Jema absolutely loves stories and characters. Her pieces evolve through designing a specific piece for an imaginary person often within Steampunk, or Gaslight Fantasy genres. She is also attracted to vibrant colours and mixed media. Jema describes herself as a bit of a magpie, leaping on random pieces and ideas and bringing them together, never sticking to one technique either! She loves to share her techniques and ideas through teaching and finds it exciting to see students developing their own imaginary characters and situations.

Jema works with a wide variety of media, using each in unusual combinations and new ways. In her jewelry making she usually take a found object, such as a pocket watch case or an unusual key and work from there, sculpting, linking, painting and assembling to create a brand new item with a story and a soul. Her gowns and millinery are all created using Haute couture techniques and finest fabrics. She loves the puzzle of putting a flat pattern together to make a three dimensional object, It’s like magic!

Jema studied Theatrical design at Nottingham University, graduating with a BA(Hons). She continued to study on her own, specializing in costume design, recreating garments from museums to learn advanced pattern making techniques. She considers herself fortunate during her career in theatre, film and bridal design, to have worked with and learned from many amazing designers and makers. Jema has lectured and taught at numerous universities and private organizations in the UK.