With a passion for her island environment Sheila creates her original designs reflecting nature’s wonderful sea, sky and landscape colours. Orkney’s history and folklore are also a rich medium for her inspiration.

She feels her designs take on an energy while in the research and development process. Developing designs which are a meaningfulexpression of her chosen subject is very important to her eventual creation.

Following her graduation from Edinburgh College of Art she worked 26 years as a designer in the trade before setting up on her own in 1993.

Throughout her career she has won many design awards in both Britain and Europe.

Her designs are recognised as having a unique collectable Northern style, perhaps even Scandanavian in influence as the Orkney Islands were once linked historically and geographically. Orcadians have a strong independant feeling of their island identity.

Each design carries Sheila’s origination makers punch mark, SD (Sheila Dearness being her maiden name). All pieces of jewellery that are required to have a hallmark are independantly marked for fineness and are asssayed at Edinburgh Assay Office.

In her country workshop a small vibrant team work hard to produce Orkney’s premier jewellery. Each piece of jewellery comes boxed with design origination card and reseach details for each collection is included.