A snapshot of our time at the MADE Design & Craft Fair at West Dean College in Sussex
Author: Brett Payne
Contemporary British Silversmith
Make some noise!
There’s no denying that silversmithing is noisy! Luckily our workshop shares a building with over 70 other makers, all banging, whirring, tapping and tinkering away, so we don’t have too many complaints from our neighbours…
Some silversmithing processes are noisier than others, some involve machinery and others make use of relatively low technology. We’ve compiled a selection of the main offenders for your listening pleasure!
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In The Bluebell Wood
Here we are on the cusp of summertime and the bluebells are out in our part of the world…
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New Candlestick Design!
That’s right. You heard it here first. This month we will be officially launching our new candlestick design.
Introducing: The Acorns
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A host of golden daffodils
For Easter 2016, we’re exchanging the traditional pastel colours and chocolate eggs for the fresh green of new growth and budding ideas! Along with an updated look for our blog, we’ve been working on a range of new pieces to show and sell at events throughout the year.
Click here to see a list of our show dates
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On The Road Again
2016 is well under way, and so are we! We began the new year in a creative mood and already have several fresh designs in the offing (watch this space). Much of the last few weeks has been taken up by the important task of mapping out the shows for 2016 – we’re looking forward to another year on the road!
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Strut your stuff
It’s been a busy year of shows and exhibitions – all of which we’ve enjoyed immensely – and what better way to finish than with a bit of glitz at the Saatchi Gallery in London!
Photo: St James’ House
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12 Days of Christmas
The workshop is feeling festive here in Sheffield and to celebrate the highlights of a fantastic year, we’ve put together our very own ’12 Days of Christmas’. All together now! From the top!
On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…
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Pilgrimage
Those of our readers who come to visit us at shows throughout the year will know that ‘we get about a bit’. At least once a month we’re on the road, exchanging our leather aprons for white cotton gloves and the noise of the workshop for the buzz of a craft fair.
Our mission takes us all over the country and the variety of landscape, scenery and people which we encounter along the way give us plenty to look forward to at the beginning of each month. This year we have particularly enjoyed a run of shows in the cathedral towns of England.
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Forging Masterclass
Not many people know that this is what happens when you heat silver:
After a busy September exhibiting in Edinburgh, London, Salisbury and Sevenoaks, we were overdue some workshop time this October! We were very pleased to welcome to the workshop Loucinda Nims, winner of the Contemporary British Silversmiths’ ‘Design in Silver’ award, for a masterclass in silver hot-forging.
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Showtime!
As the BBC raises the curtain on a new series of Strictly Come Dancing, we’ve been getting in the mood for a packed schedule of shows and exhibitions in the run up to Christmas. We’ve had a busy start to the autumn, with events in Salisbury and Edinburgh already under our belts but there are still shows in Sevenoaks, Winchester and Hereford yet to come! Not to mention the famed Goldsmiths’ Fair in London – always a glitzy affair.
We’ve been polishing up our silverware and preparing our new pieces for their debut appearances – even the candlesticks have been rehearsing their steps.
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Smugglers’ Cove
What better place to watch the sun set on summer than Cape Cornwall?
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The Butler Did It
‘It’s all to clean…’
With the recent popularity of programmes such as ‘Downton Abbey’ we can’t help noticing the extensive silver services such households would have used at every mealtime – even the afternoon tea was served on a silver tray with a silver teapot and tea spoons. Keeping all of that silver polished and pristine must have been a mammoth task – how did they manage it? The butler did it, of course!
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The Classic Candlestick
This year we decided to make July a ‘rest month’ – but that doesn’t mean that we’ve been loafing about watching the tennis and the cricket. Certainly not! We’ve taken a rest from shows this month and dedicated ourselves to spending some much needed time in the workshop, making pieces and indulging in some new designs (watch this space…).
Our workshop Pin-Up this month has to be the ‘Classic Candlestick’. Amid the exciting stages of prototyping new designs and seeking out new shows to exhibit them at, we’ve found ourselves returning to this soothingly simple yet pleasingly elegant piece, proving that not all the best designs are the most complicated. Indeed, the Classic Candlestick is so simple that is almost a line-drawing rendered in 3-D in sterling silver.
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Ode to the Spoon
Our faithful followers will notice a change in our blog this week – we hope you like our new look!
The great news is we can now post videos on our blog as well as pictures, so watch this space for footage of the workshop and glimpses of the silversmithing that goes on in it…
In preparation for our next show at West Dean College this weekend (click here for more info) we thought we’d kick things off with a video about the making of spoons. Used throughout the history of man by kings and paupers alike to consume everything from soup to desserts, the spoon is both essential and universal – why not make it beautiful as well?
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