Fascinated by her impactful jewellery designs and the subtleties of her enamel work, I decided to track down maker Elizabeth Anne Norris to find out more about her practice. We met over a large slab of ginger and orange chocolate at her studio at Brighton collective arts space Coachwerks…

So how did you become a professional jewellery maker?

I’d always made jewellery of various different sorts, but I first learnt silversmithing in 1999 from a lovely lady in Brighton called Jackie Jones. She held lessons in her house – had four little benches. It was virtually a one-to-one class and she really inspired me. So, I started as a hobby but she got me so enthusiastic that I wanted to do it more permanently. I went on to do evening classes and then to study at London Metropolitan University, graduating in 2004.

Could you talk us through your work?

My style of jewellery is quite bold, colourful and big – brazen! I also make enamel panels, creating art in glass. The enamel panels are very much inspired by a visit to Japan, where I became very interested in all things Japanese: the fish markets, temples, saki barrels and lanterns. Enamels are really cool to work with as the way that you treat and fire them on the metal alters the way the colours come out. I love white enamel – it can change into a whole heap of colours when you fire it. A bit like burning your toast!

Do you have a specific design process?

When I was at college they taught me a certain way to go through the design process – start with an idea, do all your research then you draw, and you draw, and you draw, and you draw and then you draw some more! I don’t follow this conventional design process – my designs often come to me fully formed when I’m asleep. Or while daydreaming on a bus, I’ll have a vision of a piece of jewellery or suddenly see how something will look or could fit together.

What inspires you?

I’m inspired by my other job, which is completely different – I’m qualified in environmental biology and I work measuring air pollution in London. Biology, nature and the things I learnt during my science education influence my creative work quite heavily.

For example, I had a slight obsession with syphonophores for a while – amazing deep sea creatures. Some glow in the dark, some are almost see-through… they live incredibly deep beneath the sea. I did a lot of investigation and took inspiration from their shapes, movement and colours. They just don’t look like they’re from this planet!

Whose work do you admire?

At the present time, the experimental work of a lady called Evelyn Markasky in the States. She uses enamel as well, but she doesn’t use a kiln to fire the work as I do – she uses a naked flame, a torch. I’ve been in contact with her via email and I’m keen to try her processes out for myself. Very interesting stuff…

I’ve heard you have an Open House coming up…

Yes, it’s my first time doing an Open House in Brighton. I’m joining a group of other designers at 20A Springfield Road, on the ‘Beyond The Level’ Trail. We’re all first timers and I’m showing my new collection so it should be very exciting.

Do you do commissions?

I’m more than happy to take commissions and have made a wide variety of bespoke pieces for clients. I can work in gold, silver and even platinum. Prices start at £60 and range upwards, depending on what the person wants. I also sell my work via this site.

For commissions, contact Elizabeth on 07773 394413 or at info@eanjewellery.com.

By Joe Dimbleby

The Auction has ENDED.

Our Friends at Brighton Bootcamp are organising a charity spinning ride for Cancer Research UK.  John Lindsay our Director here at The Brighton Collective will be taking part and riding for 2 hours!! If you would like to send a donation to help this worthy cause then the Justgiving web link is here.

We have been given 9 Jewellery templates by the nice people at www.isomars.com to Auction off and the proceeds  from the sale will go directly to this event as a donation. They have been the  leading manufacturers and suppliers of all kinds of  Technical Drawing and Fashion Designing instruments since the year 1959! They ship world wide with no restrictions on minimum quantity’s.

The Jewllery Drawing templates are pictured above and have a combined retail price of £100, send your bid to info@thebrightoncollective.co.uk with BID in the subject line, with your name address and contact details. I will update the highest bid on this post and to all bidders by email. The Action will close on Wednesday the 25th of may at 7pm.

Thanks for reading this and happy bidding

Polly Mostyn is the designer of Polly Hermione jewels, which she partly named for her grandmother, who was a great inspiration to her. The Brighton Collective caught up with her to ask her a few questions about her unique and eye-catching jewellery.

How did you get into jewellery making?

I suppose I have always made trinkets and jewels since I was a little girl. I studied jewellery design and glass at university, and I then worked within the industry as a designer and product developer for about 6 years before becoming disheartened by designing for the regular high street stores. I now do it as a hobby, meaning I have the freedom to make what I like – and if other people like it too, that’s a bonus. My main occupation is designing shoes, which is very suited to experimenting with colours and fabrics – something that I love doing.

What inspires you?

I love working with interesting and fun objects that you wouldn’t necessarily use for jewellery and finding of ways of adapting them. I suppose my work is an extension of myself; I make a little canvas, say a brooch, and throw lots of bits together to create a one off piece that reflects what I like to see and wear. Colour is really important to me in my work and I suppose in everyday life, I love it!

Where do you source your materials?

Well I have always been a hoarder of everything, from the paper from a hole punch to the glass balls from pen cartridges, just in case I might use them (which I have!). So I’ve got countless cute little things in 100′s of boxes, drawers and bags around my flat which I have collected over many, many years, along with interesting pieces I find in charity shops, online auctions, and during my travels all over the world.

How long does each piece take to make?

It depends on what I am making. It could be a couple of hours once I have worked through the process a few times, or, if it is a larger necklace with ornate work, it could be a day. I might change it as I’m going along and keep adding more things to it.

As well as drawing on her own inspiration, commissions are more than welcome and if you have a special little treasure of your own you would like to add to the piece Polly is more than happy to include it!

Take a look at her work here at The Brighton Collective.

By Amy Sandiford-Watts

Madison Honey Vintage is Kimberley Vernonn’s creative outlet: ‘I create romantic and dreamy, fabulous hand-made limited edition jewellery, using vintage and modern trinkets to create cute little kitsch treasures.’ Named after her baby daughter Madison Honey , Kimberley’s company has been trading since December 2009. Being made redundant gave her the opportunity to transform her lifelong hobby – she has always made jewellery for family and friends – into a business she could develop at the same time as being a full-time mum.

Kimberley loves to scour boot fairs, flea markets and charity shops for beautiful vintage jewellery which she then recycles into her own modern designs, often inspired by the trinkets themselves. ‘I’ve been really into nature inspired pieces recently as I found a vintage necklace with gold plate leaves…’ Ranges popular with her customers are the Skull Cameo Lockets with black satin bows, French charm necklaces and Alice in Wonderland charm bracelets. No two pieces are ever quite the same but Kimberley has a passion for her occupation, and she says every piece is made with love.

There is nothing Kimberley loves more than to be given a commission to source unusual or rare charms – she’s currently on the look out for scissors and other sewing related charms for a fashion designer client – and expects to grow this service when her website is up and running soon. She will also invite prospective customers to contact her with ideas for customised pieces. She confesses to having recently been tempted to keep for herself a one-off bracelet she made especially for a friend using skull cameos and vintage silver charms: ‘I had to control myself…!’

Kimberley’s creations can be found here on The Brighton Collective website.

She sells at some craft fairs as well (including Telscombe Craft and Gift Market on the third Sunday of every month) and dreams of a bricks and mortar shop one day, to go alongside her online business.

Written by Catherine Meek

Ooooh exciting! Do you remember Fimo? I used to love it! Moulding those coloured bits of plasticiny goodness, waiting for it to dry and then varnishing it! I also harbour a secret passion for cake and anything miniature such as dolls houses and dolls furniture… So imagine my excitement when I came across Mini Patisserie who like to make miniature food and turn it into jewellery!

The products include Marshmallow Flump Earrings, Banoffee Pie Necklace and the Jam Sandwich biscuit ring!

Alice runs the Mini Patisserie shop on Etsy and her sister Caroline makes all the miniature goodies. She has been making these sweet (in the cute sense) sweets for a couple of years since her neighbour commissioned her to make some small cakes for her daughter’s dolls for Christmas. Her passion for miniature startedwhen she was a child ‘I used to make small items for my Sylvanian Families and once I made a mini body shop with hundreds of little bottles of shampoo!’.

I asked Caroline how she comes up with her ideas and where she gets her inspiration. She tells me ‘I Google the word cake quite a lot’ and ‘I look in cake shops and take pictures of them when no-one’s looking’!!

Caroline, who is originally from Brighton, has followed her passion and is self taught in the design department. She has a ‘Master of Research’ degree in Genetics!

Her designs are sold via Etsy www.etsy.com/shop/itstimefortea and at the IO Gallery in the North Laines.

You can read the Mini Patisserie blog here http://minipatisserie.blogspot.com/ which details Mini Patisseries love of full size patisseries and they recommend some good Local places to visit for exceptional cakes (the pictures are mouth watering!)

By Helen Ruff

Sarah Meredith has been dedicated to the art and craft of jewellery making since she was 16. After gaining a degree in metal work and jewellery design at Buckinghamshire University College, Meredith went on to work for various jewellery designers before starting her own jewellery business – ‘Rock Cakes’ in 2005.

Rock Cakes is home to an array of unusual and precious pieces. There is something for all ages, with cute silver ice cream cornet sundae pendants in the ‘Tuck Shop’ collection to an opulent black diamond ring in the ‘Grown up’ collection. Rock Cakes is no ‘run of the mill’ jewellers, it is extremely fun, and you are guaranteed to find a piece which is like no other.

My favourite collection is the ‘Proverbial’ collection. Based on everyday sayings, there are ‘In one ear and out the other’ earrings, consisting of two silver arrows, and ‘Every Cloud’ bracelets and necklaces – incredibly cute cloud shapes created from silver, linked together , with the option of diamonds for added sparkle.

With several collections, there really is something for everyone. The collections are fun and varied, with names such as ‘The Garden’ to ‘Brick a Brack’ to ‘Nightmares’! If there is something you are after which is not already listed, Rock Cakes welcomes commissions, and will create a piece of jewellery that really has your own stamp on it.

Meredith takes inspiration from her own surroundings, and can be found wandering around with her camera, looking for ideas that she can translate into jewellery. It is this ability to think outside the box which really makes her pieces stand out.

With a baby on the way (congrats!) Meredith is busy concentrating on Valentines Day, Halloween and Christmas pieces, and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with. If you are looking for an engagement or wedding ring for a spouse, a cute necklace for a friend, something with studs and skulls for your kid brother’s birthday, an unusual pendant for yourself, or a sophisticated string of pearls for your Mum, then you can be sure to find just what you are looking for at Rock Cakes.

Hannah Bradbury

Annie McCabe is Daubigny Fusion. Originally trained as a jeweller, she became interested in glasswork and took a short diversion through the wonderful world of stained glass windows, before realising that ‘there are only so many stained glass windows you can make’, and eventually coming to settle at her true metier: glass jewellery.

Annie now works for up to twenty-five minutes on every s tiny bead that makes up her stunning necklaces, bracelets, and earrings – a painstaking effort considering some pieces consist of up to thirty!

Annie’s uses a technique known as lamp work. ‘It used to be a closely guarded secret; in the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th centuries it was shrouded in secrecy and only Venetian merchants knew how to do it’, She tells me. ‘But about ten years ago it became popular in America and the old secrets were rediscovered. That’s how I got to know about it.’

The way the beads are made is almost as captivating as the finished result. Listening to Annie talk about it is absolutely fascinating – her descriptions of molten, dripping and stretching glass make her sound like a confectioner creating mouth-wateringly extravagant candies.

The bead is built up around a thin metal rod called a mandrel, which is turned as molten glass (heated in a white-hot flame of gas and air) is dripped onto it. Globules of other coloured glass and air bubbles are then twisted, stretched, pulled and manipulated until you have a three dimensional, multilayered sphere. As most of the glass is transparent the designs do, quite literally have depth – a sort of insect trapped in amber effect that varies slightly at every angle. The beads range from smooth, with much swirling of colour below the surface, to textured, peppered ever so delicately with minute glass droplets.

Annie creates pieces that can either be show stopping when worn individually, or worn together as sets, as well as offering one off pieces in a fantastic bespoke service where jewellery can be created to match a special outfit or an existing piece of jewellery, making Daubigny Fusion the perfect choice for every occasion!

Look out for Annie’s open house in the Brighton festival.

By Amy Sandiford-Watts

This shows how seriously I take my job as roving reporter for The Brighton Collective…

One afternoon I was languishing on my sofa, nursing mugs of tea and watching House Guest (daytime interiors show starring Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen) when I noticed the streets of Brighton. A fantastic print (an illustration of the West Pier incorporating a polariod picture) was featured by local artist Rachel Eardley. That was it… I was bolt upright, my notebook was OUT, laptop ON. Who was this Rachel Eardley??? I bring you my findings:

Rachel Eardley is an artist, screenprinter and jeweller… basically a very talented and creative lady! Her print of the West Pier continues to sell well following its appearance on ‘House

Guest’ and each print features an original polariod that really brings the picture to life. She has also done drawings based on The Mock Turtle – the fabulous vintage tearoom in Brighton. The polaroids on these pictures depict lacy tablecloths and kitchen items. I discover that Rachel has a bit of a ‘thing’ for kitchen items – they feature in her drawings, her jewellery and she also features a framed rack of miniature silver kitchen utensils! ‘My inspirations are everyday things like kitchens – I love food, food packaging and I’ve collected kitchen utensils for years.’ Explains Rachel ‘I love everyday objects that evoke memories, 50′s paraphernalia and graphics, miniatures…it’s endless really’.

Rachel features original coins in her jewellery. ‘I first started collecting old coins years ago in Dublin’ explains Rachel ‘and finally got around to creating my coin jewellery 3 years ago’. Her website www.racheleardley.com features an adorable ‘Pudding Coin’ page – complete with her handmade coins (a take on the silver sixpence) and a ‘Rich Christmas Pudding’ recipe.

Rachel’s jewellery also features ‘love tokens’, doves, charm bracelets and her own take on the charm bracelet – the kitchen utensil bracelet!

Rachel did evening courses in silversmithing which she attended with her grandpa from the age of 15. She studied 3d crafts at Brighton, specialising in metal and plastics. She will be leaving Brighton this summer to move to the West Country with her family.

You can see Rachel’s work at ‘Last’ (the shoe shop next to The Mock Turtle in Brighton’s south lanes) and ‘Abode’, Kensington Gardens (the shop that featured on House Guest).

As a result of the recession we’re seeing a much more modest approach to weddings and events and the ‘DIY’ wedding is becoming increasingly popular. i.e. renting a barn and putting together all the elements yourself. What better way to jolly up a barn (or any room for that matter) than to adorn the ceilings and walls with metres and metres of kitsch, colourful bunting! The effect is reminiscent of a post war street party and give a real ‘village fete’ feel.

Sue Maulin runs www.buntingboutique.co.uk and lovingly makes metres and metres of bunting by hand. She offers a delightful mix of colours and patterns, choosing her fabric combinations very carefully and often using vintage fabrics to create the unique overall look.

You can rent the bunting for a special event – every packet of bunting consists of a 3 metre length and each 3 metre length consists of 9 beautiful triangles. The hire price is £7 per packet. Or you can buy the bunting via The Bunting Boutique website.

Sue, who has a background in fashion, also runs www.magpieandme.co.uk – a textile label that produces handmade functional designs such as brooches, purses and bracelets. Sue is strongly influenced by vintage finds and loves to blend old fabric and trims with soft leather to make her accessories.

Each piece is handcrafted with love such as the ‘leather flower bracelet’. The strap of the bracelet is made from embroidered vintage trim. It fastens with a hand made loop made from embroidery silk and a small button. The flower is made from a lovely soft lemon leather and has a mother of pearl button in the centre.

Each bracelet is handmade and comes attached to a card.

by Helen Ruff

I’ve been really interested to find out about Hannah Marshall and her ‘Beachshack Project’. Hannah uses objects found on the beach – sea glass and sea pottery – to create unusual statement jewellery.

The feel of her website and her products is very ‘surfy’ – I feel she’d be more at home in Newquay rather than Brighton where beachlife revolves around pitchers of Pimms at The Gemini!

She tells me her inspiration comes from Ancient Cultures jewellery, as well the more traditional hemp jewellery beloved and made iconic by the surf fraternity.

Jewellery first emerged as a way of expressing what we did and who we were. The oldest known pieces of jewellery date from 100,000 years ago and consist of shells with bored with sharpened flint.

‘My work stems around a central idea of taking objectionable elements and altering them so they then become objects of desire.’ explains Hannah.

She also tells me that although her work is heavily focused on found objects, The Beachshack Project didn’t begin as a recycling project. ‘I use the beach as a platform for gathering new ideas and materials’ she says ‘the pieces design themselves in my head. I never see what I find as rubbish, but just an unfinished part of something else’.

The sea pottery she uses in her work is gorgeous! I’ve never seen anything so beautiful lying around on Shoreham beach!

Fragments of tiles, plates, ornaments, bottles, teapots…. all polished by the sea against the sand (rather like a stone tumbler) smoothing the jagged edges. Apparently high tide after a storm is the best time to beach comb. All the pieces will have been dislodged from the seabed and these beautiful treasures will be left on the sand – like a gift from nature!

‘Flowers, boats, art deco motifs, oriental gardens and makers stamps are all great finds’ says Hannah ‘as is unusually textured pieces’. Hannah is an absolute expert on the subject and tells me you can find sea glass and pottery all around the world – amazing thick mosaic type pieces on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, big shards of rare red sea glass in Thailand, chunky pieces of Turquoise glass in Barcelona and unusual Victorian tea ware pottery in rivers in Suffolk!

There is lots of information on www.beachshackproject.co.uk and it’s really worth a read. It also describes Hannah’s involvement in SAS (surfers against sewage) a UK-based non profit-making organisation campaigning for clean, safe recreational waters, free from sewage effluents, toxic chemicals, marine litter and nuclear waste.

The fruits of Hannah’s labour can be found locally at Bellis (8-9 Kings Rd, Brighton) and Skylark (The Neddlemakers, Lewes).

By Helen Ruff