Commissions, Competitions and University Work

This is a commission of sorts, as I made it for myself! When I left my job at Nicholas Wylde my workmates gave me a collection of stones including this one, so it has great sentimental value. I wanted to compliment the colours and lines within the stone by creating an oxidised line in the centre of the double band.

This brooch was commissioned to compliment a beautiful amethyst that my client brought back from Sri Lanka to give to her sister. I wanted to create something that reflected the place which inspired it and so I used architectural detail in the clients holiday pictures as a starting point.

This brooch was commissioned to complement a richly coloured yellow topaz that my client brought back from Sri Lanka. I wanted to create something that reflected the place which inspired it and so I took interesting details from the clients holiday pictures as a starting point. The 9ct yellow gold gives warmth to the piece and complements the stone beautifully.

This commission began with the clients 22ct wedding ring which she had inherited. I thought, rather than melt it down it would be good to incorpoate it into something new to maintain the sentimental value. So, I decided to design a ring that would hold the wedding ring and would allow the rings to be worn together or separately. Hearts were something my client was keen to to use in the piece and we decided that using three colours of gold would make the heart motiff and the ring design stand out well.

This was a commission for a clients wife. At the time their son was quite young and enjoyed drawing with a popular toy that overlapped shapes to make lovely patterns. I based this design on one of those drawings and created the piece using layers of silver rounded triangles. The piece has a pretty sparkle finish to bring it to life.

I made these for a client who wanted something special for her Son-in-Laws Birthday. He is from Austria and the Schönbrunn Palace is one of his favourite places, so I took a building in its grounds as the basis for this design. I wanted to make it stand out so I used a bright polished finish for the building and a textured finish for the background.

This charm was a commission for a client for his wifes’s special birthday. She is keen on weaving and knitting, so I created several designs on this theme. My client liked the idea of a woven heart and wanted it to have a handmade look. I wove the silver for this pendant and fused it together to create a strong structure.

This was made as a gift for a Pageboy. After discussing the design with the bride, we decided to create something that the Pageboys could keep and treasure as they get older. We thought it would be nice to create a texture and the hammered finish catches the light nicely.

This was made as a gift for a Bridesmaid. After discussing the design with the bride, we decided to create something that the Bridesmaid could keep and treasure as she gets older. We thought it would be nice to create a texture and the hammered finish catches the light nicely. The flower seemed like the perfect symbol to use for a wedding and reflects the beautiful bouquet.

These cufflinks were made as a gift for a Bestman. He is a very keen cyclist, so the bride wanted to capture that in the cufflinks. I enjoyed creating all the interesting details in these and the contrasting finishes help to make the bike stand out. The Bestman was very happy with them, which is always lovely to hear.

I made these cufflinks for a Bestman. He is very keen on chess and so the Bride was keen to make this the theme of the cufflinks. I sketched several designs and the Bride and Groom chose the Queen and King, to best reflect the wedding. The Bestman liked them very much, which is lovely to know.

Pewter Live 2016 Entry

The brief was to produce a pewter item that could be used by the Worshipful Company of Pewterers in its day-to-day activities, whilst illustrating a strong Company identity. I took my inspiration from the Thames and Thames barrier as well as the creature in the WCOP heraldry. I love the textured curves in this piece and really enjoyed making it. It has even been featured in the welcome video from the Master Pewterer on the Pewter Live website! https://pewterlive.co.uk/about

Entry for the Tahitian Pearl Trophy, 2007.

The theme for this competition was the stars. I am a big David Bowie fan and thought what better way to represent the stars than by using him as inspiration. The marquise shape originally came from his eye makeup and the idea of a rocket taking off. This was one of my favourite pieces to make and first piece I ever made using gold.

Pewter Live 2021 entry

The theme this year was the Roaring Twenties. For this competition I chose to go back to my roots and make a piece of jewellery. This brooch was designed to represent the economic extremes of the 1920’s. In the early part of the 1920’s there was prosperity and the upper classes were living hedonistic and opulent lifestyles. The Mabe pearl represents this prosperous time, with reference to the fashion of the period. By the mid 1920’s the period of prosperity was over and the Great Strike of 1926 and the Wall Street crash of 1929 followed. The piece of coal represents this period of depression and the depletion of the coal reserves. The brooch can be fastened by putting either the pearl or piece of coal behind the piece of clothing and then threading through the hole in the brooch. The pearl or piece of coal will sit neatly in the dip in the centre of the brooch.

Pewter Live 2017 entry.

The challenge was to produce an object or range of objects that would compliment a contemporary lifestyle and was made of mixed materials. This was one of the first pieces I created based on mushrooms and their underground network which has a mutually beneficial relationship with tree roots. The combination of pewter channels running through a layer of wood expresses the connection between mycelium and trees. These mats were designed to be used separately or 3 sets could be combined to create a table centrepiece.

Pewter Live 2018 Entry.

The brief this year was to evoke a celebration. This frame was inspired by anniversaries and memories collected over time. It was designed with 'charms' alongside the photograph. The charms can be changed depending on the occasion. My intention was to show the materials off and I think showing the edge of the plywood was the most effective way to do this. The patterns in the charms were created by pressing and engraving.

Photograph by Alvin Weetman. Wedding photography by Jessie Wild.

Made for the 1000 Secret Postcards Exhibition at the Black Swan Gallery in Frome.

This was the first sculptural piece I made and I really enjoyed the process of making it and using aluminium. It was a bigger canvas than I was used to, so it allowed my work to be quite free and expressive. I have based some of my jewellery designs on cloth- the patterns, textures, folds, etc, and it is a subject I'm very interested in as I like the contrast between the soft, flowing subject matter and the hard, lustrous qualities of metal.

Pewter Live 2019 Entry.

The theme this year was peace. I was inspired by the olive branch as a symbol of peace and to encourage the act of sharing. I used olive wood, as a forming tool and as part of the pick, to echo the source of inspiration. The manufacturing processes included casting over olive bark and raising.

This project was to make a spoon. I loved the process of raising the bowl of the spoon and I very nearly chose to focus on cutlery in my final project after this experience, but jewellery won in the end!

I chose to make a spoon for pickled onions because they are one of my favourite snacks and they tend to be a bit awkward to get out of the jar without excess vinegar, hence the drainage holes.

The form of the spoon was based on the shape of my favourite flower, the tulip, with its elegant stem and beautifully rounded petals.

This ring was one of a set of three in my degree show. They focused on play and on opposites. In this case, soft and hard, precious and non-precious.

My statement for the degree show was as follows:

My jewellery is made to be wearable, to be fiddled with in everyday situations of tension, concentration, nervousness and boredom.

This project is about play, exploration, touch, movement and fiddling.

People fiddle with jewellery and make gestures with their bodies. My jewellery provokes interaction with its wearer; wanting to be spun, turned, pulled, squeezed, stretched, held; consciously or unconsciously.

Preciousness is an important issue in my work, both in terms of material value and because of its links with intimacy.

This ring is part of a set of three rings from my degree show, which focus on opposites (square and round, hard and soft, precious and non-precious). This piece only works as a wearable piece when both sections are combined. The rubber ring is threaded through the square and the finger completes the ring by going through both ends of the rubber ring. This allows the square to be turned, moved or just held in the other hand.

My statement for the degree show was as follows:

My jewellery is made to be wearable, to be fiddled with in everyday situations of tension, concentration, nervousness and boredom.

This project is about play, exploration, touch, movement and fiddling.

People fiddle with jewellery and make gestures with their bodies. My jewellery provokes interaction with its wearer; wanting to be spun, turned, pulled, squeezed, stretched, held; consciously or unconsciously.

Preciousness is an important issue in my work, both in terms of material value and because of its links with intimacy.

This piece was made as part of my degree show. Initially, it doesn’t look like a ring, but I think that is part of its joy. The rubber part wraps around the wearer’s finger and loops over the gold ball to secure it in place. The size of the ball makes it very tactile for playing with and the reflections in it give another level of interest.

My statement for the degree show was as follows:

My jewellery is made to be wearable, to be fiddled with in everyday situations of tension, concentration, nervousness and boredom.

This project is about play, exploration, touch, movement and fiddling.

People fiddle with jewellery and make gestures with their bodies. My jewellery provokes interaction with its wearer; wanting to be spun, turned, pulled, squeezed, stretched, held; consciously or unconsciously.

Preciousness is an important issue in my work, both in terms of material value and because of its links with intimacy.

These pieces were made as part of my degree show. To wear them the rubber part is wrapped around the wearer’s finger or wrist and is then looped over the ball to secure it in place. The balls are dainty, discreet and make the pieces easy to wear. I used pearls on two of the rings to reflect more traditional jewellery.

My statement for the degree show was as follows:

My jewellery is made to be wearable, to be fiddled with in everyday situations of tension, concentration, nervousness and boredom.

This project is about play, exploration, touch, movement and fiddling.

People fiddle with jewellery and make gestures with their bodies. My jewellery provokes interaction with its wearer; wanting to be spun, turned, pulled, squeezed, stretched, held; consciously or unconsciously.

Preciousness is an important issue in my work, both in terms of material value and because of its links with intimacy.

This is one of my favourite pieces from my degree show. I love its tactile quality. It sits well as a ring but is also a playful object. The ball is a ready-made plastic ball, which contrasts beautifully with the precious handmade silver ring.

My statement for the degree show was as follows:

My jewellery is made to be wearable, to be fiddled with in everyday situations of tension, concentration, nervousness and boredom.

This project is about play, exploration, touch, movement and fiddling.

People fiddle with jewellery and make gestures with their bodies. My jewellery provokes interaction with its wearer; wanting to be spun, turned, pulled, squeezed, stretched, held; consciously or unconsciously.

Preciousness is an important issue in my work, both in terms of material value and because of its links with intimacy.

This was part of a project where we learnt to press metal. Pressing creates bulbous forms by using a press to push the metal into a former. These forms are hollow and allowed me to create lovely lightweight pieces.

The shapes came from studies I did of a geode, with its beautiful curves and dips.

The piece is worn by putting the central piece behind the fabric of the sarong and threading it through the “frame”. There is no need for pins or other findings, which was something I strived for in my studies. Its beauty is in the simplicity.

This was part of a project where we learnt to press metal. Pressing creates bulbous forms by using a press to push the metal into a former. These forms are hollow and allowed me to create lovely lightweight pieces.

The shapes came from studies I did of a geode, with its beautiful curves and dips.

The piece is worn by putting the central piece behind the fabric of the sarong and threading it through the “frame”. There is no need for pins or other findings, which was something I strived for in my studies. Its beauty is in the simplicity.