Pigeon droppings inspire brooch-maker

An artist has found inspiration for jewellery in pigeon droppings. Frances Wadsworth-Jones from Ealing, west London, who studied silversmithing and jewellery at Glasgow School of Art, creates brooches using crushed precious and semi-precious gems which sell for up to £2,500.



She said it "played on the idea" that bird droppings landing on someone was "lucky". Ms Wadsworth-Jones, 30, said she was inspired to create the 'Heaven Sent' collection of brooches on her journeys from Ealing to the Royal College of Art when she was completing a Masters degree.

She said: "I like to try and find beauty in the unexpected and I quite often look at the floor. Ealing is great for inspiration. People must think I'm mad because I have to take pictures of poo too. I've got hundreds," she added.



Asked why she thinks people want to look like they have a pigeon dropping on their lapel, she said: "The stain is very intimate, something that you wouldn't want and you're turning it into something beautiful." A lot of the brooches have been sold in the Netherlands, she said. "You definitely need a sense of humour to wear one," she added.