In 2008, in a back garden shed at our previous residence, I began teaching myself how to cast sterling silver. There was no formal foundry then. There was a shed, equipment sourced online and adapted by hand, and a clear conviction that the wildlife I was writing about should not remain only on the page. The pieces I imagined had weight, presence, and consequence. And I wanted them to exist in the physical world.

I am self-taught. Everything that became the foundry was built, altered, tested, and refined through direct experience. At the time, the available equipment was largely designed for the jewelry trade — small castings, small forms, small-scale expectations. My intention was different. I wanted to create substantial, solid sterling silver sculptures of African wildlife, connected directly to the world of my novels. The equipment to do that did not truly exist for my purpose, so I adapted and built what I needed myself.

The early years demanded patience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from what did not work. There were melts that failed, molds that cracked, and pieces that were returned to the crucible rather than leaving the shed. But there were also fewer failures than expected, and from the beginning I knew the work was aligned with who I was. Each mistake became part of the method. Over time, trial and error became discipline, and discipline became craftsmanship.

The first true signature piece, created for my novel White Gold, proved what was possible. It was a large, solid sterling silver sculpture — a scale of work that experienced people told me could not be cast. In principle, their caution was understandable. In practice, it was already too late. The piece had been cast before I asked the question. It already existed before their verdict arrived.

The foundry I began in that back shed became the foundation for the work produced today. The name has changed. The discipline has not. Every sculpture that follows comes from the same hands, the same commitment, and the same line of practice that began in 2008 — with a shed, a crucible, and the decision to bring the wildlife from my novels into sterling silver relics.