Jordan Askill is a name you need to know. One of those fashion names that, when dropped, earn you instant cool kudos. The young jewellery designer has been in London for two years, quietly cutting a swathe through the fashion scene and winning the hearts and minds of discerning jewellery aficionados.

The designer, who was nominated for the British Fashion Award for Best Emerging Talent last year, is best known for his sweetly sentimental heart and star rings from his diffusion line Jordy by Jordan Askill, but also for his beautifully sculpted, creations realised through a 3D scanning technique more conventionally used for model making .

For his latest collection, he used a taxidermy swallow as a prototype to craft pieces that convey the charm and romantic allure of the birds themselves. "I love that birds can be majestic and fragile at the same time. And I used the swallow because it is so iconic in literature and poetry, in Oscar Wilde's Happy Prince. It's interesting that they have such big wings that if they land on the ground, they can't take off again -
I find that so poetic."

So taken is he with the beauty and freedom of avian creatures that if he were to be any creature in the world, it would be "a swallow or a macaw; the power of flight would be amazing."

Sydney-born Askill learned his trade at the East Sydney Technical College (one of Australia's best fashion schools), then went on to work with off-beat denim label Ksubi, before a three-year stint in Paris at the Dior Homme atelier under Hedi Slimane, where he "learned what a beautiful and luxurious product should be."

In 2008, he launched his eponymous label, making the move from ready-to-wear to jewellery. "I realised that my natural instinct was to create objects that are my way of translating what I see in the world," says Askill in his Australian tones. "I love sculpture but jewellery is more portable. It's more timeless and has more longevity than fashion."

"I really want to imbue my work with perfect historical references and give it a life. The way Victorian jewellery was so sentimental. So a taxidermy bird becomes a necklace, then becomes an heirloom," he explains, "I'm really interested in the mythology of a brand. That whole thing of how a stone might have once been owned by Spanish princes, but then become a gift for Elizabeth Taylor."

After two years as a resident of Stoke Newington in London, he still misses the water and coastal living of Sydney, but heads to the London Fields lido for regular aquatic fixes. He also enjoys strolling around Green Park, near Dover Street Market - one of the first places to stock his collections.

Next up, Askill's new birthstone rings that feature cabochon-cut stones that hang on the inside of the ring will launch exclusively at Liberty, and he is returning to Rock Vault - the British Fashion Council's jewellery initiative - during London Fashion Week.

"I want to make things that make people happy," he says. To this end, he has been working on a collaboration with Topshop that will land in stores towards the end of the year, bringing his creations to a wider audience. And while he is tight-lipped on what it will look like, he says that "you will be able to tell that it's mine."

Jordan Askill is available at Liberty and Harvey Nichols askillprojects.com

SCAN to watch Askill's wild horses

There are a hundred reasons why an individual decides to start designing. Often it is because they are either frustrated by the lack of current options available or they see a ripe business opportunity. For Melissa Del Bono, the founder and designer of meli melo, it appears to have been a bit of both. She was working in fashion PR at the time and, among other clients, was looking after Tanner Krolle (the bespoke leather goods company). It was this proximity to the world of handbags that caused Del Bono to spot a niche in the market she was keen to fill herself. Meli melo is characterised by simple design in the finest leather. Del Bono's desire to create elegant bags that are quietly but clearly luxurious is evident in the nude tones of her glamourous seventies-inspired spring/summer 2012 collection - certain to be a hit with her many celebrity fans as well as her faithful customers.

To get to accessories designer Oliver Ruuger's studio we had to venture across the river to an old biscuit factory, through endless rabbit warren corridors of this curious warehouse space, till we reached a nondescript door.

On entering we stepped into a little studio, sparsely furnished, humming with the sound of machinery. It's here that the designer, together with his assistant are making the kind of accessories that you'd imagine eccentric characters of a Dickens novel brandishing or the most avant-garde fashionista carrying. His twisting umbrellas with hair tails and rubber spiked, studded briefcases blur the boundaries of art and fashion, sculpture and product.

The Kingston University and London College of Fashion graduate landed the 'Accessories Collection of the Year' in July 2011 from ITS#10 and has been heralded by Selfridges as one of their 'Bright Young Things'.

We met Ruuger to find out more about his fascinating work.