Jewellery, Creativity, and Life as a Hard of Hearing Maker

I’m Jen, a hard of hearing jewellery designer and maker based in Hartlepool. I create handmade jewellery in precious metals such as sterling silver and gold, with each piece inspired by nature. Alongside my own work, I also teach ring-making workshops, sharing my skills and love of jewellery with others.

Being hard of hearing has shaped both who I am and how I work. As a child, I spent a lot of time daydreaming, partly because I couldn’t hear much of what was going on around me. That quiet space allowed my imagination to grow and helped my creativity flourish.

As I got older, navigating hearing spaces became exhausting. Constantly asking people to repeat themselves or speak clearly, and experiencing a few hurtful situations at work, made me realise I wanted to work in a way that suited me. Being self-employed allows me to take ownership of my hearing loss and work on my own terms, without having to apologise or constantly explain myself.

I’m open about being hard of hearing in my business. I have a note on my website explaining that I’m hard of hearing and that messaging apps are my preferred way to communicate, which helps make my work more accessible for everyone.

At markets, you’ll often find me rummaging through my bag for my hearing aid, especially in echoey rooms. Day to day, I don’t always wear it as I spend most of my time alone in my workshop, at my part-time day job as a jewellery designer (often in the office on my own), or with my two-year-old—who is more than capable of being loud enough! My husband often helps me at markets and also has profound hearing loss, so between us we have two working ears.

Why this works:

• It keeps your identity clear but not heavy

• Workshops feel like a natural extension of your practice

• The rest of the piece stays intact and authentic

If you want, we could also add one subtle line later about how you make workshops accessible — only if that feels true to you.

Absolutely — this works beautifully as a blog post already. I’ve edited it for flow, clarity, and warmth, lightly polishing grammar and tightening repetition, while keeping your voice natural and personal. Nothing has been “smoothed out” emotionally.

Here’s a blog-ready version:

Jewellery, Creativity, and Being Hard of Hearing

I’m Jen, a hard of hearing jewellery designer and maker based in Hartlepool. I create handmade jewellery in precious metals such as sterling silver and gold, with each piece inspired by nature. Alongside my own work, I also teach ring-making workshops, where I get to share my skills and love of jewellery with others.

I’ve had ear “issues” my whole life, starting with countless infections and leading to six surgeries in childhood, so hearing loss has always been part of my story. I’m now in the fortunate position that my hearing has improved, and I’m classed as having mild to moderate hearing loss. Because of that, many people I see day to day don’t even realise I’m hard of hearing.

Being hard of hearing has shaped both who I am and how I work. As a child, I spent a lot of time daydreaming, partly because I couldn’t hear much of what was going on around me. That quiet space allowed my imagination to grow and helped my creativity flourish.

As I got older, navigating hearing spaces became exhausting. Constantly asking people to repeat themselves or speak clearly, along with a few hurtful experiences at work and at university, made me realise I wanted to work in a way that truly suited me. Being self-employed allows me to take ownership of my hearing loss and work on my own terms, without having to apologise or constantly explain myself.

I’m open about being hard of hearing in my business. On my website’s contact page, I explain that I’m hard of hearing and that messaging apps are my preferred way to communicate. This helps make my business more accessible, and I’ve found it’s also how most people prefer to communicate anyway.

At markets, you’ll often find me rummaging through my bag for my hearing aid, especially in echoey rooms. Day to day, I don’t always wear it, as I spend most of my time alone in my workshop, at my part-time day job as a jewellery designer (often on my own in the office), or with my two-year-old—who is more than capable of being loud enough! My husband often helps me at markets and also has profound hearing loss on one side. We always joke that between us, we have two working ears.

So if you see me or my husband at the market and we ask you to repeat yourself, you know why, ha! 

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