Story behind my latest addition to my safety pin earring collection - The Horseshoe

After a conversation with a friend about my safety pin earrings, she wondered if I could expand my collection and add more symbols. I was happy to do so but was lost about what symbol I could use. There were so many, but then I glanced down at my display cabinet, and inspiration struck.

Lying in the case was my family’s horseshoe, rich with history and a talisman of my family’s luck and protection. The horseshoe was smuggled out of Lithuania in the early 1940s when my great-grandparents and grandparents were escaping the Holocaust. It has been passed through generations of my family wherever the family moved, from Lithuania to South Africa and now Australia. It was perfect. 

The original horseshoe was most likely used for a small pony, but now in my display cabinet, made of iron, most likely used to ward off evil spirits. The horseshoe is traditionally seen as a token of luck, where sailors and homemakers would nail a horseshoe to the main doorways of their boats and homes to ensure safety and seek protection.

Making the horseshoe was a completely new process for me. Instead of carving out wax, I carved the horseshoe from a square of silver and soldered it with a safety pin. This created a brand new type of safety pin in my store. The exclusive diamond edition comes with 7 diamonds, the number of luck. Hopefully, the safety pin will bring you luck as well! 

Click here to see them and many thanks for having a read,

Much love x Hayley x Serpent & the Swan x