International Jewellery London 2014 Review

Exhausting but such fun!

I'm aware that many of you may not know what IJL is! Well, it's the U.K's premier jewellery trade show held annually in London featuring upcoming designers, collection releases from big brands, supplies of loose precious gems plus catwalk shows and free seminars. In a nut shell, an opportunity not to be missed for me!
Best of all this event is free if you register online in advance so an early train to Paddington on Sunday saw me making the most of this fab event.

When I arrived I started upstairs where the Design Galleries were and most notably the New Designers and Kickstart exhibits. I was really looking forward to this part for several reasons. Firstly, to see what trends designers had picked up on, secondly, any new innovative techniques that I might want to try my hand at and lastly for a good ol' chat! I expected to be able to have a natter with a few designers, hear how they got started, where their inspiration comes from and what they want to get working on next.

But it couldn't have been more different! With the exception of one or two people, everyone was (I almost don't want to say) hostile.......?! As soon as it was revealed my badge said 'Designer' and I wasn't looking to buy for my shop/gallery, conversation ceased. Whether that's because outside of their sales pitch they didn't know what to say or that they felt it was a waste of their time talking to someone that wasn't going to place an order I have no idea. Perhaps they thought I was there to steal ideas! However, as I mentioned previously, I was there to see what trends designers had picked up on so that I wouldn't do the same!
I've jumped on the 'trend' bandwagon before and it has not paid dividends.

I saw a lot of similar things too - nature themed jewellery, lots of bees, butterflies flowers etc. A lot of bright, semi-precious gemstone set jewellery and plenty of rose gold plating because that's a 'trendy' thing :)

Another peculiar thing I noted too was that along with myself, I overheard a lot of people commenting on how cheap the wholesale prices of designer jewellery was. 'Too cheap?!' I hear you say! Yup, and this was for two reasons I think. New designers were massively underselling themselves and probably because of reason two - most designers now it seems are getting their work made abroad, cast and finished in India and the far East. How does a designer who also makes their own work by hand compete with that?
Now there were plenty of shop owners I heard asking designers where there products were made so it was encouraging to know that there are still discerning shoppers out there!

In conclusion it made me come to realise where I want to be taking my business and trade shows is not one route. I don't want to sell out! I want to continue to improve my silversmithing skills so that I rely less and less on mass producing techniques and instead create more with my own two hands. This will mean that you won't be seeing my websites selling sterling silver opal earrings for under a tenner but instead will find something fabricated by me or if not by me, then I will tell you who! For example, I have recently collaborated with a self employed U.K charm maker who has cast new acorn charms for Graceful Deviant, my very own exclusive design rather than using a generic, mass produced charm. I know we can't worry 24/7 about where our purchases come from and how they are made but from my own standpoint, I want to be transparent so that when people want to be a little more discerning, they can be :)

Now, on a less-ranty note - shopping time! I had a blast drooling over all the scrumptious gemstones on offer and I'm rather pleased I don't set 'proper' gemstones and diamonds or I would not be eating for the rest of the year! But I got a good haul including these stones for setting into rings and studs:

Amazonite eyes, labradorite nose and carnelian smile!

 Plus these strands were too tempting not to buy!

Peacock pearls, turquoise, amazonite, onyx, rock crystal and pyrite

And my winter colours:

Stunning faceted rock cystal, hematite and onyx

 Those teeny, tiny faceted gems hold sooo much potential!

Would I go again? I'm not sure. I would have loved to be able to spend more time browsing other peoples work upstairs without feeling intimidated and perhaps one day when I require some diamonds or other precious stones I will but I've made some good contacts and may not need to return for a good few years.

What are your thoughts on how jewellery is made? Would you mind if you bought a British brand only to discover it was all made somewhere else? Do you support handmade and what does that mean to you? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Latest Graceful Deviant Designs

Did you spot one of the new designs in Vogue U.K magazine?!

So, last month was very busy (hence the lack of blog posts, apologies!) as I was working on new designs when I was contacted by an agency working on behalf of Vogue magazine.
They thought my jewellery would be perfect for a feature they had due in the August edition entitled 'Get Your Rocks On' and I thought it would be a great opportunity to reveal a new design.
And here it is!

The Graceful Deviant piece as seen in Vogue U.K magazine (Aug 2014 edition)

 Some of the other designs I had been working on included this summer daisy design:

This summer daisy design worked perfectly in my dainty studs

Along with this star mandala style doodle. Although once this had been digitally scanned and shrunk, it lost a lot of definition so now only the very middle part has been used in my charms and studs.

The original star mandala was just a bit too big so only the middle section got used!

 

One of my favourite designs was the legendary North American thunderbird which works so well with the summery turquoise:

 

However, the feature in Vogue did throw up a rather important question and one which I had been ignoring for the past few weeks. It was the concern over using bought in components and the copyright issues that may surround them.

Now I have been very careful recently when designing new items to ask myself the following questions:

• Can you source these materials on a larger scale quickly and efficiently should you suddenly have an influx in orders?
• Is the design predominately handmade or hand-assembled? Which of these makes more business sense? Does it even matter? If so, how can you make it more unique?
• With any purchased materials is there any copyright issue?

This has led me on a slight detour to my original Graceful Deviant mission but one that I feel now is actually better for it. More of this discussion in my next blog post and new product reveal :)

I'm also off to IJL next week so there will also be a blog post about the goodies I uncover and the talented designers too!

Handmade Cards & Commissions

A week of card making and silversmithing - perfect!

It's been a busy few days full of birthdays, Father's Day and more so the dining table has been littered with pretty papers, ribbons and flowers!

These are just a hobby for me really, I take commissions by word of mouth and don't sell them anywhere online but if you think I can help with anything - just ask! I love making them!

A couple of weeks ago I also got asked to come up with a floral necklace in silver with the recipients favourite stone - emerald. It was decided that a poppy shape would be just right as she had them in her garden!
And here is the result:

I still get nervous soldering but I know it's just a practise makes perfect issue - I'm always so conscious of how much the materials cost, what if it solders in the wrong place, what if I get too much firescale etc!!!
But I'm pretty pleased with this one and it has definitely inspired me to get back to the torch - at least once a week!

My next post will show you my latest Graceful Deviant product launch so stay tuned!

Featured Bead Artisan Part VI: Linda Newnham

A very warm welcome to Linda who makes the most glorious glass beads over on the Isle of Wight! You will recognise a lot of her work in my designs as I am a big fan of her style!

How did you begin your craft?

It all started when I went to some ceramics classes with a friend and made some beads. Of course I had to make something with them and the next logical step was to take a jewellery making class where I made a necklace, bracelet and earrings using the beads I had made.

Linda's Ceramic Bead Bracelet

I found the process of making the beads very slow, making them one week, glazing them the next and then having to go back the following week to pick them up.

There were only 2 bead shops on the Isle of Wight where I live (only 1 now) with not a great selection so I started buying jewellery from charity shops that I could break up and use. I found buying beads online a frustrating experience so when I saw someone making glass beads during an Open Studios visit I was fascinated. I was so excited at the thought I could make my own beads in any colours I liked.

I set about investigating online to see what I would need to set up this craft of lampworking and found Becky Fairclough who lived not far from my Mum and did induction courses. I signed up for a 2 day course and made my first glass beads. That was in June of 2011. I picked up my equipment from the Big Bead Show in September and finally started making beads in the November and I haven't looked back since.

An early picture of Linda's studio - it's grown a lot in recent years!

Where do you draw your inspiration? 

That's a tricky one as it's never from just one source, sometimes it's someone else's work such as  glass artist such as Chihuly or a painter. But quite often I find it is in the process of making beads that inspiration strikes, one thing leads to another and ideas pop into my head as I go along.

Describe one of your favourite techniques to use in your work?

I would have to say at the moment it is making headpins for those of you who don't know what a headpin is, it is basically a glass bead on the end of a piece of wire. 

Fabulous Glass Bead Headpins

Is there anything new you are itching to try and incorporate?

I have so much glass I haven't tried yet and a gold fuming kit I have yet to use to name but a couple of things I would like to try.

What would you describe as your biggest professional achievement?

Well, I am going to narrow that down to my biggest achievement in lampworking and that would be my recent win of the jewellery category of the Glass Beadmakers UK annual competition at Flame Off. A necklace inspired by a Dale Chihuly sculpture I saw in Murano last year. I am very proud of this piece which has over 100 headpins in it.

 You can find out more about Linda's work via her website and stay in touch on Facebook!