A reflection on a decade of handcrafted jewellery, rooted in the Isle of Man and what it means to build something that lasts.
It started with a homecoming.
After living overseas for years, we returned to the Isle of Man. The island we'd always known looked different through eyes that had been away. Coming home to a place you love is not the same as arriving somewhere new. It's slower and more layered. You see what you missed and finally understand what you had.
That return also brought a creative need. A pair of hands wanting to make something, seeking a way to hold the feeling of being home, rooted and present. In 2016, those things found each other and Element Isle was born.
"The island I came back to became the island I built from. The coast, the light, the particular wildness of home, and that's where every design has started."
The kitchen in Grenaby
My first studio was not quite a studio. It was the kitchen and entranceway to another artist's workspace in Grenaby. It was a small, borrowed corner of somewhere else, which felt exactly right for where I was. That's where I allowed myself the space to explore what I'd learned as a jewellery designer over the previous 10 years, and to let my signature style emerge.
There is something about starting small and in the margins of something else that keeps you honest. To begin with I made pieces because I needed to make, inspired by the landscape around me, not because I had a plan.
How we grew
In the early years, Element Isle was mine alone. There's a whole story to tell about those beginnings, the studios, all the wonderful people who joined me along the way and how things slowly took shape. But that story deserves its own space, and it'll get it as part of the blog series coming over the next few weeks and months.
The short version for now: In 2016 I moved into my first tiny workshop at Grenaby Studios, and then in 2019, Scott joined the business and things began to change in the best possible way. Together, we have built something I'm genuinely proud of. An incredible team, our own flagship store, a body of work genuinely inspired by our island, and a community of customers who have been with us through all of it. And here we are, still growing and still building; that part hasn't changed.
What the Island taught us
The Isle of Man is many things, and if you've lived here or visited, you know it doesn't always give itself away easily. It can be wild and relentless one day and breathtakingly beautiful the next (sometimes both before lunch). From the beginning, Element Isle has been inseparable from all of it: the coast and woodland, its wildflowers and wildlife, the Manx culture, and on those days when everything is still, a quality of light that is like nowhere else I know.
Walking and living in this landscape is where the collections come from. Not from studying trends, not from a spreadsheet. From the mist that rolls across the hills and the weatherworn stone walls that feel like they could tell you stories if you stopped long enough to listen. From ancient sites that remind you how long people have loved this place, to the birds of prey that sweep above them keeping watch. From the peace and lush green sanctuary of the glens, the hawthorn blossom hedgerows in spring and a coastline bursting with life, worn by tide and time.
This island has a way of doing the work for you, if you let it. The design ideas that have lasted are the ones I didn't overwork. They are the ones that came from looking closely at something real and trusting that was enough.
"The people who find Element Isle aren't looking for something new. They're looking for something that means something. That's a very different thing to design for."
The people who make it real
A brand is also its people, and we have been fortunate in ours. The customers who have returned year after year (some for the full decade and others since before we moved back home) have grown alongside us. Our incredible team shows up, cares deeply and makes the work happen every day; they are truly part of our family.
And our suppliers, without whom we could not take designs from drawing to a finished piece with the craft rigour and quality the work deserves.
The tenth year and what we're calling Rewilding
At the beginning of the year I took a much-needed step back from social media because I felt I needed time to consider the upcoming milestone. It feels big, and I wanted to just let it sit and give myself the time to consider just how big an achievement it is.
In the end it feels right to be calling 2026 our 'Rewilding' year.
It's a return to the nature-led, organic design work that started everything, and to a simpler, more intentional way of creating. Over a decade we have built something rich and layered, with many named collections and a range that has grown with every year. This year is about editing some of those collections with care: deepening what feels most alive, letting some go and giving space to the collections that carry the strongest connection to the island and its landscape.
The themes most present for me right now are sea, salt and stone, forest, wildflowers and botanicals. These feel like the truest expressions of Element Isle's origins. We're exploring something more closely: the Manx language, where each piece carries a resonant and meaningful Manx word.
Rewilding also means making more space for us, for Scott and me to plan what comes next, and for taking the time to be out in the landscape, drinking in the inspiration, and living the life we love here. We are building something for the long term and that requires room to think too.
A note of gratitude
To everyone who has worn an Element Isle piece, visited us at the shop, or followed along from wherever you are in the world, THANK YOU. Genuinely. Ten years of your support means everything to us.
To the island itself: I'm still paying attention.
Here's to the next ten years.
To the island, always the island.
Claire, Element Isle, March 2026
Over the coming months, I'll be sharing a series of posts looking back across the decade: the highlights and the hard moments, the early designs, the people, the move to Tynwald and setting up the store, and some of the special moments that have shaped what Element Isle is today. Alongside that, I'll be sharing some thoughts on where we're heading next. I hope you'll follow along.