FORGE Launch Event Showcase

FORGE Launch Exhibition

59 Leather Lane London EC1N 7TJ

9 - 23 February 2023

FORGE was born out of our founder’s passion to celebrate Hatton Garden’s heritage, promote UK design and protect craft skills, by offering business support and workspace to Artisans and future talent. Our motto is ‘enriching lives through creativity’ and at the heart of that is the belief that creativity is not only inspirational and nurturing but helps forge long lasting friendships and professional relationships too.

There are over 100 jewellery shops in Hatton Garden, but FORGE isn’t just another jewellery shop – it’s a destination where you can buy jewellery, learn skills, and make jewellery too. It offers unique jewellery collections by independent Designer-Makers, affordable co-working space for established and new Artisans, jewellery making and skills improvement workshops for all levels and experiences, demonstrations, talks, networking, social events, and a whole lot more – all under one roof!

Launch Showcase Exhibition

The two week launch will showcase a range of contemporary designer jewellers, each will be highlighting their unique aesthetic and the expert making skills FORGE is dedicated to preserving and promoting.

Aishleen Lester

With a background in fine art, Aishleen Lester is developing a reputation for her exquisite fine jewellery. Identified by the industry as an emerging designer to watch with her miniature explosions of colour and light, transitioning from delicate to bold in an instant.

Originally a sculptor with a Masters from The Royal Academy, Aishleen became well known for her large scale sculptural installations, stage set commissions, and window displays for Selfridges. As a fine artist, Aishleen worked with the Rifle maker and Nyehaus galleries, exhibiting in both London and New York, and sought by private collectors.

Sarah Herriot

Sarah’s pieces are elegant, decisive and tacitly confident. Her creative strength comes in enduring original modern designs with a perfect balance of form and style.  Engineering and problem solving play their part in her designs and her solutions are as much part of each piece as the design itself.

 I work very hard to find solutions to all elements of my making practice to ensure that they have no impact on the environment.  All scrap metal and lemel is recycled into new work, all the work I make is 100% recycled metal.”

Shakti Ellenwood

Shakti Ellenwood is a different kind of goldsmith.  Her approach to jewellery making comes from a unique talent to heal through the medium of gold.  After 25 years of sitting in ceremonies with indigenous elders and shamans, she learnt that jewellery could be a key to unlocking the wearer's potential and generating more happiness. 

Shakti only works with Fairtrade gold from Peru to create her talismanic jewels. This traceable gold is called 'gold with heart' for it supports and protects the small-scale artisan miners with care for the environment and wildlife around the mines.

Claire Macfarlane

Creating jewellery with intricate drawings of sparkling wires and textured gold, Claire makes unique pieces to treasure forever. Peppered with diamonds and coloured gems, the delicate motifs offer fine jewellery with a laid-back style.

Design, quality and craftsmanship are at the heart of each collection; everything is made by hand in small batches or as one-off pieces in her West London studio, and recycled gold is used almost exclusively.

Inspiration comes from patterns, layers and the process of making itself.

Myia Bonner

Award-winning jeweller Myia Bonner designs striking contemporary minimalist jewellery underpinned by delicacy and quality. Pioneering the use of recycled materials, her distinctive work is defined by a signature graphic precision and geometric style.

By using predominantly recycled gold and silver and ethically sourced stones; quality, craftsmanship and innovation form the foundation for Myia’s work. Fusing cutting-edge processes with traditional techniques, each piece is hand made exclusively in Hatton Garden, London.

Kate Hodgson

Kate Hodgson’s new work continues the aesthetic of her botanical drawings with the process of folding techniques in recycled gold and silver.  The responsibly sourced gemstones are held in a Victorian-style setting where the metal is pulled over the edge of the stone making petal like shapes.

Kate has been designing and creating jewellery for over 20 years and her work has featured in Vogue, Harpers & Queen and sold internationally. This new body of work comes from her studio at Goldsmiths University where Kate is studying for an MA in Arts and Learning.

Sanni Falkenberg

Sanni Falkenberg is a lapidary artist and jeweller who sculpts sensual, undulating forms from quartz, obsidian, agate and other distinctive stones. Her exceptional pieces are carved and polished to perfection at her studio in Brighton, each piece is a combination of Sanni’s ideas and a process to reveal the beauty hidden within the raw material.

This dialogue with the stone enhances its innate beauty whilst showcasing Sanni’s unique aesthetic. The results are timeless, one of a kind and a representation of Sanni’s expert lapidary skills.

Kitty Konsta

Kitty Konsta has been creating her playful jewellery in London for ten years now. Her designs include precious and gem studded versions of baked beans, eggs and bacon along with diamonds embedded in derrières 

Kitty was awarded the Jewellery Cut Award for Professional Jewellery Product at the British Academy of Jewellery in 2021. At Forge, Kitty will be exhibiting whimsical silver and gold pieces including the luscious Lips rings.

Amanda Mansell

Amanda Mansell works from her studio in the heart of Hatton Garden where she creates bespoke jewellery that’s distinctive and unique to her clients and their experiences. Her jewellery designs embody skill and craftsmanship, creating objects to be truly valued and treasured to be passed down through the ages.

“I design jewellery that goes beyond the aesthetic. It captures moments in time and is a beautiful and lasting testament to the craftsmanship required to bring a unique design to life. It’s proudly British and skilfully fuses tradition and innovation.”

Nomera

NOMERA Jewellery was founded by British Pakistani designer Nomera Ajmal. After studying and working as a fashion designer internationally for over a decade,

Nomera Ajmal decided to embark on a new journey after discovering and falling in love with metalsmithing.

Inspired by architecture, clean strong graphic lines and shapes translated through the vast cultures and travels around the globe. Nomera uses traditional methods, varying from fabricating techniques to lost wax casting to stone settings. Each piece is designed and handmade in London.

Marcel Salloum

Born in a Beirut suburb bustling with craftsmen and merchants of diverse backgrounds, Marcel has since childhood always been interested in crafts and the mechanical aspect of things.

In 1999, Marcel asked the neighbouring jewellery workshop owner if he could join their team. Despite this trade being such a closely guarded skill reserved only for family members or relatives, the workshop owner did not hesitate.

Be The Other

Be The Other is a hand crafted jewellery label by British designer Monique Thomas. Inspired by geometric shapes, art and design, their aesthetic is striking and contemporary, complemented by it’s unique form and texture which makes Be The Other pieces unforgettable.

Our mission is to inspire people to embrace this special jewellery piece for its endless possibilities and stylish capabilities.

Carol Clift

Designer-jeweller Carol Clift has been creating jewellery for over 30 years.  Having graduated first in her class with honours in Silversmithing and Jewellery in 1985, Carol spent time teaching before setting up her own studio in 2005.

Specialising in limited edition collections and bespoke commissions, she works primarily in recycled gold, silver and platinum with gemstones and diamonds.  Carol’s passion for exquisite design is matched by her dedication to her clients and she works with them on a one to one basis to create meaningful pieces.

Lily Flo Jewellery

Lily Flo Jewellery embraces time-honoured goldsmith techniques with a modern sensibility and ethical production, to create feminine pieces for those who doesn’t wish to compromise style for how things are made.

Each piece uses recycled gold, vintage and lab diamonds and eco friendly production, designed and crafted by Diana Sherling in her studio in London.