What started as a hobby is now a full-time job for jewellery designer Emma Lodge. Women's Editor Christen Pears meets her.

AS far as design philosophies go, "Every girl should own something sparkly and glamorous" seems like a good one, and Emma Lodge's jewellery fulfils it perfectly. She creates beautiful and unusual pieces from pearls, crystals and semi-precious stones.

Sitting in the dining room of her mum's B&B in Barnard Castle, she lays out her jewellery on the table. The stones catch the light as she holds them up, bursting into life in a dazzling array of colours. From simple, single strand bracelets to elaborate tiaras, everything is lovingly created by hand, with some of the bigger pieces taking up to four days to make.

Jewellery began as a hobby but Emma has spent the last year setting up her own business - Pink Giraffe.

"The name sounds a bit odd but it is memorable," the 28-year-old explains. "I absolutely love pink - it's my favourite colour - and giraffes are such elegant creatures, I thought it sounded right."

Emma didn't intend to be a jewellery designer. She studied at Cleveland College of Art and Design before going to Manchester Metropolitan University where she gained a degree in textiles. After graduating, she went to New York, where she worked for a textile design studio before being offered a job with a fashion company.

"Unfortunately, it's virtually impossible to get a visa so I had to come home. I didn't really know what I wanted to do at that point so I did some retail work in London and ended up managing the jewellery department in a department store. I just loved it. I learned a lot about design and stones and knew I had found my niche."

She read everything she could find on jewellery making and began experimenting with designs and making presents for friends. Her pretty, sparkly creations were an immediate hit.

"Everyone seemed to really like what I was doing and then the couture designer Patrick Munroe asked me to accessorise a show he was doing at the Tate Modern. I think that was when I knew that was what I really wanted to do.

"I never saw myself making jewellery but, when I look back, I realise I've always loved it. I used to collect dress jewellery years ago so I suppose that's where it all started."

She spent six months working on the collections, creating pieces inspired by swatches of fabric and thumbnail sketches of the designs.

"It was incredibly hard work because I was still doing a full-time job. It was also a learning process for me because I had never done anything on that kind of scale before but it was a fantastic experience. When I saw my designs on the models I could hardly believe it."

She started Pink Giraffe last October, designing a collection and setting up a website. Before launching the site, she thought very carefully about the collection. The only way it would work, she decided, was if she developed a simple, flexible format.

It consists of several key designs of bracelets, necklaces, earrings and rings. You choose what design you want and then select the colour from a palette of stones. Prices start at around £35 for a basic bracelet.

"I know you're supposed to go for seasonal colours but there are not many people out there who religiously follow the trend. The colours I choose are beautiful and they're not going to go out of fashion. They're timeless."

As well as the mainstream range, Emma designs more elaborate, couture pieces, which retail for several hundred pounds. Customers can commission something to match a particular outfit or for a special occasion. In the new year, she will be launching collections for brides and children. In the meantime, brides can order designs from the mainstream range in a selection of specially-chosen bridal colours.

"I think the thing about my collection is that it is unusual but is also affordable. People can buy something and know they won't see lots of other people wearing it."

Emma uses Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls and semi-precious stones, including rose quartz, topaz, garnet and amber, and she takes her inspiration from the stones she uses. She enjoys putting different colours together, often in unexpected combinations.

Earlier this year, she spent three months in Milan, where her boyfriend was working. "I gave up my job and just went with him. It was a brilliant opportunity to start work on the jewellery and it was inspirational. The Italians are so stylish. They wear beautiful clothes and they have the most wonderful jewellery - big, dressy pieces. It's fantastic."

It also gave her a chance to develop her designs. When she returned home in the summer, she was ready to work full-time on her collection, and spent more than £2,000 on tools and stones.

"It has been hard. I think you have to be quite disciplined and I always try to start work by 10am. If I'm really inspired, I can work until eight, nine o'clock but it isn't just making the jewellery. There's so much else to do like buying the stones and setting up spreadsheets and all that sort of thing. It's quite a challenge but I'm really, really enjoying it."

* For more information, visit the website at www.pink-giraffe.co.uk