Sustainable jewellery need not be associated with recycled bottle tops and plastic bags. As Tanvi Kant's work demonstrates, it can be far less crude and much more stylish. She received a Crafts Council Development Award in 2006.

'Untitled' (50cm) by Tanvi Kant; Photo: Tanvi Kant, 2006

Watch Tanvi's video

What are your materials?

Much of my jewellery is made from old Indian saris belonging to my mother: bright cottons, notes of gold and metallic yarns, these are the colours that reference my Gujarati heritage.

Tanvi Kant, Jewellery maker; Photo: Tanvi Kant, 2006

What's the process of creation?

My work is a process of unpicking discarded and unwanted materials, then whipping, binding, knotting and sewing the remaining threads into loops, until a form emerges. Additional hand-shaped porcelain and wooden beads function as weights, to lend a sense of structure, creating a tension between the opaque density of the ceramic and the bound tightness of the textile. Fused together they are transformed into necklaces or bracelets by their proximity to the body.

What are your aims?

I strive to reflect a love of drawing in my work, which – like a doodle coming to life on a page – can be worn and wrapped in different formations around the body. I recycle and reclaim materials. By carefully shaping and transforming undervalued materials, tangling up yarns, memories and limbs, I hope to create unique pieces, each with its own history.

Website: www.tanvikant.co.uk
Email: info@tanvikant.co.uk
Telephone: +44 (0) 7973 551661