Make - a meeting

One rainy Thursday evening I showed up at Ruth Singer's studio, which was packed with creative people from Leicestershire. This was the evening that 'Make - a meeting', organised by Creative Leicestershire was taking place. Ruth's studio is amazing and throughout the evening I found myself getting distracted by all the bits and pieces she has scattered about her wonderfully bright and colourful creative space. 
I met lots of people that I have been connected with on Twitter for some time and even made a few Association for Contemporary Jewellery connections. I also was asked to do a little bit of a talk on ACJ which I nervously fumbled through (I'm not a public speaker and the word 'um' seemed to crop up a lot!).

We all made paper name badges and heard some information about Creative Leicestershire, Makers Yard and Ruth Singer before getting down to brainstorming ideas for Creative Leicestershire and having a chat with other makers.

We also got the opportunity to go to the large studio upstairs, which was full of rubber matting and shotgun shells! 'Love Bullets' are a jewellery company who are building the walls for a nightclub at Glastonbury Festival using the rubber matting and 1 million bullets. I wish I had taken my camera to the event as what 'Love Bullets' are doing is amazing, it really was beautiful!

After a bit more networking and eating cake the evening wound up and we all disappeared back into the rain.

I thought the evening was great and would love to go to another one. 

My only regret was that I didn't get to meet everyone I would have liked to. Time just ran away with me.

Young British Jewellers

I recently joined the Young British Jewellers website which is an 'online community' of some of the best jewellery talent in the UK today. When you join Young British Jewellers you get a profile page that you can personalise and an image gallery, as well as a messaging service to communicate with the other member jewellers.

The website has a detailed events calendar and a blog which is full of news and promises to showcase 'jewellers’ studios, interviews, exhibition reviews and of course plenty of photos'.

Vega, Christopher and Lucie run the website and are active on social media such as Twitter and Facebook, which is great to see as well as being extremely helpful if you have any questions.

The 'young' does not refer the age of the jeweller, it instead draws reference to the innovation in the techniques and materials used by the jewellers, creating a wide range of different jewellery styles to browse on the website.

The standard of the jewellery is very high and and there are some great jewellers on the website that I might not have discovered if I hadn't joined.

A few of my favourites are - 

Hannah-May Chapman who has the fabulous Cell Collection, inspired by cells under the microscope. It combines resin, plastics, synthetic fur, base metal and silver to create fun, playful pieces. Hannah states she is a process driven designer, inspired by the natural and surreal world around her. Her work looks so tactile and combines beautiful colours with a range of fun materials.

Acrospheara Brooch by Hannah-May Chapman

 

Catinulus Cufflinks by Hannah-May Chapman

 

Catinulus Studs by Hannah-May Chapman

 
Wing Hang Chan (Kody) makes jewellery inspired by the Birmingham skyline and the colours of the sky. Combining brass and felt with techniques such as powder coating, plating, felting, laser welding and riveting, Kody makes wonderfully tactile and striking pieces of jewellery. Born in Hong Kong, Kody will be graduating from the School of Jewellery, Birmingham this year - one to watch out for!

Silver linings collection by Wing Hang Chan

Lana Crabb works in the most vibrant colours, which I think is great! Working in unusual non-precious materials such as rubber bands, paint, thread, balloons and broken gems, Lana creates small but wearable art pieces that create a statement. I really liked this statement by Lana, 'I aim to create preciousness aesthetically rather than traditionally with gold or gems'.

Small Squiggle Brooch by Lana Crabb

Yellow Tank Studs by Lana Crabb

Pink Peek-a-boo Gem Studs by Lana Crabb

Amanda Trimmer is inspired by comic books and superheroes. Laser cut paper and powder coated metal create brightly coloured and funky pieces that are intricate and beautiful. Amanda says that she used her own imagination when growing up to adapt to the new cultures she faced due to travelling a lot and this shows in her work.

Secret Superhero by Amanda Trimmer

Obscura by Amanda Trimmer

Amy Logan creates jewellery inspired by the fluid lines found in drawings and landscapes. Forming and hammering then powder coating and plating the metal gives Amy a wonderful fluidity to her pieces, which are strikingly elegant.

Gold Wire Earrings by Amy Logan

Grey Powder Coated Chain by Amy Logan

Pink Pendant with Black Chain by Amy Logan

There are many more talented jewellers who have work on the Young British Jewellers website, I think at last count there were 154, but I couldn't write about all of them! 

I have realised that I have been drawn towards and therefore written about four jewellers who all work in mixed media and bright colours. This was not intentional but I think it says quite a lot about me and my jewellery tastes.

Thanks to all the jewellers who allowed me to use their work in this blog post. It's been great fun looking at all the lovely pieces that these talented ladies make. Also thanks to the Young British Jewellers team for creating this wonderful tool and for promoting jewellery design on their website.

Creative Coffee

Last week I went to my first ever Creative Coffee Leicester at Phoenix Square in the centre of Leicester. This informal and relaxed event offers regular networking for creative people in the area. 

I had been meaning to go to one of these meetings for a while now but something always came up or it slipped my mind. However when I heard that Julia Hamer from Makers' Yard was going to do a talk about the building they have acquired for studio spaces in Leicester city centre, I felt I had to go. I had looked at their website and had seen some photos of Ruth Singer's studio space via Twitter so I was really interested to see what Julia had to say about it.

I also haven't met many 'creatives' in Leicester, apart from the jewellers that I have met through the ACJ (Association for Contemporary Jewellery), so I thought it'd be nice to met some new creative people.

I went along at 10am, more than ready for a cup of coffee, and sat with a very friendly man named Paul Burton from twf Design and Marketing Solutions. We discussed our work and what we wanted from the event. Paul showed me some of the 3D imaging he had been working on including some for a jewellery designer! We then mingled and spoke to some other creative people including Nicki Merrall, a knitwear designer and tutor. We found we had both worked with similar materials - nylon and polyester threads. Nicki had knitted with polyester threads and I use nylon thread in my work now. I also met the owner of Handmade by Hema who makes beautiful knitwear. It was great to speak to another first timer at the event and discuss our work, how we do our marketing and where we sell our work. You can buy Handmade by Hema knitwear on Etsy.

Julia Hamer spoke about Makers' Yard, which is a really interesting building with big studio spaces rented by a wide range of artists, designers and craftspeople. There are woodworkers, painters, glassmakers, paperworkers, textile artists, photographers and ceramicists to name a few. In previous years the building was know as the Charnwood Hosiery Factory where socks for football clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool and Leicester City were made. Lydia Marshall, 94, who used to work at the factory was invited to the opening of Makers' Yard. She says, "we even made a pair for Terry Wogan!"

Julia asked for some ideas on how Makers' Yard could make the building more appealing to the general public. Some ideas were thrown around the room, with several people coming up with excellent and inspiring suggestions, which snowballed as others contributed.

I really enjoyed hearing everyone's ideas and how they evolved as the group discussed them. In my eyes this is what Creative Coffee is all about - networking, finding new sources of inspiration and collaborating with other creative people.

I will definitely go back to Creative Coffee and I am glad to say that I have kept in touch with several of the people I met there.

Gift Wrapped & Gorgeous

It's been a busy few weeks for Ruth Gordon Jewellery with lots of hours in the studio, new ventures, a weekend away to Lords and even some home baking!

Gift Wrapped & Gorgeous is a wonderful collection of online boutiques showcasing the very best of British handmade products from handmade jewellery and unique artwork to personalised wedding gifts and gardening accessories. I was first introduced to Gift Wrapped and Gorgeous at the Creative Leicestershire event 'Selling Art and Craftwork Online' and I am now part of this wonderful collection of artisans.

Ruth Gordon Jewellery has several exclusive pieces of jewellery on Gift Wrapped and Gorgeous.

Silver Charm Bracelet

Silver and Cold Enamel Earrings

Silver and Nylon Bangle

Silver, Amazonite and Pearl Earrings

Silver, Amazonite and Pearl Necklace

Silver, Fluorite and Rose Quartz Earrings

Silver, Fluorite and Rose Quartz Necklace

I am really pleased with the way my boutique looks and more pieces will be added very soon including cluster rings and bangles and nylon necklaces so keep an eye out for updates on Facebook, Twitter and on the Gift Wrapped and Gorgeous website itself.

In other news I was featured in the latest issue of Craft Business Magazine in the 'Take Stock' section discussing my last months trade. Hopefully a link and or image for this will follow.

I will shortly have a new outlet where I will be Maker of the Month which I will hopefully reveal in my next blog post!

However for now you can see my work at the wonderful Wistow Gallery in Leicestershire and Hung Gallery in Inverness.

More news soon and look out for blog posts analysing my necklaces, wrist wear and rings!

Brooches

 Brooches. I absolutely covet brooches! I rarely wear them but I love them!

The first brooch I made for my degree show (all those years ago!) was this acrylic, silver and cold enamel brooch.

I just about cried when I sold it! This and the other three original brooches in this range were nearly the end of me at University. Those of you that were there will remember the blood, sweat and lots of tears! I still have the 20 or so pieces of acrylic that I lovingly shaped by heating in my oven then bending over a jam jar only to then drill them slightly wrong!

I now do a slightly simpler version of these brooches without the silver corrugation element. I am planning to make smaller versions of these brooches, probably about half the size. I always receive positive feedback about these brooches but I feel that mini versions would appeal to a wider audience.

Also for my degree show and over the past few years I have made corrugated silver brooches with cold enamel elements. These are fun and playful and have become one of my signature ranges.

I vividly remember doing the sketches for these brooches, it was in an Art History lecture on a Thursday morning! I came up with some of my best designs on scraps of lined paper during those lectures.

I am going to continue to make these brooches but, again, on a smaller scale. I feel fashions and my market has changed and I will change with it.

My range of nylon brooches is very varied! 

I have had a great response to my nylon brooches as a whole but as the May master plan states, I must streamline. The framed and enamel with loops pieces probably win in the popularity stakes for my customers and for myself.

I made a small range of 'Sampler' brooches a few years back. The idea behind them was that I made several brooches of the same dimensions using different techniques. It was interesting to do. These are more one off pieces than work that sit in a range so maybe more will be made in the coming months and years as a wee artistic release!

And so to enamel. Vitreous enamel. It's been a love hate relationship between myself and my kiln. I realised not so long ago that it probably was because of my lack of knowledge so I am looking into some courses. I wont be making any more enamelled brooches until I get my skill level up but I enjoyed looking through images of pieces I have made in this medium.

I have found over the years that less is more when it comes to designing and making brooches and I am going to follow that philosophy to the letter from now on.

I am finding it very useful to think through all my designs and write down my thoughts. Still to come - necklaces, wrist wear and rings.

Also don't forget to check my Folksy page for jewellery starting at just £10.

I also have a Facebook page that I update regularly with news.

You can follow me on Twitter.

And you can find more information about me and my jewellery on my website.

If you are out and about you can find my work at the Wistow Gallery in Leicestershire, Hung Gallery in Inverness, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts in Norwich and Rosie McKenzie Art in Edinburgh.

Thanks for reading!