Lucie Davis

Finding inspiration in the mundane and the overlooked, Lucie Davis’ jewellery and art pieces caught the attention of the internet – quickly followed by major brands. Her career took off in a whirlwind when her Oyster card nails went viral, landing her a role as designer in residence with Tiffany & Co. in New York. Her ability to push the boundaries of the everyday has since evolved into a multidisciplinary career across creative direction and hands-on creations. In the end, not being able to fit into one creative box was Lucie’s winning hand. Here, she shares her tips for nurturing your unique vision and putting yourself out there, even when it feels uncomfortable.

What I do

My creative practice
I'm a creative director, artist and jewellery designer who creates collisions between the ordinary and the extraordinary. From designing jewellery and ideating window displays for Tiffany & Co. to on-screen and in-print advertising campaigns for brands like Dove and Glenn Spiro Jewels, creating temporary tattoos, illustrating packaging for Freedom at Topshop and my viral Oyster card nails now on permanent display at the London Design Museum, I make work that challenges conventions and sparks conversation.

People sometimes think jewellery, visual merchandising and creative advertising are vastly different, but to me it's all storytelling. By having a multi-disciplinary approach and connecting art, design, fashion, illustration and public experience, I reach wider audiences in new and surprising ways.

Influences and inspiration
I have a somewhat magpie attitude to inspiration - I seek it from all sources and all people. Above all, my work is influenced by the everyday and the overlooked. I’m fascinated by the objects, rituals and language we barely register because of their mundanity.

The call to ‘touch in and out’ on the London Underground, for example, led me to look more closely at the Oyster cards that pass through thousands of hands each day and to imagine Oyster card nails – paying with your fingertips as a faster, more playful way to lighten the London rhythm of rush hour. I’m equally inspired by the quiet shift of loose coins in your pocket; new words like ‘bitcoin’ entering our vocabulary; and washing-up sponges transformed into rings, where an everyday tool becomes both ornament and function.

I’m drawn to collisions: high and low, craft and mass-production, throwaway culture and permanence. Humour, joy and purpose are central to my practice. I’m always asking how I can bring a sense of magic into everyday life by turning the ordinary into something precious or provocative.

My training
I studied jewellery design at Central Saint Martins, which gave me technical skills, pushed my conceptual thinking and crucially, allowed me the freedom to be different. It also meant I built an incredible network before entering the working world. I then went on to work at Tiffany & Co. in New York and Ogilvy UK, which taught me how the industry works and how to collaborate with clients – that real-world experience is invaluable.

Then there are the skills that matter that can't really be taught in a traditional classroom: curiosity, observation, resourcefulness and the courage to push yourself out of your comfort zone. I believe everyone is creative to some degree – you just need to exercise it constantly, question everything and surround yourself with the right people, in the right environment.

Essentially, you need enough technical knowledge to execute well, but also the willingness to break the rules you were taught. That's where the magic happens.

Favourite recent project
Being on set more this past year with clients in the fashion and jewellery world has been a real highlight. I bring an unusual combination to these projects: I’m a designer and maker who understands craft and materials from the inside out, but I also think like a creative strategist from my advertising days at Ogilvy. This allows me to concept campaigns, art direct shoots and offer unexpected perspectives on how we frame products, brands and ideas. The collaborative energy, alongside watching those ideas come to life in real time, is genuinely invigorating.

A normal day usually looks like…
There's no such thing as normal for me! My days are incredibly varied depending on what I'm working on. Some days I'm conceptualising campaigns and solving creative challenges for brands, other days I'm art directing on set and bringing those ideas to life. Then there are days I'm at my workbench or desk making, translating concepts into physical pieces or experimenting with materials. So I might go from ideating in the morning to client presentations in the afternoon to problem-solving creative commissions in the evening.

For example, I was once commissioned by a client to create a solid gold cornflake, which meant I spent 45 minutes meticulously searching through a cereal box for the most perfectly shaped cornflake to cast! I never imagined that would be part of my job description, but it's exactly these unexpected moments that I love. It’s the constant shift between big-picture creative thinking and hands-on making that keeps this work exciting and rewarding.

How I got here

Starting my creative journey
It all happened quite unexpectedly. My Oyster card nails went viral at my Central Saint Martins graduate show, and Francesca Amfitheatrof, Tiffany & Co.'s creative director at the time, saw the work and asked if I'd come to New York to be their designer in residence. I genuinely thought she was joking! Suddenly, I'd moved countries and was working for one of the most iconic jewellery brands in the world – it was surreal, incredible and completely terrifying all at once.

When my visa ran out, I came back to London and quite quickly found myself at Ogilvy UK, working as a creative in advertising. They took me on specifically because of my alternative background, which I'm really grateful for. But for a while I struggled with identity: was I a jeweller? An art director? A copywriter? People kept trying to place me in one box, but the truth is, I love 360-degree storytelling; I just didn't know where that was supposed to fit professionally. Eventually I realised I didn't have to choose – the multi-faceted approach is what makes me and my work unique.

Now I'm freelance, which comes with its own challenges of course: the uncertainty, the admin, being your own business development team. But it also means I have some freedom to work on projects that genuinely excite me, collaborate with people and brands I believe in and balance client work with my own artistic practice. I can say yes to creative directing or art directing a campaign one week and make a batch of solid gold troll charms the next.

Lucie's 'The Good Troll Charm'

Landing my first role...
Honestly, I feel really lucky to say that at the start, my first big opportunities came to me. Tiffany & Co. found me after the Oyster card acrylic nails went unexpectedly viral and Ogilvy UK hired me to be an advertising creative because of my unconventional background and creative perspective. But once I went freelance, that all changed. I had to learn how to put myself out there, which was uncomfortable at first. I've found the most successful approach is being visible with my work: posting on social media, staying connected with people I've worked with and saying yes to collaborations even when they're not 100% perfectly aligned – you never know what might come from it, whether it's a new idea or your next business partner.

Word of mouth has been huge, too. When you do good work and people enjoy working with you, they recommend you. But I won't lie, getting paid fairly and on time is still an ongoing conversation, especially as a freelancer. You have to value your work enough to have those difficult conversations.

Biggest challenges along the way
In terms of my own creative work and personal projects as an independent artist and designer, one of my biggest challenges has been seeing larger brands take ideas without credit. It’s tough and it’s why I’m passionate about championing and properly paying independent creatives.

Beyond that, I had to teach myself all the unglamorous freelance skills no one talks about - valuing my own work, pricing confidently, chasing invoices, handling taxes and putting myself forward even when it feels uncomfortable. The creative work comes naturally to me; the business side has been a steeper learning curve.

My social media and self-promotion vibe is…
I think social media is really important – we live in a digital world! Even though self-promotion doesn't always come naturally, you have to embrace it. Social media is how most of my clients discover my work and visibility has opened doors I never expected. My advice is to share the work and show the process behind it - people love seeing how things come together. Don't overthink it or try to be too polished or precious. I've learned that authenticity resonates more than perfection – and perfection can just be paralysing. That said, social media also isn't everything. Word of mouth is still more powerful than any algorithm. Good work ultimately speaks for itself - social media just sometimes helps more people hear about it.

Three things I've found useful in my career:

Courses, programmes, initiatives, access schemes or job boards I've found helpful
Central Saint Martins was instrumental for me: the education, the network and crucially, the graduate show, where Tiffany discovered my work. Student competitions were also huge - I won the Freedom at Topshop collaboration, the Swarovski Design Project and the MullenLowe NOVA Award, all of which gave me visibility and credibility and some financial support early on.

But I'm aware those opportunities aren't accessible to everyone. I have friends who've benefited from programmes like the Sarabande Foundation (Lee Alexander McQueen's foundation supporting emerging creatives), the Goldsmiths' Centre courses and bursaries for jewellers and metalworkers, the Cluster Contemporary Jewellery Artist-in-Residence Programme and various Crafts Council initiatives. My honest advice: seek out these kinds of support programmes, enter open calls and competitions (many are free), build a strong online portfolio and look for brand collaborations or mentorship schemes that feel right for you. Great work matters, but you also need to make it visible.

Lucie's gold freckles design, which won the CSM x Freedom at Topshop competition

My greatest learnings when it comes to making money and supporting myself as a creative have been…
The biggest learning has been that you have to value your own work first and protect yourself. Early on, I undercharged because I was grateful for opportunities, but I've learned that clear pricing, proper contracts and chasing invoices isn't rude – it's professional and necessary. Factor in ALL of your time: the making, the concepting, the revisions, the emails, the project management. As a freelancer, you’re running a business – you need to set boundaries to make it a sustainable one. And if someone doesn’t want to work with you, thank them – rejection is redirection for something better. Trust the journey and keep going. 

My Advice

My most useful career tips
I've got two that work hand in hand. The previously mentioned ‘Rejection is redirection’ and ‘Feel the fear and do it anyway’. The first reminds me that closed doors often lead to better opportunities and the second pushes me to keep putting bold ideas out there, even when it might feel scary. Between the two, I've learned to take risks and trust the process.

What I'd say to someone looking to get into a similar role
Just start, don't wait for permission! Make things because the idea excites you, not because someone's paying you. I remember thinking about the word ‘food chain’ one day and wondering, what if I actually made a chain of food? So I opened some spaghetti hoops, applied traditional chain-making techniques and turned my nephew’s dinner into jewellery.

Also, bring your own perspective rather than copying what's already out there, and design with purpose and kindness to the world and its resources. Get visible: post your work, enter competitions, reach out to people you admire. The worst they can say is no and everything is a learning experience anyway!

Learn all sides. You need strong concepts and a distinctive voice, but you also need to understand production, budgets, timelines and contracts. Don't let practicalities kill your ideas though – use them to figure out how to make ideas real. Let the idea tell you what it needs to be: sometimes it's jewellery, sometimes it's a campaign, sometimes it's an installation.

Don't box yourself in. Being multidisciplinary isn't confusing; it's what makes you interesting. Your unique perspective – the things only you would think to make – that's your currency. Trust it!