Nicola Reid of ‘Ladybugz’ fame has been selling her wonderful and hugely popular jewellery from a stall at Spitalfields Market in Commercial Street, London E1, every Sunday, where her range has proved a hit with locals and tourists alike. The hunger for these truly individual and well made pieces shown by her customers is a fabulous endorsement and a source of much appreciated motivation. Along with the items on her stall, she encourages her clients to explore the possibilities of commissions as this makes the piece much more personal. Commissions take an average of one to two weeks, depending on the items and quantities.

 Nicola graduated from Camberwell College of Arts in 1999 and specialised in ceramics and fine arts. For her final year project she produced a piece combing fused glass and precious metals with ceramics which resulted in her studying for a further year in "kiln fired glass". It was during this last course that she became interested in jewellery, feeling that it was a natural transition from ceramicist to jewellery designer. The advantage, she says, being that her ideas and themes remained the same.

 She works with a combination of natural and man-made materials which are juxtaposed to create site specific work. With her love for anything sparkly, alongside a passion for recycling (hence her love for antique markets, car boot sales and endless rummaging through junk shops) she deconstructs vintage and contemporary jewellery to make bespoke and unique pieces. Her vast collection of beads, charms, and other obscure pieces display this underlying theme though all her collections. Nicola’s work has been described as an eclectic array of vintage and contemporary, with diamante crystal, beads and charms forming the structure for original hand-crafted pieces. Colours are inspired by nature's seasons. 

She has recently designed collections for several well known boutiques and is now working on her next seasons collections. For Nicola the future appears to be rather exciting and she says she plans to meet the opportunities with an open mind!

Quotation from 'ROYAL DOCK REVIEW' By Lindsey Edwards