I want to share the story of my two brooches with you.
On graduating from the Royal College many moons ago, I was lucky enough to be represented by Lesley Craze’s contemporary jewellery gallery.
For a few years from 2007, Craze took my work to Collect, the leading international art fair for contemporary craft and design in London. I started making pieces in aluminium for the show, aluminium being the perfect material for fabricating large brooches due to its lightweight property.
The original Random Master Brooch
I made two editions of the Random Master Brooch - one which sold at Collect and one which I decided to keep for myself.
A leading Craft and Design Curator and writer, who has since become a good friend, noticed the brooch at that show and a year or so later asked if she could borrow my one to wear. I was absolutely delighted to lend it to her, and happily she has since worn it to many illustrious jewellery events.
To my delight, The Goldsmiths’ Company saw my friend wearing it at one such event and wanted one for their private collection. The only problem was that it lacked an element of gold which was required by The Goldsmiths’ Company as all their collection pieces contain precious metals. I was eager to make this work and so I redesigned the brooch with the addition of some gold pieces, which would deem it acceptable for The Goldsmiths’ Company.
Making the new brooch - All the cast parts...
Luckily for me, my friend still has that all aluminium version of the brooch on loan - it serves me better for her to wear than for me to keep it in my jewellery box and I’m extremely grateful for her continued support.
The finished brooch in Aluminium and 18ct gold
So there you have the tale of two brooches! One purely aluminium, and the other aluminium with gold safely tucked away in The Goldsmiths' private collection - it comes out for various events I'm told!
The back of the brooch (as important as the front!)
The Brooch was also featured in a beautiful book ‘The Brooch unpinned: The Goldsmiths’ Company Collection 1961 -2021’ alongside other wonderful unique brooches from their Modern Jewellery Collection.
Read more about how Goldsmiths has shaped my life as a jeweller, here.