Edinburgh jeweller

I'm really excited to be able to share some new jewellery classes that I will be teaching over the next few months in London. I will also be teaching some existing classes, have a look at my teaching calendar to see when and where! Here is a brief overview of the new classes I have planned for the next couple of months. For more information and to book a place, click on the links Silver clay and wire jewellery 19th and 20th July, 10-5 Mary Ward Centre 2 day class taught with wire tutor Kerry Bloom, you will learn to make wire and silver clay connections for your own bespoke chain necklace Wedding jewellery 22nd July, 10-5 Mary Ward Centre Learn techniques to use wire and bead to make tiaras, beaded combs and more. In the morning you will learn a variety of techniques, in the afternoon you will work on your own project with my support Activate summer course for jewellers 4 week jewellery design and making course - Mondays 1, 8, 15, 22 August, ...

Whether to rent a jewellery studio or work from home was an issue that has been at the forefront of my mind this year as followers of the blog will know. I was wanting to further develop my jewellery business and teaching and it was one option to consider. I looked at whether there were studios available locally as I knew it was unlikely I’d want the cost and time of travelling too far. I hadn’t found anything that I thought would work for me. Luckily, serendipity happened to help me out! I was working one evening at the London Jewellery School alongside tutor Penny Akester and it transpired that she was looking for someone to share a studio with at Craft Central ! It was great timing and a good opportunity to share the costs as well as to have someone to work alongside. The studio when we took it over! I got my keys at the beginning of May and Penny and I spent a day building flat packed furniture to furnish our studio (here we are in action!) We had a deadline t...

As I have previously blogged about, I am now sharing a jewellery studio in central London with a fellow jeweller. This week all the flat packed furniture arrived and Penny and I spent some time building a table, drawers, shelving and a chair! Penny had already built two jewellers benches. There was a lot of cardboard, and many allen keys! But we got there very efficiently! I think we work well together! It's definitely all coming together. We are now getting the workshop ready for the Made in Clerkenwell open studios next week. I'm getting some stock together to display and sell. You can get a free ticket by registering here (it'll be £5 on the day).

I now have the keys for my shared jewellery studio at Craft Central ! At the moment, as you can see, it is looking a little empty and bereft as the previous occupant has moved out! But this week Penny and I have the furniture and equipment coming in ready for the Made in Clerkenwell open studios event so there will be lots of building of furniture happening this week. I will be posting the after photos soon!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am renting a jewellery studio at Craft Central as of today! I am really excited about it and I'll be sharing my progress on the blog over the coming year. I am fortunate that I will be in the studio on time for the next open studios event, Made in Clerk enwell . I'd love to see you there. Here is what it is and (most importantly!) how to get free tickets! What? Made in Clerkenwell ' is a bi-annual celebration of Craft Central resident designer-makers and Network members. Held across two Victorian buildings, this is an opportunity for the public to 'behind the scenes' and explore the studios of our renowned design community. You'll find jewellery, fashion, interior products, ceramics, accessories and traditional crafts by over 100 UK designer makers. Choose a gift, commission a unique piece, find a bespoke design service or just browse ... this shopping treat is topped off by meeting the maker.' I will be i...

For those of you who follow my blog posts on the London Jewellery School blog you may have seen my post called Rent a studio or work from home: some thoughts on how to decide . Renting a jewellery studio, especially in London, is expensive and although I felt it would help me develop my career I decided at that point (in March) not to pursue the idea. But then serendipity intervened! I was working alongside my colleague at the Jewellery School Penny Akester and, in conversation, she told me that the person she was sharing a workshop with was moving out. Sharing is obviously more affordable than having a studio alone so we have had a look at the feasibility of working alongside each other. I am happy to say I will be sharing a studio with Penny at Craft Central from 1st May! Craft Central currently have two buildings near Farringdon station where they rent out studios to artists and crafters. We will be in Studio 36, Craft Central, 33-35 St John’s Square, London EC1M 4DS. I won...

Elaine Cox - love all of her work I was happy to get the opportunity to go to the Craft Central open studios this week in London. I love nosing about peoples studios and seeing what they have been making! I particularly loved work by these artists Mandana Oskoui Rhiannon Palmer - handmade concrete jewellery

 Last week I attended the  London Jewellery School   diploma  student exhibition. I teach on the jewellery diploma and will be taking on a tutor role for the course next year which is exciting. The course can be taken in one year or in a seven week intensive class. The students learn a wide variety of techniques from traditional silversmithing to resin and perspex jewellery. At the end the students exhibit the best of their work. This time the exhibition was at  Craft Central  which was a fantastic venue just right for the job. I really enjoyed celebrating with all the students. Their work was so diverse.

Yesterday I had a fun evening with London Textiles Studios  at Craft Central learning how to screenprint. I took along a printed photo of my best selling bracelet because I thought the licorice allsort would lend itself well to a screenprint. I was pleased with the result, have a look!

It was the one day designer sale at Craft Central yesterday so I gathered a couple of work friends and went for a browse around. My friends hadn't been before and one bought two bracelets! They both said it was great to get out of the office and do something a little different. Here are a couple of things that I saw and really loved Copyright A Alicia This knitted necklace from A Alicia caught my eye. She had a lot of really interesting fabric pieces on display today. Copyright Angela Fung I rather loved this ring from Angela Fung . The gem inside spins round. She also had gems that moved in other rings and cufflinks. Excellent design and execution. Copyright Kate Hodgson Kate Hodgson had some really interesting rings set with gems and enamelled internal sections

I popped along to Made in Clerkenwell  at Craft Central  on Friday. I went along in May of this year and blogged about it here  so I was looking forward to going along again. It was their christmas handmade show. I love poking around in people's studios and reminding myself that there are some people designing and crafting for a living! So what follows are a few of the things that I really liked There is so much going on in this print by illustrator  Ulrike Bygge , I was captivated by it. The more you look at it the more you see. I was really impressed by the work of Sonia Cheadle and her students. She has a jewellery school that I am very interested in learning more about. I loved Sarah Hallowes use of coloured thread in her silver pieces. Nice to talk to her as we are both from the same county! I absolutely love the style of Birita a Myrini . These rings are so fabulous

Sarah Herriott designs Thanks to Handmade by Emily , I found out about Made in Clerkenwell , an event being run at Craft Central . As it is located so close to my work I decided to go along on Friday after work. I'm very glad I did. Craft Central 'provides secure and professional workspace in a unique central London location from which makers can base their business.' They had two buildings open to the public and I really enjoyed climbing the stairs and wandering into the studio spaces. You didn't know quite what you'd find - jewellery, photography, scarves, toys, ceramics - all sorts of beautiful handmade things. I really enjoyed speaking to the designers and asking them about their experiences. It was inspiring for me, just starting out in my jewellery designing career,  and everyone was very warm and positive. Kate Jones beautiful knitwear            In the 'Made in Clerkenwell' corner shop I found Made in the Highlands showcasing the w...