‘Human hair’ used for jewellery by design student

A student has taken ‘upcycling’ to a whole new level, designing a jewellery collection made from unwanted human hair. 

Designed and made by Olivia Hawley, a final year student at Birmingham City University’s (BCU) School of Jewellery, the collection aims to “challenge society’s perception of jewellery and to play on people’s thoughts and reactions around hair removal”.

Inspired by her love of hair and “all things creepy and disturbing”, Hawley’s collection includes brooches, necklaces and rings, made from metal and real human hair.

She said: “My inspiration ultimately came from my fascination with hair, and people’s thoughts surrounding hair once it has been removed from the body. The collection aims to challenge what we consider as beautiful, and plays on people’s thoughts around hair removal.”

However Hawley admits that working with hair did pose some challenges. “The design stage was mainly led by the material itself,” she said. “I realised that working with hair was harder than I first thought but by experimenting I was able to develop a technique using adhesive and matting which allowed me to mould the hair and give it structure.”

The designed formed part of Hawley’s final year project for her graduate degree show in Jewellery Design and Related Products, part of BCU’s ‘Inspired Festival’. Hawley will also exhibit her collection at the Lustre craft and jewellery fair in Nottingham later this year.