Mine is probably the typical tale of motherhood... you have a hobby or a passion, which gets shelved whilst your children are small, only to revitalise it, years later. In my case, it was jewellery making - I first started learning silversmithing in 2010, and spent 1.5 years learning techniques from YouTube videos. Then, my children came along and my time was sucked up into the vortex that is nappy changing, feeding and generally keeping them alive and helping them to grow into decent human beings (I wouldn't change it for the world, by the way!). Anyway, in January of this year, I decided to spend some more time on me and came back to this old hobby of mine (also, I needed to make a decision on whether to sell the tools or use them!)
My return to jewellery making happened to coincide with a new UK reality TV show, "All That Glitters". It's a fun programme, which gives a little insight into the processes going into handmade jewellery. The premise is 8 jewellers, completely 2 challenges per week, with the ultimate goal of being crowned "Britain's Next Jewellery Star". After the first episode, I was hooked and also, very quickly decided (perhaps foolishly) that trying to interpret some of the challenges would be a great way of learning new techniques and practising my craft.
Here are the 5 pieces that I completed, each one unique and made for a certain person in my life.
And if challenging myself to make jewellery wasn't enough, I also decided to produce a series of "making of" videos to go with them!
I have one project left to go, which will tie in with the 6th and final episode... so watch this space!
More info: youtube.com
Week 1 - Making a Bestselling Bangle Challenge
Week 2 - Making a Bespoke Sweetheart Brooch
Week 3 - Making a Bespoke Bib Necklace
Week 4 - Making a Bespoke Locket
Week 5 - Making a Bestselling Precious Stone Cuff
