karomaker.squarespace.com/store and can be contacted on karo.maker@outlook.com
