New Designers One Year On

Last week I showcased my new collections at New Designers in the  One Year On section. I exhibited in Part One which was dedicated to Jewellery and Metalwork, Texiles, Ceramics and Applied Arts. It was a fantastic exhibition and a great opportunity to have face to face contact with those in the industry and the general public.

The rest of the year is looking very exciting and I look forward to updating soon with upcoming shows and news!

Other talented designers and makers who took part in One Year On:

Ruth Laird
Kinetic and mathematical jewelley.

Mirjana Smith
Fantastic assembled art teapots.

Harriet Pearse
Hand-made textiles based on life, love and man's best friend.

How to....

I am ask quite a lot about how my jewellery is made, so I thought I would show the 

process involved when making one of my brooches ....

I am use silver square and round wire for the brooch. It comes in longs strips.

Saw the wire in the correct lengths. Use a wooden mallet to hammer the wire into shape around a mandrel and on a flat steel block.  Solder and re-hammer the circles until they are perfectly round and flat.

I use traditional soldering techniques and layer up the sections one level at a time. After each time I solder, I look at all the joins and each line to check everything is in alignment.

Saw and file away any excess silver ready for the sections to be soldered together.

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Here are the finished sections show separately. Solder the outer shape, pin and clasp onto the main form. Once again file away any excess and emery using a flat board.  Matt the silver to high, final finish. Barrel polish the brooch to harden the wire and matt the silver again.

Emery and matt down the excess 18ct Gold Plate and attach the steel pin using pliers. 

En Voila a finished brooch!

Arts Thread Portfolio

I now have a portfolio on the Arts Thread database.  Arts Thread is a website dedicated to promoting the work of new graduates in the hope of 'bridging the gap between education and the creative industry'. Arts Thread is in association with New Designers where I will be exhibiting in late June.

Blog: Le Belle Collier

My work has been featured on a lovely blog called Le Belle Collier, with a short interview about how and why I first became interested in jewellery.  Check out the other posts for creative ideas and the latest happenings in the jewellery world!

New Stockist: Kate Hopwood Jewellery

My work is now being stocked at Kate Hopwood Jewellery. The shop showcases a mix of contemporary work including established and up coming designers. The gallery is located at 11 Brewers Lane, Richmond in South-West London, right near the beautiful gardens at Kew.  I will be stocking my new collection as well as One-Off pieces. 

New Designers One Year On

I am very excited to announce that I have been selected to exhibit at New Designers One Year On 2012! 

The One Year On section 'is a focused zone, showcasing a group of 50 young designers with an entrepreneurial flare and a strong body of work'. 

I will be exhibiting my new collection in the first week between the 27-30th June. I look forward to seeing you all there!

A Beginning . . . .

  

First post on my new blog, welcome all!

I have got a couple of beautiful new images for my website by the photographer Simon B. Armitt. Below are Line and Form Bracelets One and Two and Line and Form Studs Earrings Two and Three.

I look forward to updating with some big news soon!!!