"I feel a kinship, with female makers from the past through using sewing techniques. Every stage of making these pieces is very laborious. It sometimes feels like you're never going to get to the end piece, but when you're sewing them on and it builds up, it suddenly all comes together and people appreciate those small intricate details."
A chance trip to an art shop in her teens ignited Charlotte Smith's passion for jewellery making, leading her to pursue a BA in Metalwork and Jewellery at Sheffield Hallam and a PGCE in Secondary Design and Technology. For the past 14 years, she has balanced teaching in secondary schools with developing her skills as an independent jeweller and serving on the British Society of Enamellers committee. An MA at the School of Jewellery in Birmingham deepened her exploration of enamel, and she returned this year as an artist in residence. Working from her 200-year-old nail-maker's cottage in the West Midlands, Charlotte continues a local tradition of home-based craftsmanship, transforming precious metals into her award-winning, tactile enamelled jewels. Her Bloom Collection, inspired by the sequins on her daughter’s T-shirt during a mundane laundry moment, features silver and enamel pieces reminiscent of dahlia petals from her garden. Each enamelled petal is sewn into place to create subtle movement, with polished edges that catch the light and embellishments of cultured freshwater pearls and recycled 9ct gold, adding texture and interest.
Charlotte Smith is one of sixteen makers to showcase her new Bloom Collection as part of the Goldsmiths’ Centre’s Shine 2024 new talent showcase in jewellery and silversmithing. Shine provides UK-based early career makers with a unique opportunity to participate in an intensive taught programme, upskilling participants to present a new collection of work as part of a physical exhibition at the Goldsmiths’ Centre (3-minutes from Farringdon, EC1M 5AD) and for purchase online.
Visit our website: www.goldsmiths-shop-talent.org
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Contact us: shop@goldsmiths-centre.org
Негізгі бет Weaving History into Jewellery: Charlotte Smith’s Revival of Traditional Crafts
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