PRESS RELEASE: FORGE and Cooksongold launch graduate residency for emerging jewellers

A new 12-month residency will give one early-career jeweller workshop space in Hatton Garden, tools, silver and industry contacts, ending with an exhibition at FORGE’s fifth birthday in February 2028.

London jewellery hub FORGE has teamed up with jewellery supplier Cooksongold to launch the Cooksongold x FORGE Graduate Residency 2027–2028. The scheme aims to help emerging jewellers make the move from education into independent professional practice.

One recent graduate or equivalent early-career jeweller will receive a fully sponsored part-time bench membership at FORGE for 12 months, with one day a week in its professional workshop in Hatton Garden. Cooksongold is sponsoring the membership, worth £1,000 plus VAT, and will also provide a £125 Bench Essentials tool kit and 100g of sterling silver, worth £200, towards a new collection. Cooksongold will arrange professional photography of the finished collection.

The resident will also join the FORGE community, with invitations to private views, industry talks, LINK-UP networking evenings and FORGE’s annual Meet the Experts event.

There is no set programme. The resident will be encouraged to follow their own creative direction, experiment with techniques and work towards a new collection or significant body of work. Their progress will be documented through the year, from first ideas to finished pieces. The residency begins on 18 January 2027, and the collection will be shown at FORGE in February 2028 as part of its fifth birthday celebrations.

Bridging the gap after graduation

The residency is designed to tackle a familiar problem for new jewellers: after graduating, workshop space, materials and professional contacts can be hard to come by.

“One of the biggest challenges for jewellery graduates is what happens after education,” said Amanda Mansell, founder and director of FORGE. “They leave with skills, ideas and ambition, but often lose access to the workshops, equipment and support networks that have been so important to their development. Having somewhere to work is important, but so are the people you meet, the conversations you have and the opportunities that come from being part of the industry.”

Sian Brown, Brand and Commercial Partnership Manager at Cooksongold, has been a jewellery designer-maker for more than 20 years. “Creativity needs more than a good idea,” she said. “It needs tools, materials, space to experiment and the opportunity to turn ideas into something real. We have so much talent coming through, but that talent needs the right opportunities to flourish.”

Who can apply

The residency is open to UK-based jewellery graduates and emerging makers who completed their education or equivalent structured training in the 2023/24 academic year or later. Applicants from university courses, vocational programmes, apprenticeships and similar training routes are welcome. They will need enough technical skill to work independently in a shared professional workshop.

Applicants must submit a portfolio of recent work, a personal statement, an outline development and financial plan, and initial ideas or designs for the collection they want to develop. Shortlisted applicants will be interviewed on Tuesday 10 November and asked to bring examples of their work.

The selection panel is Amanda Mansell of FORGE; Sian Brown of Cooksongold; silversmith and jeweller Jessica Jue; and Makila Nsika, a FORGE part-time member, 2024 MA graduate of Central Saint Martins and first-time Goldsmiths’ Fair exhibitor in 2026.

Applications close: 11.59pm, Sunday 1 November 2026
Apply: online application form

About FORGE

FORGE is a creative jewellery hub in Hatton Garden, founded in February 2023 by award-winning jewellery designer Amanda Mansell. Built around three pillars, LEARN, MAKE and BUY, it combines co-working workshop facilities, specialist training, curated exhibitions and industry events. It won the National Association of Jewellers’ Community Engagement of the Year Award in 2024.

About Cooksongold

Founded in Birmingham more than 100 years ago, Cooksongold manufactures and supplies precious metal products, tools and equipment to the jewellery industry. Its services include bespoke manufacturing, stampings, scrap metal recycling, laser cutting and precious metal casting.

Find out more: theforgespace.com