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Makers & Tools Project

Makers & Tools Project Old Fire Station, Oxford 17 May - 15 June 2019 The Makers & Tools project provides makers with the space and time to take risks in their practice, to explore new ways of collaborative working and to develop skills that will contribute to the success of their careers in contemporary craft. It provides valuable continuing professional development opportunities for makers in the SW and SE, and makes visible the process of craft to a wider public audience. The project connects six contemporary craft makers in the early stages of their careers, who undertook a non-verbal conversation

Help Alan Craxford fulfil his final project

My name is Janice Hosegood, and I'm fundraising to help Alan Craxford complete his final project. We've known each other for over thirty years, first through work and in later years, we've become great friends. With a career spanning over 50 years, Alan Craxford is an artist, jeweller, silversmith, engraver, and teacher, acknowledged for his precision and mastery of precious metals and gemstones. Alan’s artworks are highly prized and have been exhibited over his career with examples shown within the Victoria & Museum’s permanent collection. In 2003, Alan was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. It is a devastating condition and although

Royal Academy Schools Announce New Project: Fashion Art Commissions

The BFC Fashion Arts Foundation and the Royal Academy Schools are committed to encouraging and nurturing future talent. A new commissioning project will bring together fashion designers and visual artists to collaborate across art forms. The project is called Fashion Art Commissions and will pair graduates from the RA Schools with Newgen and Newgen Men designers. The commission will produce artworks that will form part of an auction at Christie’s. The pieces will be on display from the 31st October – 11th November at Christie’s King Street gallery and will then be part of an online auction from 22nd November

Positano Collection: The Allure Of The Amalfi Coast

Icon of Parisian creativity and cosmopolitan getaways, Maison Aurélie Bidermann is showcasing its POSITANO collection in celebration of the enchanting charm of the Amalfi Coast. Since 2004, the Maison has been delighting jewellery lovers with its dreamy, elegant creations, and this collection is no exception. The sleek and stylish POSITANO collection offers a range of bangles, small and large hoop earrings, and necklaces inspired by the torques of antiquity. Each carefully crafted bakelite and gilded in 18K (750/1000) gold piece subtly captures the light, evoking the luscious floral colours typical of the Amalfi Coast. This collection makes a real feminine

Knives into Jewels: Crafting a Safer Birmingham

A leading artist, activist and academic is using jewellery as a vehicle for social intervention as he launches a special project aimed at tackling knife crime among young people in Birmingham. The ‘ Swords into Ploughshares: Knives into Jewels’ project had been co-developed by Dauvit Alexander, Senior Lecturer in Jewellery and Silversmithing at Birmingham City University’s (BCU) School of Jewellery and former head of School Professor Norman Cherry. This collaborative project will take jewellery into schools in Areas of Multiple Deprivation (AMDs) bringing together drama, virtual reality, crafting, intensive mentoring, and first-aid training to encourage 14 to 16-year-olds to think

KnivesOut: Crafting a Safer Birmingham Launch Crowdfunding Campaign

This multi-disciplinary project seeks new and innovative routes to tackling the issue of knife-crime in local envronments, using a unique programme of social intervention. The project is a partnership between established community activists, a collaborative practice, brought together as “Knives Out” by Swords Into Ploughshares CIC working with experienced staff from Round Midnight Theatre, Street Doctors, TAS Mentoring and Birmingham City University’s School of Jewellery. At the core of the project is an innovative approach which uses participant-led craftivist practices to challenge thinking around ‘road life’, gang membership and, specifically, knife-crime. Working with schools in the Jewellery Quarter and Soho

Fiona Rourke presents Reflect, Refract, React at Blinkered

Fiona Rourke presents Reflect, Refract, React at Blinkered Recent Crafts Council Hothouse 2017 participant Fiona Rourke presents her ongoing solo project Reflect, refract, react as part of the alternative jewellery catwalk show Blinkered at Grand Entrance Hall, Brunel Museum during London Fashion Week. About the Project Reflect, refract, react is a project that strikes out from the static norm by subverting the function of mirrors; applying them to the body rather than using them as a way to view the body. Mirrors are culturally synonymous with self-awareness, providing a unique virtual stage in which we play the part of the

Jewellery runs Adagio

Adagio is an artistic project about time writes Ilaria Ruggiero in her exhibition review. As photography teaches us, an image is the pure settling for rhythm, the sense of time descending into vision. This is a delicate project that deals with light and movement through the diverse artistic forms of photography and jewellery. A minimalist and conceptual work that is reflected in the dual aesthetic soul of the image and the jewel: both evanescent yet present, stylized and essential. Letizia Maggio's technical and artistic research evolves into a sophisticated and complex narration, which mixes materials such as cotton, silver and

Crafting Business Seminar

Crafting EuropeSeminar - Crafts Council The project partners of the Creative Europe project ‘Crafting Europe’, are delighted to announce our first ‘Crafting Business Seminar’. Crafting Business is a professional practice training programme that was organised and delivered in 2020. This programme aimed to share expertise and knowledge to support the business development of newcomers to the industry in nine European countries including the UK. Join us on the 22nd and 23rd February 2021, 10am-12.50pm (GMT/Ireland/UK/Portugal) to find out more about the Crafting Business programme and to hear from the participants and tutors involved about their experiences. Please follow this

Bishopsland announces the opening of its new HQ

Bishopsland announces the opening of its exciting new home for professional training and partnership with the National Trust’s Heritage and Rural Skills Centre Bishopsland has successfully completed the first phase of its relocation to Buscot and Coleshill and a new partnership with the National Trust’s Heritage and Rural Skills Centre, marking an exciting milestone in its journey. Bishopsland Educational Trust have disclosed to Benchpeg that they are thrilled to formally announce that their project to relocate and establish a future for silversmithing has been generously supported by the South Square Trust and the De Beers Group. The project is also

‘Wearable Memories: Stones of the Grassland’

‘Wearable Memories: Stones of the Grassland’ Martin Hall Gallery, Loughborough College 12pm-2pm, weekdays only from 26 September - 11 October 2024 PhD researcher Zihan Zhou presents jewellery and research work from her doctoral project within the exhibition ‘Wearable Memories: Stones of the Grassland’. The exhibition will be open in Martin Hall Gallery from 12pm-2pm, weekdays only from 26 September until 11 October. There will be an opening and preview event on Thursday 26 September, 4pm-6pm. This event is open to all and no booking is required. This exhibition is part of Zihan's ongoing practice-based doctoral project, 'Wearable Memories: Contemporary

PGI China Win the China International Business Awards 2022 for Its Culture of Innovation

In 2019, Platinum Guild International (PGI® ® ) initiated Project Reboot, a programme that aims to capture more younger consumers into platinum’s market share in jewellery. The success of this programme led to PGI being awarded the China International Business Awards 2022 for the Non-Profit Organisation category. The China International Business Awards is organised by Asian Business Review to honour notable achievements of outstanding international firms in China, particularly achievements anchored by innovative business strategies that adapt to changing business landscapes. In 2019, Platinum Guild International (PGI®) initiated Project Reboot, a programme that aims to capture more younger consumers

Glenmorangie Annual Lecture: Simone ten Hompel

Glenmorangie Annual Lecture: Simone ten Hompel 7:00pm – 8:15pm, Thursday 10 October 2019 National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Silversmith Simone ten Hompel discusses her commission from National Museums Scotland and The Glenmorangie Company to create a new piece of contemporary metal artwork inspired by the museum’s early medieval collections. About the Commission As part of the Creating Scotland project, National Museums Scotland and Glenmorangie have commissioned a major new piece of contemporary metalwork for display in the National Museum of Scotland. The current phase of the Glenmorangie Project, Creating Scotland, sees the research focus on the 9th to 12th centuries,

Philomène Hoël: Keep It Longer

Philomène Hoël: Keep It Longer Curated by Valentina Bin and Simina Neagu Philomène Hoël’s Keep It Longer is a site-specific project which will occupy Gallery S O’s two spaces for two weeks with two shows. This will include two screens, two curators and two texts. One title: Keep It Longer. The artist will work across the gallery’s project space, which will host an immersive installation, and select a contemporary jewellery and object display in the front space. Philomène Hoël works with film and performance to activate the cinematic dimension of a space and set up intimate scenarios of crisis.

Dimexon Transitions To Solar Power At Coimbatore Factory

Diamond manufacturer Dimexon has transitioned to solar power at its manufacturing site in Coimbatore, southern India, reducing its reliance on the national grid by 75%. This will equate to an annual saving of ~1,400 tCO2e, which is equivalent of taking 333 cars off the road for a year. The solar power project is part of Dimexon’s wider ESG commitments, which include its pledge to be carbon neutral by 2030. The Coimbatore site is responsible for 85% of the global company’s total carbon emissions. To further reduce its emissions at Coimbatore, Dimexon swapped out diesel vehicles for electric vehicles in 2023.

Design for Jewellery Makers: Inspiration, development and creation

Design for Jewellery Makers: Inspiration, development and creation by Louise Seijen ten Hoorn A clear, comprehensive and practical 'how-to' guide and resource for all aspects of designing jewellery. This book contains expert guidance on design and the design process, and includes step-by-step project briefs and themes for readers to use as a basis for developing their own ideas. It is suitable for all intermediate and professional jewellery makers, as well as those attending jewellery-making courses and who have taken up jewellery making as a hobby. The book explores the design process in depth, from fundamentals of jewellery design such as

Design for Jewellery Makers: Inspiration, development and creation

Benchpeg's Bookshelf Book List

We all enjoy a good read. Our bookshelf has been hand-picked. Design for Jewellery Makers: Inspiration, development and creation A clear, comprehensive and practical 'how-to' guide and resource for all aspects of designing jewellery. This book contains expert guidance on design and the design process, and includes step-by-step project briefs and themes for readers to use as a basis for developing their own ideas. It is suitable for all intermediate and professional jewellery makers, as well as those attending jewellery-making courses and who have taken up jewellery making as a hobby. The book explores the design process in depth, from

20 Years in the Making

20 Years in the Making 27 April - 22 June 2024 Part of Craft Festival’s 20-year celebration Amazingly, Craft Festival has been going for 20 years. What started as a small project with 2000 visitors in Bovey Tracey has grown into the fantastic, diverse and vibrant event it now is, shaping the town where it started into the ‘Capital of Craft’, spreading the word to Cheltenham, Cardiff and online, and perhaps even transforming our views of making to appreciate the handmade that little bit more. In recognition of this, Sarah James, Director of Craft Festival and Find a Maker, was

Jewellery Is Not Only Jewellery. Finale

Art gallery PUTTI presents the exhibition JEWELLERY IS NOT ONLY JEWELLERY celebrating its 20 year anniversary and simultaneously FINALE writes Ilaria Ruggiero A choral and broad project, in line with the previous conceptual jewellery exhibitions realized during the past years, aimed at expanding the classical understanding of jewellery as well as challenging the boundaries of creativity within the field of jewellery, from different point of view: aesthetically, intellectually and also physically - demonstrating that the object we call jewellery does not have a perceptual frame. 15 artists participates in the exhibition, they are contemporary jewellery thinkers and creators from

{Queer} + {Metals}

{Queer} + {Metals} 12 November 2022 - 2 April 2023 Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham The transformative power of ‘queerness’ and metal connect in an international exhibition and digital project. {Queer} + {Metals} is a Craftspace exhibition co-curated by its Director Deirdre Figueiredo and Dauvit Alexander artist and tutor at Birmingham City University’s School of Jewellery in collaboration with artist Rebekah Frank. The exhibition, which opens on the 12 November at Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham, uses the lens of metalworking to explore the multiplicity of queerness – whether as identity, lived experiences, thinking, cultures, aesthetic, influences, stories, place, and imagination –

The Goldsmiths’ Centre collaborates with London Museum to Showcase Emerging Jewellery Designers

London Museum is showcasing UK handmade jewellery by emerging designer-makers in an exciting collaboration with the Goldsmiths’ Centre. This joint retail project, piloted by the Goldsmiths’ Centre on behalf of the Goldsmiths' Company and Charity, will be available at London Museum Docklands, showcasing pieces that connect to the rich history of London, the River Thames, and stories of trade and migration told in the museum’s galleries. London Museum’s latest showcase features five jewellers and silversmiths whose designs blend history, technology, and culture with sustainable materials and modern techniques. Xinyi Chen, Suzanne Seed, Cara Lowe, Jo Boateng, and Caitlin Murphy present

Luz Arias - Nuanced transparency

Luz Arias has been dedicating herself to jewellery since 1999 and during her career she also becomes curator of the "Puro Diseño" fair, thus acquiring a formal sensibility towards both project and creativity writes Ilaria Ruggiero She meets the glass almost by chance becoming her perfect alter ego, as often happens to those who are attracted to and approach this material, so concrete but so elusive. From the moment she starts working with glass, she improves technique and aesthetics in a personal and unique way. A bit in general, and especially in her work, Luz does not aim to dominate

Jewellery Consultancy Services Available for Trade Clients - London

Jewellery Consultancy Services Available for Trade Clients - London With over two decades in the industry, I provide expert consultancy services for dealers, manufacturers, wholesalers and jewellery houses. From diamond evaluation and product development to buying, manufacturing, logistics, PR & marketing support, I offer a flexible service tailored to your needs - whether on a day rate or project basis - I can lead or support. With no complications such as tax, NI, benefits or pensions to worry about, if you are looking for specialist freelance assistance in the jewellery sector, get in touch to discuss how I can help.

Milano Jewelery Tour 2023

Milano Jewelery Tour is the official partner of the first edition of Contemporania 28-30 September 2023 Royal Palace of Pedralbes, Barcelona 28 to 30 September 2023 Milano Jewellery Tour, a project to enhance the communication of jewelry founded by Eugenia Gadaleta, is the official partner of the first edition of Contemporania High Craftsmanship Barcelona. The event, conceived by Paulo Ribeiro and organized by Le Departément Interiors SL and Consorci de Comerç, Artesania i Moda de Catalunya, will be hosted by the Royal Palace of Pedralbes in Barcelona from 28 to 30 September 2023, and will exhibit the best of high craftsmanship. The event was

Slovenian Jewellery Week 2023

Slovenian Jewellery Week 2023 SLOVENSKI TEDEN NAKITA 2023 11— 19 May 2023 The SIJW project is primarily intended to present contemporary jewelry design to the public. They will be able to learn more about the products and designers who create contemporary jewelry throughout Slovenia. Guests from abroad will also join them. This is currently the only event in our country that is specifically aimed at promoting contemporary jewelry design and its creators. Contemporary jewelry is a self-reflexive practice, which means that we creators are engaged in thinking about ourselves and the conditions in which we carry out this practice. Contemporary

BCU Design students showcase bespoke ensembles at opera event

Students from Birmingham City University (BCU)’s Institute of Jewellery, Fashion and Textiles showcased their costume and jewellery design skills at a special Voice of Black Opera (VOBO) event last week, creating bespoke ensembles worn by the project’s finalists. The VOBO project aims to promote the Commonwealth’s finest Black and South Asian singers as they launch international operatic careers, the finals took place at a Gala ceremony at Birmingham Town Hall. Competing were five finalists, each wearing bespoke concert outfits and coordinating jewellery pieces researched and designed by BCU Jewellery, Fashion and Textiles students, in collaboration with the Black British Classical

‘Connecting Values: Exploring Co-Creation Through Making’ Exhibition

‘Connecting Values: Exploring Co-Creation Through Making’ Exhibition 17 May - 4 June 2021 Swiss Cottage Gallery, London In 2019 K2 Academy was invited to participate in Camden Alive Project , a programme of arts and cultural events that celebrates the people of Camden and captures the sights, sounds and spirit of the borough. K2’s founders and directors, Katrin Spranger and Kelvin Birk , were commissioned to develop their own art projects with Camden residents and K2 students based on their stories and chosen theme of ‘value’. This cultural exchange culminated in creating an electroformed fountain and crushed-stone neckpiece which were

Fire and Facets

Image credit- Left: Ami Pepper, Middle: Max Danger, Right: Shimell and Madden. Gill Wing Gallery presents Fire and Facets, a pioneering collaboration of craftsmanship across the continents. The project has created new jewellery by leading contemporary British designers featuring opals from Australia’s famous Lightning Ridge. The exhibition takes place in Gill Wing’s beautiful gallery in Islington, the leading London destination for contemporary jewellery. Fire and Facets is guest-curated by renowned New York jewellery blogger A Thousand Facets and will reveal limited edition opal inspired fragrances specially composed by award winning perfumer Sarah McCartney, made in London at her indie perfume

Manon van Kouswijk - Sources & Resources at K2 Academy of Contemporary Jewellery, London

Manon van Kouswijk - Sources & Resources at K Academy of Contemporary Jewellery, London 17 - 20 July 2019 A 4 Day Masterclass led by Manon van Kouswijk at K Academy Of Contemporary Jewellery, London Masterclass - Sources & Resources The project of contemporary jewellery started out as an idealistic one that aimed to change our thinking about what jewellery was and what it could be. In our increasingly image-driven era of late capitalism how do you articulate and shape your position within contemporary jewellery practice? What is it that draws you to work with this particular subject matter and

Jewellery Surgery at K2 Academy of Contemporary Jewellery

Jewellery Surgery at K2 Academy of Contemporary Jewellery Let us help you solve your technical and design problems 1 or 2 Day Course - Saturdays 10 and/or 17 Mar 2018 What will be taught? As a maker we all face challenges from time to time: We get stuck with our technical skills, progress or design development and wish we had someone to talk to and discuss it with! On this course you will have the possibility to get advise on the practical and design problems you come across when making jewellery. It will focus on your specific project, your work in

Initiation 2018

Initiation 2018 // Kallichoron Munich Jewellery Week 2018 A Jewellery, Narrative & Performance show to reflect the night of the sacred orgies. The project INITIATION 2018 // KALLICHORON focuses on „ Body – Ritual - Narrativ e“ as a means to bridge jewellery with the sacred context of its origins and to find meaning in its future development. For 2.000 years Eleusina, a farmers' community close to Athens, was the spiritual capital of the Greek-Roman world. The cult of Demeter and Persephone - Mother and Daughter – also know as "orgies" (work) celebrated the establishment of human settlements and agriculture,

Jewellery Certificate Level 2 at Morley Collage

Jewellery Certificate Level 2- VJE070A Morley College 13 Sep 2017 - 4 Jul 2018 This year long course is 3 hours a week from September and is an intermediate course aimed at people wanting to further their skills, start a business, work in the jewellery industry or progress onto further education. The course covers press-forming, etching, stone setting, fashion jewellery, a competition project with the V&A museum, using found objects in jewellery and enamelling. At the end of the course there is a show which the students organise, run and participate in. It also covers running a small business, setting

ENSEMB7E Presents: ‘Hidden Layers’

‘Hidden Layers’ - An exhibition staged by MA by Project Artists Jewellery | Ceramics | Sculpture | Painting | Installation Hidden Layers serves as a metaphor for the outcomes encountered on the path of the search . The ‘deep learning’ uncovers hither-to protected or concealed layers within an individual’s practice. Diverse research areas and fine art practices combine to form this multi-disciplinary group – building an individually stronger practice. Through our research, lost, yet to be discovered, or the newly imagined are encountered. Installations and memory objects subvert conventional notions of home as a safe haven | Evocative landscapes allude

Ilaria Ruggiero

Meet Benchpeg's Contributing Writer Ilaria. As an authority of contemporary and art jewellery, her features aim to cover the current European contemorary jewellery movement. Ilaria Ruggiero Contributing Writer Ilaria Ruggiero is a cultural manager and curator working in the field of contemporary art. She is the founder of Adornment - Curating Contemporary Art Jewelry , a curatorial integrated project dedicated to contemporary art jewelry. It aims to develop the knowledge and consciousness of contemporary jewelry as artistic discipline and as ground search for technique, aesthetics, and philosophy. www.adornment-jewelry.com Meet the rest of the team here . If you'd like

City Fringe Partnership

The City Fringe Partnership was a ground-breaking public and private sector alliance between the London Development Agency, the London boroughs and private business partners which ran from 1996 - 2009. Through their European Development-funded project, the Jewellery Sector Investment Plan (JSIP), they created £3 million worth of jewellery support programmes, improving collaborative and training opportunities in the industry. The projects ran until 2009, and they continue to inspire long-term regenerative partnerships today. Projects like Future in the Making supported 340 businesses to increase their sales and contacts, and beginner’s jewellery and awareness courses were run for 125 socially and economically

Celebrating Eighty: Art In The Hand

This March the exhibition Celebrating Eighty: Art in the Hand at the Goldsmiths’ Centre unites eighty contemporary art medals by students from more than a dozen UK art colleges with work by renowned Iranian sculptor, jeweller, writer and designer Parviz Tanavoli and his former students in celebration of his 80th Birthday. All exhibitors have been invited to participate in the British Art Medal Society’s 24th Student Medal Project. A surprising and challenging medium for artists and viewers alike, the modern art medal has its roots in the Renaissance tradition of making medals as hand-sized works of art. Each year over

Elements Festival of Jewellery, Silver & Gold 2023

Elements Festival of Jewellery, Silver & Gold 27-29 October 2023 Edinburgh Elements returns to Lyon & Turnbull in Edinburgh for its ninth year in 2023, bringing together the UK's finest Jewellers and Silversmiths. From functional and sculptural silver to colourful, one-of-a-kind jewellery, Elements celebrates the vast range of expert craftsmanship and innovative design of makers from across the UK. Elements is a partnership project between Lyon & Turnbull Auctioneers and The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust. Exhibitors elementsfestival.co.uk/exhibitors-2023 Dates Elements Festival of Jewellery, Silver and Gold 2023 is open to the public Friday 27 October, 11am-5pm Saturday 28 October, 11am-5pm Sunday 29

‘Flowers from the Frontline’ Series

‘Flowers from the Frontline’ Series Archivist Exhibit, Garden Museum, London 12th November - 22nd December 2022 The Ukrainian war flower series that finds beauty and growth in a time of destruction. British jewellery designer Phoebe Walsh has created a series of 5 miniature flower pressing books in recycled Sterling Silver, each containing a single war flower from the new frontlines in Kyiv. The project began in March when a brave Kyivan artist Olga Morozova agreed to go searching for flowers as her city fell ablaze. Inspired by the Garden Museum’s collection of Wildflower pressings made by Jane Lindsay in 1956, from London’s WWII

The Jewellers Toolkit

Designing jewellery and setting off on a major project or piece can be an intimidating prospect, especially when looking at using outworkers for the first time. Our Jeweller’s Toolkit has been produced to help you better understand your jewellery manufacturing needs, and it’s free to use. How to use the Jewellers Toolkit The Jeweller's Toolkit is a digital booklet, free to download. Produced by Benchpeg, the Toolkit can be downloaded as a compelte booklet, but we've also broken each handy chapter out into a fact sheet for individual use and reference. Download your full copy here , or the relevant