Jessica Powell is a London-based jewellery designer creating sculptural pieces and objects inspired by historical influences and feminine iconography. Her work sits between art and adornment, using shapes and symbols to tell stories, explore identity, and create meaningful, wearable pieces.
ODE to Girlhood began with the question: How do we as adults respond to nostalgia? The feeling of nostalgia can be warm, fuzzy, yet almost fever-like as we grow older and our perception of memory becomes more distorted. It’s a feeling that can be comforting, yet also uncanny, like remembering something, but not quite right. ‘I became interested in how memory can begin to distort with time, and how that distortion can be made tangible through jewellery and object-making. My pieces are also rooted in the idea of ‘healing your inner child’, which is a concept that sees our early experiences as shaping who we are, and encourages us to revisit them with care and compassion. Sculptural and interactive, these pieces become personal relics; part adornment, part shrine.’
‘Revisiting the aesthetics of early 2000s girlhood, I became aware of the tension between the innocence they represent and the deeper messages they carry. This collection reclaims those symbols through a surreal, imperfect lens—turning nostalgia into something active, reflective, and empowering.’
Current Obsession:
Jessica Powell: My graduate collection explores the complex relationship between nostalgia, memory, and the process of healing the inner child. I was interested in how memories distort over time – how something once comforting can become uncanny when revisited in adulthood. Using iconography from 2000s childhood memorabilia, I reimagined these as pieces of surreal, sculptural jewellery. This felt important to explore now, as my family recently emigrated abroad and the loss of my childhood home brought forth a wave of nostalgic memory that I didn’t know how to process. By working with pewter and focusing on contrast, absence, and interaction, I invite others to confront their own nostalgia – not as passive longing, but as an active, imperfect form of storytelling and self-compassion.
CO:
JP: A pewter casting workshop with ceramist Tabitha Weddell unexpectedly reshaped my entire practice. I had initially intended the class as a fun activity with a friend, but the process quickly became central to how I considered memory and material. Pewter, unlike more controlled metals, casts in a way that’s endearingly unpredictable, edges blur, surfaces bubble, and imperfections are inevitable. I began to think about how that unpredictability mirrored the nature of memory itself: not precise or polished, but warped and blurred.
Working with Tabitha taught me to embrace accidents as part of the storytelling process. Rather than correcting or refining every detail, I began to preserve the flaws, allowing the material to echo the unreliability of memory recollection. This experience shifted my focus from perfect outcomes to meaningful ones, and ultimately helped me find a more authentic voice in how I communicated nostalgia, distortion, and inner healing through object-making.
‘Pewter casts in a way that’s endearingly unpredictable—edges blur, surfaces bubble, imperfections are inevitable. That unpredictability mirrors memory itself, not precise or polished, but warped and blurred.’
CO:
JP: Yes, my work responds to the cultural context of growing up as a girl in the early 2000s. I was drawn to the aesthetics and symbolism of Disney princess costume-sets and different, dress-up vanity play-sets. Revisiting these as an adult, I became aware of the tension between the innocence they represent and the deeper messages they carried. My collection reclaims these symbols through a surreal, imperfect lens, reflecting how memory evolves and how girlhood can often be romanticised or oversimplified in hindsight. This exploration became personal as I started unpacking my own formative experiences, using object- making as a way to “heal” my inner child. In doing so, I hope to speak to a broader cultural experience, one where women revisit and reframe the narratives we were given, turning nostalgia into something active, reflective, and empowering.
Instagram @jessicapowelljewellery
All images courtesy of the artist.
Our annual series SO MINT! is back, shining a spotlight on the rising talents of fresh graduates in fashion, jewellery, and design from around the world.
Are you a recent graduate with remarkable work to share? Submit your portfolio via this link!
Submissions are open until the end of August 2025.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us via veronika@current-obsession.com.
