New Talent Private View

Carrie Dickens

Mariko Sumioka

Francesca Flynn

Thank you to all who came to the private view of our New Talent exhibition on Thursday night. It was fantastic. In fact, we were so busy chatting to people that we completely forgot to take any photos! Luckily we remembered  right at end of the night just before a few of the makers left to go home. Here a few photos which we managed to snap of the makers with their work.

Heather Woof

Heather Woof has just completed an MA in Jewellery at Edinburgh College of Art. She showcased these amazing windswept pieces there in August and now we are delighted to have them here in the gallery. 

Heathers 'windswept' collection has been inspired by the wild Scottish weather and is reminiscent of the powerful natural forces which shape the landscape around us. Through experimentation with hand cut titanium and mild steel she  has been working to evoke a sense of dynamism in these otherwise static materials. She aims to embody the feeling of fluid movement in hard and unyielding metal, to create sculptural pieces that appear to have been quite literally blown over by the wind.

Nicola Wilde

The tactile qualities of Nicola Wilde’s metal forms are inspired by water, and its intriguing movements. These visuals led her to create her organic pieces which mimic the soft appearance of water contained within a solid shell. Not just visually stimulating, Nicola’s work also contains a hidden playfulness: the vivid coloured powder held within the silver vessel’s will fizz and erupt upon contact with water. This effervescent, ephemeral jewellery gives an enchanting one-off bubbling performance. The silver vessels empty of the powder can still be worn after the short lived spectacle. Nicola graduated from Birmingham Institute of Art and Design with a BA (Hons) in Jewellery & Silversmithing. 

Mariko Sumioka

Mariko is fascinated by traditional Japanese architecture; the materials, colours, linear forms, shapes and spaces. She is not only inspired visually but also theoretically as she researched the cultural traditions of those living and working within Japanese buildings; how humans interact with the architecture. Enamelling allows Mariko to explore both this abstract inspiration and the natural materials and textures which are found in Japanese architecture. 

Mariko has just completed an artist in residence at Edinburgh College of Art after receiving a First class BA(Hons) in Jewellery & Silversmithing, the previous year also from Edinburgh College of Art. She has now just moved to London to join Cockpit Arts. We look forward to seeing the new work she makes there. 

Fern Jellyman

Influenced by the minimal and simplistic technology used in the sport of climbing combined with the detail and intricate nature of modern fashion jewellery Fern Jellyman creates modern bold designs from knitted yarns and anodised aluminium climbing components. Fern graduated from Central Saint Martins with a BA (Hons) in Jewellery Design. 

Nabla Pall

Nabla Pall's amazingly colourful work has made it's way down to the gallery from Edinburgh where she studied for a BA (Hons) Degree in Jewellery and Silversmithing at Edinburgh College of Art. 

Nabla spent her childhood living in the Far and Middle East. The varied culture and experiences she had there remained with her and now influences the line, pattern and colour of her designs. The vivid imagery of the carousels, bird markets, lanterns and stained glass windows inspires her to create fresh original work. Nabla initially hand draws her memories and then organically turns these drawings into 3d wearable objects: the piercing of the saw blade mimicking her line drawings. 

Carrie Dickens

We absolutely love these neckpieces by Carrie Dickens who graduated with a BA (Hons) Design: New Practice from Loughborough University. The heavy sterling silver forms are cast over ceramic and hung on silk threads: when you put them on you feel like you're being hugged! Carrie’s inspiration comes from a material’s reaction to manipulation. She is curious about what happens to materials at their limits, and the processes that bring them there. The overlooked detail and elegance in the memory of everyday moments of an object. The tactility of objects is paramount to Carrie: drape, weight, and ‘holdability’ are crucial. Lovely!

Francesca Flynn

An interest in the combination of art and science led Francesca to experiment with crystal growth as a source of visual inspiration. As her designs developed she explored ways of combining both natural and synthetic materials resulting in a final collection incorporating moulded resin, rubber coatings, wood and crystal elements. Francesca graduated with a first class BA (Hons) in Silversmithing and Jewellery from the Glasgow School of Art. 

Elizabeth Armour

Our New Talent spotlight featuring eight new jewellery graduates from across the UK is in full swing and it looks fantastic if we do say so! Photos from the preview night to come! 

The spotlight exhibition brings together exceptional examples of innovative jewellery design and craftsmanship from emerging makers: it contains exciting, unusual and thoughtfully crafted pieces that demonstrate the breath of young talent emerging from Britain today. New work from new makers who will undoubtedly be ones to watch in the future. 

First up is Elizabeth Armour who graduated with a BDes (Hons) in Jewellery & Metalwork from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee. As a maker/designer, Elizabeth believes it is important to understand fully the possibilities of the material she is working with. The focus of her work is on the process; designing through making, experimenting with a wide range of materials from acrylic and plastic, to using new 3D modelling software. This process of investigational making is variable and unpredictable and the combination of both risk and control result in entirely new forms and levels of detail. Elizabeth has also used her studies of natural fungi and microscopic forms to aesthetically inspire her work.