At a recent Westcountry design fair, Giselle Thompson's work stood out like a cheeky Andy Warhol in a gallery of tasteful prints.

A drapey black bead necklace was adorned with a jewelled cross, a hoop earring, a black velvet bow, and a tiny Hello Kitty playing rock guitar. Army soldiers in combat poses, painted pink, dangled from earring hooks, and a bracelet sported Barbie high heels wreathed in tiny bows.

"I love to find things that are reminiscent of my childhood– so the jewellery is fun and silly but not so over the top that grown ups can't wear it," said Giselle, 30. Her label is called Foundlings, and indeed her little figures are like a cast of characters from the 1980s: from My Little Pony to the Care Bears, GI Joe to Barbie.

These she combines with chains and beads, crystals and sequins, piling on the glitz until she gets a smile.

"I'm really inspired by pop art: I love Andy Warhol and Frieda Kahlo. In school I studied art, photography and sociology.

"I think everything has to be bright and fresh and colourful."

Giselle is always on the lookout for her cast of characters, especially the teeny weeny ones. "I am a massive scavenger – I've always been a real magpie of little things. I'm always on eBay and at car boots.

"I'm also a mobile hairdresser, and I'm trying to build the jewellery business up. My clients all know about my collecting habit and give me loads of stuff. I try to recycle everything – it's fun giving old unwanted things a new lease on life.

"A lot of it is trial and error. Some things that I buy at car boots need a lot of cleaning up – once the cleaner I used on some big chains ended up stripping off their silver coating altogether. But what was underneath was this interesting grey colour, almost like a pewter finish. So, I went with that instead.

"You have to improvise. It's hard to know when to stop. Sometimes I just keep adding things."

It's sustainable, it's ethical, it's creative, and it's affordable: Giselle's jewellery ranges from £3.50 to £25. So invite a smile and a slice of the 80s with Giselle's wearable kitsch.

See www.foundlingsjewellery.co.uk for more information.