Our shortlist for the Jewellery Maker of the Year 2016!
Wow, we have been overwhelmed by all of the beautiful entries submitted to our 2016 Maker of the Year Competition! You are all a talented bunch! Thank you to everyone who entered and shared their beautiful work with us!
It was so hard choosing our short-list of candidates! We absolutely love each and every one of these designs for their exquisite craftsmanship, design and presentation. Choosing a winner is going to be tough!
Have a peruse at our amazing shortlist who are presented in no particular order!
Mihaela Coman – A Cup of Tea
Mihaela had the Katherine Mansfield short story in her mind when she made this ring. The delicate ring has 6 silver little pieces soldered together to create the tea cup and the citrine is cleverly set in the tea cup.
Vlad Zoldak – Interstellar Ring
The ring was inspired by Vlad’s fascination with space and its elements, primarily an element that gives live to everything living even in the most hostile places; water. It is made of sterling silver and 20ct terminated Aquamarine. The entire ring is handmade and soldered together.
Suzanne Ross – Lapis Maki-e Pendant
The inspiration for this piece came from the colour of the lapis lazuli itself. The colour reminded Suzanne of a peaceful ocean sailing with clear blue skies. Suzanne chose labradorite beads as they change colour with movement like the sea. The gold painting on the lapis is done in the traditional Japanese gold decorating technique called “maki-e” where urushi ( a tree sap) is painted on and gold powder is sprinkled onto the wet ground. When it has set, the gold is sealed with urushi and then sanded with charcoal and polished.
Robyn Golding – Green Fingers Ring
This piece is called Green Fingers and is a double ring connected with three short chains. The piece is inspired by gardening but also from the materials used within this piece, It is made from 100% recycled silver and reclaimed plastics, the green hand is also flocked to give it its green colour. The hand is also removable and is a lid of a small container to reveal a real plant inside.
Anca Druga – Starry, Starry Night
This design is inspired by “Starry Night over the Rhone” – Vincent Van Gogh. The pendant was hand painted and handcrafted using acrylic colors on polymer clay, fixed in a wire wrapped support to emphasize the texture and depth of the design.
Claire Housden – Morphology #2 Necklace
This is a leather necklace which I designed in 3 colourways (black&black, black&white, and black&red). The inspiration for the morphology collection is vegetable tanned leather itself; and how it can be manipulated to hold a 3-D form. Claire has developed a unique technique to texture and fold the leather, which she uses throughout this collection.
Theodora Gould – Holy Island Bangle
The Holy Island Bangle is inspired by a small and magical island off the western shore of Lough Derg in Southern Ireland. Theodora wanted to make something that had an ancient and celtic feel but also reflected the colours of the island. Made from sterling silver, the stones are 5mm cabochons; garnet to represent the rambling roses, sapphire for the water and the expanse of sky, peridot for the lush Irish grass, citrine for the yellow lichen which covers the tumbling ruins and dark and lavender amethyst for the wild flowers.
Kim Styles – Morganite and Sapphire Cluster Ring
This morganite and sapphire cluster ring, with wild rose and hydrangea flowers in white and yellow gold. The morganite is set in rose gold to echo the beautiful pale pink of the stone. Kim wanted to make something really pretty that she could wear as an example of what she does. It is entirely handmade from 18ct gold sheet and wire.
Nichola Foster – Wirework Lampwork Bead Pendant
Nichola is a lampwork artist and recently learnt how to wire weave which she finds really enjoyable and very addictive! Here is one of her lampwork glass beads which she has set and decorated with copper. The design emerged as she worked, and demonstrates her love of curves and scrolls.
Scott Shead – The Kracken Ring
Sterling Silver ring with a large Pearl. The ring is designed to sit on one finger and have a tentacle curl around another finger. Scott lives on a Scottish Island which inspires him and he handcraftedthe Kraken Octopus ring to be a statement piece. The ring is designed to be comfortable to wear and also to make a great addition to a steampunk or nautical style outfit.
To check out all of the competition entries – please have a look at the Facebook Competition Post!
Don’t forget! The prize winners will be announced on 5th September!
Good luck to all of the Shortlisted Candidates!