Inspirations I am fascinated by architecture. I ‘collect’ architectural details with my camera, always keeping my eyes open, looking up at what other people walk straight past. I am drawn to lettering and numbers on buildings, as well as doorways and keyholes. Without digging deep, or even going inside, I can gather ideas about the buildings I walk past. I think about who designed and built them, who inhabited them in the past, and who lives or works in them now. The connections between architecture and people have always interested me. One such connection is communication between people via buildings, particularly post, postal marks and handwritten addresses.

I like the contrast of printed symbol and hand drawn letter, as I do the contrast between geometric architectural lines and the numbers and lettering applied to the surface. Another influence that has made its way into this collection is my love of children’s literature, such as The Secret Garden, and Alice in Wonderland. I translate these ideas into silver jewellery. Using the architectural details I have ‘collected’ and the envelopes I hoard, I draw out by hand numbers, letters and symbols. Sometimes I use the arrangements in which I found them; sometimes I create my own compositions.

These are photo-etched onto silver sheet, which I press form to create my miniature three-dimensional houses. Whilst my brooches and studs are open and concave, my pillow house pendants are hollow: sometimes with hidden etching or pierced details. My latest collection has been inspired by my current surroundings in Birmingham’s 200-year old Jewellery Quarter, as well as visits to London and Paris, Brussels and Turin. As always, my work is about adventure. I desire to explore the present, and probe into the past through what remains of it in architecture.

About me

1981 > Born April Stock in Dorset, UK.

2003 > BA (hons) Jewellery Design, Buckinghamshire Chilterns University

October 2003 > Moved to shared workshop at Jane Moore Contemporary Jewellery, Leamington Spa.

July 2004 > Awarded grant by the Arts Council England.

July 2005 > Married and moved to Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter.

Recent exhibitions

June 2003 > Ignition, BCUC, High Wycombe, UK

July 2003 > New Designers, Islington, London

February 2004 > Spotlight exhibition at Jane Moore Contemporary Jewellery, Leamington Spa, UK

July 2004 > One Year On at New Designers, Islington, London

September 2004 > NewFORMations at Form at the Lighthouse, Glasgow

October 2004 > Pick of the Crop at Turning Heads Contemporary Jewellery, Brighton, UK

October 2004 > Chelsea Crafts Fair 25th anniversary window display, Canary Wharf, London

October 2004 > Chelsea Crafts Fair 2004, London

November 2004 > The Architecture Centre, Bristol, UK

November 2004 > The Gallery Upstairs at Torquil Pottery, 81 High Street, Henley-in-Arden, UK

Nov–Dec 2004 > Crafts for Christmas, Platform Gallery, Clitheroe, UK

Nov–Dec 2004 > Wish List, The Devon Guild of Craftsmen, Bovey Tracey, UK

Nov 2004 – Feb 2005 > Christmas Jewellery Exhibition, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UK

Jan–Mar 2005 > The Craft Centre and Design Gallery, City Art Gallery, Leeds, UK

April 2005 > British Craft Trade Fair, Harrogate, UK

Apr–Jul 2005 > Showcase exhibition, The Jelly Leg'd Chicken Arts Centre, Reading, UK

May 2005 > Dazzle, Glasgow

June 2005 > Showcase exhibition, Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee, UK

Jul–Sep 2005 > Showcase exhibition, Sanderson George & Peach, Holmfirth, UK

August 2005 > Dazzle, Edinburgh

Aug–Oct 2005 > Rarefind, New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham, UK

October 2005 > Bewitched, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Birmingham, UK

November 2005 > Lustre, Nottingham, UK

Nov–Dec 2005 > Dazzle, Manchester, UK

Nov–Dec 2005 > Top Dressing, Model House Craft and Design Centre, Llantrisant, UK

Nov–Dec 2005 > Winter Wonderland III, The March Hare Craft Gallery, Ripon, UK

Nov 2005 – Feb 2006 > Secrets and Lives by Jill Randall, Wollaton Hall & Park, Nottingham, UK

Nov 2005 – Jun 2006 > Sparkle, Gallery Top, Matlock, UK

Jan–Feb 2006 > Showcase exhibition, Crawford Arts Centre, St Andrews, UK

April 2006 > British Craft Trade Fair, Harrogate, UK

Apr–Jun 2006 > Showcase exhibition, Rufford Craft Centre, Newark, UK

July 2006 > Summer exhibition, The Workshop, Jonathan Swan, Lewes, UK

September 2006 > Design Pavillion, International Jewellery London, London

Nov–Dec 2006 > Christmas exhibition, Bowie & Hulbert, Hereford, UK

Nov–Dec 2006 > Brooch The Subject 2, Mike Gell, Hereford, UK

For more details of current and forthcoming exhibitions, see how to buy.

Press releases