Amelia’s Magazine | Treasure Jewellery Show 2013: Review

Treasure jewellery show review
This year I got my first taste of the Treasure jewellery show at Somerset House, a vast showcase now on its sixth outing during Jewellery Week. Here’s the familiar talents and hot new jewellery discoveries that caught my eye.

Ostrich little finger ring in rose gold with iolite gemstone by Dominique Lucas
The first thing to grab my attention was this unusual ostrich little finger ring in rose gold with an iolite gemstone by Dominique Lucas. Dominique trained with master craftsmen in Italy, Mexico and London. She’s created some bold pieces based on animals, and I love her current collection, featuring big bullet gem rings.

A clever neon lot display for silicone bracelets by #brazelights
Brazelights had created this clever neon lit display to show off modern silicone bracelets.

Ros Millar Nugget_Stud_Earrings
I couldn’t get close to Ros Millar‘s stand – an young award winning designer from Northern Ireland, who creates on trend organic metal jewels with a ‘Gothic Luxe‘ feel.

Tessa Metcalfe jewellery

Jeweller Tessa Metcalfe looked amazing in her own jewels. This young jeweller trained as an illustrator and has been championed by the Secret Emporium for some time. Now I see why her bold bird claw rings and necklaces are fast gaining a loyal following. Check out her innovative video look book above.

Rosita Bonita jewellery
Beautiful Rosita Bonita looked gorgeous sporting her new embossed leather collection (inspired by a combination of Japanese and Spanish styles) at her fabulously appointed stand. She’s another jeweller who trained as an illustrator before settling on her profession – read our recent interview with Rosita Bonita here.

An outsized showpiece ring containing fruit Atelier Laibach
This outsized showpiece ring containing fruit was worn by Kerstin Laibach of Atelier Laibach. She is an entirely ethical jeweller, so nothing is newly mined and her collection is vegan friendly. This wasn’t something I have ever considered before, but apparently many of the items used in the day to day production of jewellery feature animal products.

Pretty necklace of found objects by Sarah Drew with ecoluxe london
Ecoluxe London has recently launched a shopping site to compliment its trade fair presence during London Fashion Week, and their stand featured a variety of represented designers. This pretty necklace of found objects is by Sarah Drew, who finds all sorts of interesting things to work with on the beach where she lives in Cornwall.

Öhlund silver mens jewellery
These recycled sterling silver pendants are by men’s jewellery designer Öhlund and are inspired by aviation and industrial design. I think the shapes in the Boneyard 13 collection look like bullets or cartridges.

Myia Bonner
Jeweller Myia Bonner builds on her deconstruction of the traditional diamond shape with these dangly earrings. As one part of the Metric Collective she’ll be showcasing new work at their annual pop up store between 7th July – 1st September on Columbia Road.

It’s not often that I am gobsmacked. But three quarters of my way around Treasure this is what I stumbled upon: astonishing moving stainless steel rings by Atelier Michael Berger. His kinetic jewels swing around the finger on invisible mechanisms as if by magic.

Abby Carnevale jewellery New York
abby carnevale
Another beautiful jeweller wearing her wares was New York based Abby Carnevale, who solders fine chains together with gems to create intricate waterfall designs. This was her first visit to London, but she hopes to return again.

Michele White jewellery
Without a doubt the most fabulous person I met at Treasure was Michele White, sporting amazing thigh length hair that was dip dyed purple to match her clothes. It was a delight to talk to this former ceramics teacher turned master jeweller and gemologist based in the famous Birmingham jewellery quarter. Her timeless art nouveau inspired designs (below) make the most of the natural beauty of opals and other gems, and really stood out amongst a sea of very similar jewels.

michele white gold opal ring
Michele White opal earrings
Now I can’t wait to discover more graduate talent at the New Designers shows!

Categories ,Abby Carnevale, ,Atelier Laibach, ,Atelier Michael Berger, ,Birmingham, ,Boneyard 13, ,Brazelights, ,Cornwall, ,Dominique Lucas, ,Ecoluxe London, ,Gothic Luxe, ,jewellery, ,Jewellery Week, ,Kerstin Laibach, ,Metric Collective, ,Michele White, ,Myia Bonner, ,Öhlund, ,review, ,Ros Millar, ,Rosita Bonita, ,Sarah Drew, ,Secret Emporium, ,Somerset House, ,Tessa Metcalfe, ,Treasure

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Amelia’s Magazine | London Design Week 2011: The Best of the Independent Jewellery Fairs

Sian Bostwick Forget Me Not Necklace by Tilly

Sian Bostwick Forget Me Not Necklace by Tilly Wright

The first of my visits was to Gabriel’s Wharf on the South Bank. Nestled amongst a handful of gift shops and cafes is the Jianhui London jewellery shop. However, from 17th – 25th September, the shop was also home to the Jewellery Designers Collective, or JeDoCo, and featured the work from independent jewellers including MODICA, Jessica De Lotz, Zelda Cave and some amazing statement, tubular cuffs from Rosemary Lucas.

The small shop was crowded with jewellery, and felt like a treasure trove. A super friendly attendant turned out to be Sian Bostwick – a JeDoCo designer. She was a brilliant tour guide around this Aladdin’s cave, but her work also deserves merit. Sian produces her jewellery from a workshop in Kent, and has a feminine and soft signature style.

Forget Me Not Ring by Sian Bostwick

Forget Me Not Ring by Sian Bostwick

It was her Forget Me Not pieces that caught my eye. A combination of brightly anodised Titanium in dazzling blue, paired with delicate silver, in elegant and simple shapes. The Forget Me Not pendant is delicate, yet striking, as the vibrancy of the blue Titanium catches the eye. When I first spotted her work, I thought instantly of Alice of Wonderland – the blue of Alice’s dress, the ever-present background of nature, the flowers. I later read that the story was an inspiration for the collection.

Linnie McLarty’s silver rings caught my attention before I entered the shop, displayed in the front window cabinets. Linnie comes from a fine art background, which I think you can see quite clearly from the collection Take Me I’m Yours, to which her layered silver wire rings belong. The silver wraps beautifully around your finger, but the individual sterling silver strands add depth and interest. Linnie is also comitted to working ethically and responsibily, using 100% recycled silver and gold that is officially certified as fairtrade, which is fantastic.

Take Me I'm Yours Rings by Linnie McLarty

Take Me I’m Yours Rings by Linnie McLarty

Running from the 21st – 25th September was Composite, at the superb Two Columbia Road furniture shop, and on the same road that hosted another great independent jewellery show. I was invited along by designer Bethan Laura Wood, whose work I have been avidly following for a while now.

Bethan Laura Wood Pivot and Push Rings by Janneke de Jong

Bethan Laura Wood’s Pivot and Push Rings by Janneke de Jong

Bethan deserves her own post on Amelia’s Magazine (which I hope to provide one day soon), but briefly she studied at the RCA, and has since set up her own practice, WOOD London, designing and producing a range of beautiful creations from jewellery to furniture. Her work is based on the idea of rediscovering and exploration of aspects of the usual and everyday objects – focussing particularly on colour and pattern.

Bethan Laura Wood Particle Bracelets by Miranda Williams

Bethan Laura Wood Particle Bracelets by Miranda Williams

Bethan was showing her new Pivot and Push ring collection. I was really happy to see that Bethan was on show space duty that day, and she passionately talked to me about the new collection, from conception to the final product. The rings are like delicate snowflakes, in shades of metallics – gunmetal, gold, bronze and rose gold.

Bethan Laura Wood's Pivot and Push Rings

Bethan Laura Wood’s Push and Pivot Rings, photo courtesy of Ella Dror PR.

The rings shimmered below their glass case, tempting me to try them on. Bethan explained the ‘push’ and ‘pivot’ technique was to create interaction between the ring and it’s owner. And as Bethan kindly let me have a trying on session, I found myself enchanted with their movement and design. They are stackable, versatile and for me, utterly desirable.

Push and Pivot Ring by Miranda Williams

One of Bethan’s Push and Pivot Rings, photo by Miranda Williams.

The weekend was over, but enjoying a day off in the week, I went along to see the work of another familiar face. I have been aware of Ros Millar’s work for about a year and half now – finally getting to meet lovely Ros at this year’s Treasure exhibition. Ros was showing her work at 2 different spaces – the Pitzhanger House in Ealing, and also as part of the Bobbles & Bling Pop Up Shop in Clerkenwell, from the 27th September to 1st October. I really like Ros’s work, specifically because I’d wear it. The rings from her Nugget collection are like natural rock formations – rich in colour, and really cool. She was showing these at the Bobbles & Bling shop, where for one week, Modica Jewellery, Amanda Li Hope and Ros, had created a mini boutique. It was based in the Craft Central Corner shop, and showcased new work, aswell as some other special pieces. Ros was showing both her Nugget and Black & Rose collections.

Ros Millar Necklace by Cathryn Nicholson

Ros Millar Necklace by Cathryn Nicholson

Over at the Pitzhanger exhibition it was great to see some diversification in her range with the specially produced One Off pieces. Originally the home of Sir John Soane, who the saw the Pitzhanger manor as an architectural ‘portrait’ of himself, and the house as a reflection of his personal style, from the 21st September – 12 November, it was home to Portraits in the Making. It featured the work of 17 designers, Craft Council award winning artists, who were invited to find new ways of making portraits in their fields of glass, textiles, woodwork and jewellery, with the influence of the design and architectural details in the Pitzhanger Manor. Ros’s large necklace, made from lichen, sponge, rope, silver and bronze, was a great contrast to the work of hers that I had previously seen.

This exhibition was in conjunction with the Hothouse scheme, run by the Crafts Council, which provides a programme of skills and creative development for designers starting out in their careers. It is a fantastic programme, similar to that run by Camden Council which I wrote about a few months ago here. I hope that these schemes, and those similar to them, continue to nurture and develop the talents of these designers, so that I can explore and enjoy the creations of our local designers as I did that weekend a few months ago.

Categories ,Alice in Wonderland, ,Bethan Laura Wood, ,Black & Rose, ,Cathryn Nicholson, ,Composite, ,Craft Central Corner, ,Crafts Council, ,Ella Dror PR, ,ethical, ,fairtrade, ,Forget Me Not, ,Gabriel’s Wharf, ,Hothouse, ,Janneke de Jong, ,Jessica De Lotz, ,jewellery, ,Jianhui London, ,Linnie McLarty, ,London Design Week, ,Modica Jewellery, ,Nugget, ,One Off, ,Pitzhanger House, ,Pivot and Push, ,platform, ,Pop-up Shop, ,Ros Millar, ,Sian Bostwick, ,Take Me I’m Yours, ,Titanium

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