All that glitters...

As i've been rapidly expanding my precious collection, i thought i'd do a recap post taking a stroll through some of my designs to date. 

I work predominantly in 18ct yellow or white gold, though i am open to discussing other precious metals. I also mainly work with sapphires and diamonds as they offer both a vast array of colours, from dusty pinks, greens, mauve, blues, yellows, champagnes, brilliant whites etc, as well as giving you the hardness and longevity to sparkle away for an eternity and beyond.

I design both women's and men's pieces and am always open to chatting about custom designs.

If you have a special occasion you'd like to mark with something golden and/or sparkling, drop me an email for a little chat on what i can design for you.

Special Commission Story.

Late last year at our Open Studio event, a lovely couple approached me to ask if i could be commissioned to make a special wedding necklace based on some of my designs on show.

Always ready and excited to take on a new project and challenge, i made a time to meet up with the lovely bride to be, Lauryn, to have a chat about what she might like to have made.

The brief was to create a necklace that combined a collage of handmade beads made from a variety of materials such as resin, ceramic and timber, all within a pallet of off whites, neutrals and dusty pinks, but still using the shapes and textures that she loved in my more colourful pieces. There was also the request to add a little shock of colour and preciousness with the addition of a piece of rough turquoise and a handmade silver bead or two.

While taking into consideration the neckline of the wedding dress, the desired pallet, and the variety of materials, Lauryn was more than happy to let me run free with the brief allowed me to play with a range of ideas and compositions, consulting via email and a few studio meetings to come up with a final design that was at once delicate, subtle, unique, whimsical and mysterious.

During the consultation and design process, i had the chance to chat with Lauryn about her wedding plans and future plans. It's always so lovely to hear people's stories and be a part of such a special occasion.

A few days ago i received a lovely email from Lauryn letting me know that the wedding was a success and that the necklace was a hit.

It's lovely to get such positive and happy feedback, and i thank Lauryn for letting me share this story and the beautiful pic she sent me from their special day.

I wish Lauryn and her new hubby all the best for all their future plans!!!

xx

Catch up...

Eek, it's been a while, it's so here's a catch up post to get things back up to speed.

A commissioned piece for the talented and ever so lovely designer, Skye Jeffreys (http://www.isleofskye.com.au/). It was one of those wonderful commissions where i was given free rein the make something big bold and colourful.

I also found out recently that a piece of my work was selected to be a part of the 2011 Talente showcase in Munich. This is a big honour as it it an annual juried international show of work, presenting emerging innovative practitioners from the areas of design, craft and technology. From Australia only myself, fellow jeweller Mel Miller and glass artist Kristel Britcher were selected this year, so no mean feat getting your foot in the door.

And with Christmas looming, i've been busily getting new work ready to send out to my various galleries and stockists. One exciting project that was handed to me was to create a one off Christmas piece for a festive showcase at E.g.etal. I won't say much more, you'll have to check it out when it goes up closer to the date (i'll keep you posted when it's officially launched), but it sounds like it will be quite a beautiful tribute to celebration, colour and festivities. A group of E.g.etal artists where invited to create a one off piece to be part of the collection and will available for purchase in store very soon. Here's a sneak peek at mine.

And for more exciting news, the new Pieces of Eight Gallery will be opening oh so soon (we're talking weeks, days even now), in Russel place, Melbourne. I will be involved with PO8 both as an artist, but also as gallery staff, so really looking forward to seeing this rocket launch. Their new and comprehensive website showcasing all their artists will be up and running soon also, so i'll be sure to get the link up as soon as it's updated. Here is a pic of two of my piece that will be part of my new one off collection for PO8.

Photography of the last works: Andrew Barcham

Image Courtesy of Pieces of Eight gallery.

Phew! There's more to come, but now i better get back to making...

Quickie update...

Busy times as usual in the studio with simultaneous projects on the go. At the moment i'm focusing on getting my work completed for the annual Winter Brooches show at Stdio 20/17 in Sydney, i had a lovely pendant commission utilising a very sentimental if not rather large crystal. i've been building up my new colection for the new city Pieces of Eight, Melbourne, and have place my thinking cap on firm and fast for the body of work i'll be producing for my upcoming joint show in September with studio buddy Karla Way at Craft Victoria. Oh and i had a bit of a chat recently with e.g.etal about starting to consider a few 'precious' elements to add to the collection there. So, late last week i dropped off a special little ring to be cast in 18ct yellow gold... boy and i excited! stay tuned!

The list of images from top to bottom are as follows:

• A bit of press (utilising my image!) in the Tuesday Age for March 23rd, for the now wrapped up FIGMENT show at e.g.etal. I'm not quite sure about the other artist works, but mine have stayed with the gallery and are available for sale.

• A lovely commissioned pendant project using a very sentimental and large crystal.

• 'When Salt Clogs the Shaker'. The latest and i think final addition to my Weather Lore collection for the Winter Brooches show.

• A few pieces ready for my Pieces of Eight collection.

Ex Post Facto.

Christmas has been and gone, but i was so busy leading up to it that i forgot to post images of work that i was producing at the time. Here are a few pieces that i sent to Eg.Etal, which i think have all sold, but, i might make more in the same vein.

The ring was a private commission, the stone is an orange sapphire that i'm absolutely in love with, it's such a rich golden treacle/amber, colour, so hypnotising.

Forget Me Not

Engagement ring.

9ct Yellow gold, Australian Sapphire.