What you’ll learn in this episode:   How Jeremy found that landscape architecture translated to jewelry making Why he was drawn to working with paper, and how he came up with his distinctive technique Why jewelry is a powerful object to preserve memories Jeremy’s design process and how he creates a unique piece of jewelry for each client   About Jeremy May   Jeremy May is a Landscape Architect born in Suffolk, UK. After having worked in his field of design for over 10 years, Jeremy created the first paper ring in September 2007. Jeremy’s literary jewels were first introduced to the public in January 2009, transforming the paper that aspires to last beautifully and bring joy, colour, and love to all those sustainably minded individuals. The jewels have been presented in London, Paris, Osaka, Athens, Hamburg and Saint Petersburg. Currently Jeremy is working on private commissions and on creating collections of jewels under a thematology to be presented in exhibitions around the world. He lives and works in London.   Additional Resources: Jermey’s Website Jermey’s Instagram   Photos available on TheJewelryJourney.com   Transcript:   It takes an adventurous jewelry designer to eschew traditional materials like metal and diamonds in favor of paper. But as a former landscape architect who left his career for more thrilling creative pursuits, Jeremy May was up for the challenge. He joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast to talk about why he was drawn to paper when he first discovered jewelry making; how he came up with his one-of-a-kind technique; and how he works with clients to create the perfect, meaningful piece. Read the episode transcript here.  Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey Podcast. This is the second part of a two-part episode. If you haven’t heard part one, please head to TheJewelryJourney.com.    Today, speaking to us from London is Jeremy May, who creates unique literary jewels from pages of vintage books. He transforms these books into unique pieces of paper jewelry with quotes carefully cut from the book. Each piece is unique to the wearer. We will hear more about the books and how he creates his unique jewels today. Welcome back.    So, you’re proud of everything you do, you said. Have you ever told a client, “That book isn’t the right book for you”?   Jeremy: Yeah. I’ve had clients come and say, “I’d like you to use this book,” and I’m like, “No, not really. Can you think of something else?”   Sharon: You don’t think the book reflects the person they want to give it to? It’s too blah?   Jeremy: I haven’t really thought it through. If they say, “I want you to reuse this book because of this and this,” then I’ll say, “O.K., that’s fine. It’s not my personal choice. I don’t particularly like that style of writing. I don’t like that author,” but sometimes you get a feeling they want me to make a piece of jewelry and they haven’t really thought through what the title is or what it means or what the story represents. Sometimes after we’ve had a chat and I’ve explained my feelings about the book, they go, “O.K., yeah, you’re absolutely right.” They come back with another title and I go, “O.K., that’s great.”    Sharon: So they listen to you, basically. Besides the jewelry, they listen to you. You describe your jewels as sculptural, and you haven’t put them together. Is that something you intend to do?   Jeremy: That’s right, to put them together.   Sharon: Put them together to make a larger sculpture. Do you intend to do that?   Jeremy: Yeah, potentially. Sometimes I think about things and they don’t come to fruition for years. I’m a very messy designer. I don’t have notebooks. I’m not that way. I just have loose pieces of paper, much to my wife’s annoyance. I’ll take a piece of paper and just sketch. I have an idea, and then I’ll put that in a drawer. I’ll be looking for something six months later and I’ll go, “Oh, yeah, I forgot about it.” Sometimes it takes a while. I would love to make something