Talented Jewellers and Silversmiths Selected For Goldsmiths’ Fair Graduate Bursary Programme

The ten graduates – who were selected from over 100 applicants – receive:

• • A free stand at Goldsmiths’ Fair
• • £1500 bursary
• • Up to £3000 precious metal loan
• • Customised training via the Goldsmiths’ Centre to help each graduate optimise this unique opportunity to launch their collections in front of an informed audience of international collectors, retail buyers, design enthusiasts, luxury consumers and others.

The highly sought-after opportunity for emerging designer-makers regularly leads to sales and commissions that otherwise might take years to achieve.  A number of ‘stars of the future’ first displayed their work as part of the Graduate Bursary Programme including acclaimed jewellers:

Max Danger, Tomasz Donocik, Ruth Tomlinson, Andrew Lamb, Zoe Arnold, Christopher Thompson Royds and Silvia Weidenbach; and silversmiths: Eileen Gatt, Esther Lord, Miriam Hanid, Yusuke Yamamoto, Kyosun Jung and Patrick Davison.

2018’s ten Graduates – five jewellers and five silversmiths – hail from London, Scotland and points in between and are no more than five years out of education.  Their work offers a snapshot of the diverse approaches, innovative techniques and contemporary ambitions of the wider emerging field of designer-craftsmen working in precious metal across the UK.  The Goldsmiths’ Company is proud to shine a spotlight on these promising makers and help launch them on what will hopefully be successful careers.           

This year’s Graduate Bursary winners are:

WEEK ONE (25 – 30 Sept)

Leonid Dementiev, jeweller

Leonid’s jewellery is inspired by his great-grandfather who was a blacksmith and silversmith in the Southern Russian region of Don.  After earning a design degree at Central Saint Martins, Leonid started exploring traditional techniques and using gold, pearls and gemstones.  Leonid is currently receiving mentoring and business advice as part of the Goldsmiths’ Centre’s Setting Out programme.

dementievleonid.com

Lukas Grewenic, jeweller

RCA graduate Lukas Grewenig creates unique jewellery through a process that relies on extensive theoretical and material research.  His stunning jewellery not only pushes the boundaries of conventional materials but also explores intangible concepts or ideas. Lukas is currently receiving mentoring and business advice as part of the Goldsmiths’ Centre’s Setting Out programme.
lukasgrewenig.com

Alex O’Connor, silversmith

Since her start as a silversmith, Alex has been perfecting her signature take on the vessel.  She creates unique pieces that are functional while inspiring reflection and contemplation. Her recent work is an impressionistic response to the resilient, dynamic topography of West Cornwall.  Alex is a recent graduate of the Jewellery and Silversmithing BA at Truro College but her love of working with form comes from studying sculpture in her early twenties, her ten years as a sculpture and ceramics technician.
alexoconnorsilver.co.uk

Callum Partridge, silversmith

Callum creates utterly distinctive contemporary silver that engages curiosity and encourages playfulness.  He uses traditional techniques such as raising and soldering combined with laser welding, along with precise measurements and fitting techniques. Callum’s collection of work is inspired by human postures, and creates narratives with character and mood.  Callum recently graduated from the Cass School of Design in 2017.
instagram.com/callumpartridge1

Jessica Pass, jeweller

Jessica Pass is a fine jeweller based at The Goldsmiths’ Centre in central London and currently completing the Setting Out programme. She creates pieces inspired by the natural world, its forms, colours and textures. Jessica studied Jewellery Design at Central Saint Martins for three years and continued her training at the Royal College of Art, where she completed a two-year MA in Jewellery & Metal.   
jessicapasslondon.com

WEEK TWO (2 – 7 Oct)

Dovile Bertulyte, jeweller

Born and raised in Lithuania, Dovile arrived in London to study conceptual jewellery at Middlesex University.  Her unique approach sees silicone pieces hand drilled, poured and finished with handmade silver attachments. This process, completed by Dovile in her London Cockpit Arts studio,makes each piece slightly unique. 
dovileb.com

Menasi Depala, silversmith

Manasi is a contemporary silversmith based in Leicester. Her work is influenced by her mixed cultural background growing up Indian in Britain. Manasi won a silversmithing award at the Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council Awards in 2018, and has participated in the Goldsmiths’ Company Studio Internship Award 2017-18.
manasidepala.com

Andrew Fleming, silversmith

Andrew Fleming, a recent graduate of the Glasgow School of Art creates covetable silver that reflects the built environment. Having studied architecture, he is fascinated by construction processes and temporary structures such as scaffolding.  Focusing on simple linear forms inspired by structures and mixing both precious metals and non-precious metals such as steel, Fleming creates innovative contemporary pieces of silverware unlike anyone else.
andrewflemingsilversmith.com

Naama Haneman, silversmith

Naama Haneman graduated in 2017 with an MA (distinction) from The Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture & Design (CASS) in London and in 2012 with a BA from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. Naama sculpts in metal without a preordained concept and without intending the work to be functional.. Her works embody a constant dialogue between the external and the internal, between the seen and unseen.
naamahaneman.com

Castro Smith, jeweller

Castro Smith began his training as a Goldsmiths’ Company apprentice, bound to a Master at RHW engravers. He has received further mentoring and studio space from the Sarabande Foundation, and studied for a year in Japan as a recipient of a scholarship from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.  His distinctive engraving style has won acclaim internationally and his jewellery is currently sold through Dover Street Market in London and New York.      
castrosmith.co.uk

Event Details

Opening Times
11am – 6pm  (Thursdays late till 8pm) 11am – 4pm Sunday Closed Monday 2 October

Venue
Goldsmiths’ Hall Foster Lane London EC2V 6BN

Tickets
Entry (valid for one week) – £18 (Advanced online – £15)
Entry (valid for two weeks) – £24 (Advanced online: £20)
Breakfast Talk – £10 with valid entry ticket