Here: Why the shift into jewellery? How did it come about?
Holly Houston: After taking a break from my ceramics business in 2018, I waited for inspiration to strike. I spent most of my twenties with dirt on my hands, and then I turned 30, and the universe sent me a million messages saying it was time to have gold in my hands. Strangers in the street, new friends, old friends were all telling me to try my hand at jewellery. So, I listened. I played. The name Prairie came to me in a dream, and it all came alive on its own after that.
H: What can we expect from Prairie?
HH: When I was growing up, I used to sit on my nana’s lap and make her take off all seven of the rings she wore every day for 50-odd years, and tell me the origin of each. I loved these stories and how each piece felt so significant and full of memory. When I thought about making jewellery, I decided this was the kind of sentiment I hoped to encapsulate. I decided to work exclusively in precious metals, solid gold and sterling silver. I wanted to make things that would hold your hand for the rest of your days.
H: Where do you find inspiration?
HH: As a Steiner kid: all things ancient and mythological. But also grandmothers, the sea, anyone who is a bit gutsy, the natural world, children and folk art.
H: Tell us about the pomegranate.
HH: I had an idea to make a charm necklace with different symbols. The first thing that came to me was the pomegranate. It’s ripe with symbolism, often linked to fertility, sensuality, and the ancient Greek myth of Persephone. It struck me that these meanings could be so supportive to some, while feeling like a dagger to a person facing challenges with fertility or choosing a child-free life. I hope that people can charge it with something that feels supportive to them and turn it into their own personal talisman.
Prairie
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