Why I make jewellery

Very occasionally I find myself in the sort of situation where people ask ‘So what do you do?’ and, on replying that I make jewellery, I’ll catch the quickest flicker of incredulity in their eyes. Their response for a nanosecond appears to hover above the perceived problem: Slightly simple minded? Unemployable liability? Trust funder?  And then, swiftly righting themselves, they’ll say ‘Really? How nice for you..’ before moving to the left to talk to someone with an actual profession...

Stuck on what to write for this Blog, I turned ideas over in my head and kept coming back to my profound love of making work and the layers upon layers of meaning this process holds for me. The more I considered my reasons for embarking on (and staying with) a profession which has held me for the past fourteen years the more I felt compelled to write them....I never intended to become a jewellery designer and maker, it wasn’t a clear plan, more something that grabbed me and never let go.

The popular understanding of a designer /maker can (in my opinion) get caught in the ‘oh how nice ‘ net far too easily, alongside media degrees, au pairs, poets, postmen and other occupations that (quite unfairly) generate images of dreamy eyed days with a disengaged brain. I’ve always wanted to tell people just how challenging it is, how fulfilling, frustrating and fascinating. How levelling it is, in that its open to anyone. How exhausting it can be assuming the multiple roles required. How frankly wonderful it is that it continues to unfold before me in a stream of new ideas, new materials, changing environments and constraints that become positive shaping forces...

So, this is why I’m blogging the reasons why I make jewellery.....

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