Cat Birch: origin story

The life that broke then built my business

I have made jewellery for almost two decades, but that's not where this business began.
It grew not from the craft, but from the cracks in my life.  

My world as I knew it shattered in 2021, when my marriage ended in a spectacular burst of flames.  Everything that I thought my life was, was burnt to the ground.

As I walked from the ashes and rebuilt myself and my life, I turned to my craft and my creative practice to help me process what had happened.  I no longer looked to others for what I thought I "should" create - instead I looked inside myself and asked what it was I needed.

Jewellery was no longer simply about creating something that sparkled; it was about finding my spark.

And so the Birch collection was born; something to mark my own New Beginning in life.  A potent symbol of rebirth and of thriving in harsh conditions.  Growth after Destruction. 

In that moment, I realised that my reasons for wearing jewellery had been fundamentally re-cast.  I wore my jewellery as warpaint - with each ring that slid over my knuckles and each clasp fixed around my neck - each tiny ritual grounded me and reminded me of my self worth, my strength, my agency. 

Jewellery is not so much to say 'look at me' - rather; this is me. 

My passion is to honour real, honest lives, inviting you to nurture your spark too.