Menswear designer Wezley Potter and jewellery maker Huw Riddall have revealed a one-off special collaborative ring, Eel & Pie.

Available in bronze, silver, and gold, the ring depicts a curled eel in intricate detail, which has been created to pay homage to London's historic pie and mash shops, and their central roles in fuelling the city's population throughout the centuries.

For over 200 years jellied eels, pie and mash have been the root of East London's food culture. The dish tells the story of a city built on trade, community, and fast-paced street life. As London modernises and chains dominate the food industry in utilitarian fashion, the tradition of jellied eels with the love and buzz that accompanies it risks being left behind.

Jellied eels date back to the 18th century, a time when the Thames was full of eels, making them a cheap and affordable food source. The dish became synonymous with the East End, sold from stalls and small shops all over east London. They are prepared in a spiced stock that naturally sets into jelly when cooled which provides a natural preservation. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, jellied eels were sold in East End pie and mash shops, served alongside liquor, a parsley sauce made with eel stock; first developed by Robert Cooke, the founder of F.Cooke, in 1862. Over the years, the eel industry changed, moving from Thames-caught fish to imports from Ireland and the Netherlands. The sawdust you can see on the floor was once a common feature in pubs and eateries to soak up spills and spitting and add to the lively, fast-trading atmosphere; this was known as spit and sawdust.

The motivation for this project is not only to pay homage to the deeply London culture of pie, mash and jellied eels but also to encourage people of today to interact with local communities, small business owners and each other to keep the spirit of the city alive. This feels very relevant in a society where shopping is fast paced and impersonal; where small businesses with character and stories are suffering and instead big corporations who pack only the front end of a sandwich, or make clothes ready to break, are flourishing.

Food isn't only fuel, and possessions are not only a fleeting fashion or necessity.