SCOTTISH brand Appin & Third aspires to be the go-to jeweller for those with a passion for great design.

The brand was founded in 2017 by Rae Brown, a graduate in silversmithing and jewellery from Glasgow School of Art.

After her degree, she took a couple of months off to figure out how she wanted to build her career as a jeweller and then made the commitment to begin her own label. She took a bench at The Precious Metals Workshop in Leith and began to design and create her current collection of work.

Trading under the name Appin & Third, the label focuses on creating beautiful, handmade, contemporary jewellery with an emphasis on sustainability.

The brand’s unique collections are inspired by the work Brown produced during her final year at art school when she focused on using everyday, throw-away plastic packaging and turning it into wearable art.

Of her ethical approach to material, she explains: “I play with the idea of taking a material used to protect something valuable and turning it into the precious item itself.”

As the brand has developed over the past year, Brown has expanded on the materials she uses and now includes the use of jesmonite, a material not commonly used in jewellery.

To ensure authenticity, Brown mixes, dyes and casts each piece of jewellery by hand. This process leaves each item with subtle differences that makes it unique.

Brown also recycles all of her own silver, taking scraps and turning them back into silver square wire.

She says: “My next step is to start buying scrap directly from makers I work alongside. I like the relationship and story it creates. I think it’s more interesting to the buyer or wearer to have a back story to their jewellery. It makes the jewellery more personal.”

Since the launch of Appin & Third, Brown has been involved in some of Scotland’s most exciting industry occasions, including events run by The Noisy Girls Club and Scotland Re:Designed. While such events are helpful for raising brand awareness, they are equally effective for networking with other designers and makers.

Brown adds: “I think Scotland is such a great place for support and opportunities within the creative industries, and since Appin & Third is still so new, I’m looking forward to what the future holds.”

www.appinandthird.com