Behind the Scenes
Charlotte Tabor | Jewellery Designer/Maker based in Yalding, Kent
![Charlotte Tabor concentrating on carving a tree bark texture into a wax ring before it is sent for casting](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0620/2680/9577/files/Charlotte_tabor_carving-ring_kara_jewellery_480x480.jpg?v=1657556215)
Charlotte's been making jewellery for 10 years and she designs and makes jewellery she enjoys wearing. She's not one for polishing her jewellery on a regular basis so she wanted to make pieces that if you don't polish them it doesn't matter and that is where recreating the texture and feel of tree bark is useful because as the silver oxidised it enhances the texture and adds to the character of her pieces over time. Also with our busy lives if you scratch it it isn't the end of the world. However if you do like the polished look it's very easy to clean.
So how does Charlotte create her texture?
![Using hand me down tools from my father in law including a 1960s pillar drill which he made.](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0620/2680/9577/files/Kara_Jewellery_1960_s_handmade_pendant_drill_480x480.jpg?v=1657556541)
![](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0620/2680/9577/files/square_ring_480x480.jpg?v=1643048166)
Once Charlotte is happy with the wax they are sent to London to be cast by specialists using the lost wax casting process. At the casters her pieces will be added to a conical tree, after which plaster of Paris is poured over them. When
![Hand carving in jewellers wax using woodworking tools to recreate the texture of treebark by Charlotte Tabor, Kara Jewellery](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0620/2680/9577/files/Kara_jewellery_carving_ring_wax_480x480.jpg?v=1657556697)
this has set the container is put into a hot kiln and the wax burns away leaving the space of the wax behind. Very hot molten metal is then poured into holes left by the wax and a special machine is used to ensure the metal reaches all the crevices of the tree bark texture. The casting are then sent back to Charlotte to sand, combine with other precious metals/gemstones and polished ready to be worn and enjoyed.
The photos below show the wax and the finished pieces of some of the commissions Charlotte's made. It's amazing what can be done in wax and then cast in metal which you wouldn't be able to do in sheets of silver.
A bronze torque commissioned to wear with her Beech Wood Narrow bangles.
![In progress shot of a wax torque on a jewellers bust which is being carved before it is cast in bronze. A commission for Kara Jewellery by Charlotte.](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0620/2680/9577/files/Handcarved_wax_torque_before_casting_480x480.jpg?v=1657557607)
![A very happy customer wearing her handmade woodland themed torque, handmade by Charlotte Tabor at Kara Jewellery](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0620/2680/9577/files/Kara_jewellery_commission_bronze_treebark_torque_480x480.jpg?v=1657557593)
![Finished caving in the blue jewellers wax the texture and feel of tree bark on this commissioned bangle. It is now ready to be cast in bronze.](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0620/2680/9577/files/Kara_jewellery_commission_bangle_in_wax_tree_bark_texture_480x480.jpg?v=1657557550)
![Commissioned textured bangle in bronze which has been handmade by Kara Jewellery by Charlotte](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0620/2680/9577/files/Bronze_tree_bark_commissioned_bangle_kara_jewellery_480x480.jpg?v=1657557560)
![A box ready to be cast into sterling silver and oxidised. The box has been carved in wax and hollowed out by Charlotte Tabor at Kara Jewellery](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0620/2680/9577/files/handcarved_tree_bark_log_in_wax_480x480.jpg?v=1657557482)
![A one, off, beautiful log box in sterling silver. Textured on the inside and outside and oxidised to give it a more natural finish. Handmade by Kara Jewellery by Charlotte](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0620/2680/9577/files/Kara_jewellery_commision_sterling_silver_log_box_480x480.jpg?v=1657557531)