About Benchpeg
A little bit about our history...
18 years ago, the UK jewellery industry was lacking accessible information. Organisations in the trade were keeping themselves to themselves, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the latest developments.
In 2006 we founded Benchpeg, and launched the first digital newsletter for the jewellery industry and allied trades aimed at promoting information from across the trade and bridging the gap of information out there and accessibility to it.
In 2024 we published our 800th issue of the Benchpeg newsletter.
Today we support the jeweller by assisting with recruitment needs, sharing the latest news stories and promoting business opportunities. Our website and newsletter has a national focus but owns an international audience spanning all levels of the trade, from CEOs and creative directors, production managers and bench workers, to designers, wax carvers and retailers.
The formative years: our raison d'être
Since our inception in 2006, and because we have always passionately believed in the power of information and the ability to access knowledge having a transformative effect on lives, we worked on and developed benchpeg entirely voluntarily, supporting the service we delivered with our own salaries, until 2011.
We've had many ups and downs along the independent 10 year path that we've chosen to journey along, and on many occasions questioned the very reason why we have continued with our Benchpeg work. Every single time this question has arisen, someone had contacted us with a little story about how we have directly affected their lives for the better, and these little stories spurred us on.
Us at work and some of our friends
A philanthropic approach
Throughout our history, we have given our time freely by providing assistance and advice to those who have sought it, and have worked tirelessly to produce a weekly newsletter packed with news and opportunities to grow and strengthen businesses.
We have also sponsored opportunities, prizes and have developed our own competition which is aimed at providing an opportunity to accelerate the trajectory of the winner’s careers and give them a helping leg up on the first rung of the career ladder.
This work could not have been done without the generosity and commitment of our regular advertisers, who have unwittingly supported our philanthropic work.
Some visitors to our 2010 stand at International Jewellery London
Who we’ve worked with
Since our foundation we’ve worked with most industry organisations and bodies, including notably The Goldsmiths’ Company, the Crafts Council, London Jewellery Week and the Goldsmiths Craft and Design Council. We’ve been media partners to several events and organisations, including International Jewellery London, New Designers, the Design Museum and Silver Speaks.
The Benchpeg team
Changing lives
We believe information should be accessible to those who need it. Knowing the right thing at the right time can be crucial to success, and can even transform lives:
‘In Benchpeg’s first year, a blacksmith emailed me saying his business was floundering. He was struggling to pay his mortgage and support his family. His self-esteem was at an all time low. I said I‘d look out for opportunities for him, and told him he could find these himself in our newsletter.
‘Six months later, he emailed me again saying he’d won several public art commissions and was on the shortlist for another. His business was back on track, he could pay his mortgage and support his family again. He thanked Benchpeg for changing his fate. Whenever I have any doubts about the worth of what we do , I remember we can help change lives for the better.’
- Rebecca van Rooijen, Benchpeg Co-Founder
and that is why we do what we do.
Meet the team
This is us. We are the team that bring the website, newsletter and social media feeds to our lovely readers, subscribers and followers.
Rebecca van Rooijen
Co-founder | Editor
Rebecca is the creator of Benchpeg, she has 25 years of experience in the industry (she started young!), her vision was to create a resource where the jewellery industry could share and access information.
Along with being Editor-in-Cheif of Benchpeg, and held various positions within industry, Rebecca is a Trustee of the Bishopsland Educational Trust, and currently sits on the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee at the Goldsmiths' Company. She is also Chair of Goldsmiths' Fair Advisory Group and helped the event pivot from physical to digital in 2020.
She is a retired Committee Member for the Communications and Marketing Committee at The Goldsmiths’ Company having served 8 years; She was also a member of the Communications Sounding Board at the Goldsmiths' Company. She has been a business mentor for the Crafts Council, and was elected a Committee Member of the Goldsmiths' Craft and Design Council (retired). She has acted as an ambassador for many industry events.
Rebecca's 25 years of expereince in the Creative Industries, specifically the Jewellery Industry, in the private, public and third sectors led to a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Arts. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and is a Charterd Marketer. In 2013 she was awarded the Freedom of the Goldsmiths' Company, is a Freeman of the City of London and was elected Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths for her services to industry in perpetuity.
Rebecca's Instagram feed can be foud here
instagram.com/rebecca_van_rooijen
Read more here...
Howard van Rooijen
Co-founder
Howard has been at Benchpeg since the beginning. With an exceptional understanding of business and technology, he has provided us with practical, financial and moral support for nearly two decades.
We couldn't have achieved half of the things we've done without his stalwart presence.
When he's not involved in Benchpeg stuff Howard can be found at endjin, his Microsoft Gold Partner status technology company which holds the #1 Microsoft Azure Partner status in EMEA. He gives his time as a Microsoft Accelerator London Mentor and has been recognised as a Microsoft Azure Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
If you'd like to 'say hello' please email us here
