Made in Clerkenwell Summer 2015: Jewellery highlights

Our bi-annual Made in Clerkenwell: Open Studios will be taking place next month. Avoid the high street and opt for handmade! 

From 7-10 May, we will open our doors for you to explore our 2 fascinating Victorian studio buildings in the heart of London’s historic Clerkenwell. Both venues are located within convenient strolling distance - start your visit in Clerkenwell Green and find St John’s Square just 2 minutes away.

In this series of blogposts we are very excited to profile the range of covetable products on sale. Just a stone’s throw from the London Jewellery Quarter, our Clerkenwell studios are famous for great jewellery design. In this post, we will be previewing the range of beautiful and creative jewellery that we have on offer.


Alma Sophia Design

Alma Sophia is a Norweigan jeweller based in London. Her main collection – the square collection – is based around the fascination and surprise of cutting something open and uncovering what lies inside. Encouraging the onlooker to explore with their senses, Alma experiments with shape and form to create pieces that are inviting to touch, handle and wear. Interactivity between the piece and the wearer is the main starting point for Alma, which instinctively draws her to design and make rings first and develop a full collection thereafter. Her Scandinavian roots inherently influence her work, with the principals of minimalism strongly underpinning her designs.

Bola Lyon

Bola Lyon is a jewellery designer and maker based in London. She uses sterling silver and porcelain to emulate delicate structures within anatomy. One focus is Cancellous or soft bone, found in and around joints such as vertebrae. It is rarely exposed, encased in a smooth outer layer of solid bone. Once pried open, it reveals dense interwoven bone fibres that create an ornate three-dimensional texture. Through a series of process led experiments in porcelain clay, Almas has developed a technique that has a similar textural aesthetic, which is then used in conjunction with sterling silver. She also challenges the frailty of human veins by trying to capture their inter-flowing nature.

Brandts Jewellery

Brandts is a contemporary jewellery collection created by Ayshe Brandts. Each piece in the collection is designed and hand made in London by Ayshe, using gemstones, freshwater pearls, sterling silver and goldfilled components. Her mission is to create sublime jewellery for all occasions, at a fair price. Ayshe cares deeply for our environment and is very much aware of the impact which we have on it with everything we do. As well as following the mantra Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Ayshe sources as many of her supplies as possible locally, from gems and precious metals, to packaging materials. Moreover, Ayshe is always keen to explore the possibility of using components or processes which are nature friendly, for example, using a natural citric acid solution instead of hazardous chemicals after soldering, and crushed hard boiled eggs rather than liver of sulphur to patinate silver.

By Emily

Emily Sidwell is a contemporary jewellery designer working from London. By Emily is the realisation of Emily’s dream to establish an unmistakably English luxury fashion brand. Her training as a painter influences her work; each piece exhibits an exquisite hand-drawn quality. This is a trademark feature of her jewellery collections, resulting in figures that appear alive and untamed. Her designs are ingrained with the whimsical eccentricity of English style inspired by literature, wildlife and the countryside. Working mostly with silver, her adornments are thoughtfully made, combining fine craftsmanship with narrative characterised by a hybrid of raw beauty and intricate detail.

Jeanne Marell

Jeanne Marell designs and makes minimalist jewellery with a twist from her studio in London. Jeanne believes in creating unique, enduring designs. Her pieces are precious objects with a style that lasts beyond the next fashion trend. They often speak to people as they recognise the concept behind the design, but are surprised to see its unique interpretation into jewellery. Forms are often combinations of simple geometries, and each design combines two materials or finishes in an unexpected way. They reveal their intricate detailing to those who take a closer look. She produces work in gold and silver, and often combines these with non-precious materials such as wood, perspex and nylon. Jeanne is committed to ethical studio practices and uses Fairtrade gold and silver wherever possible. All pieces containing precious metal are hallmarked at the London Assay Office.

Laura Ngyou

Laura Ngyou takes inspiration for her work from organic structures and vessels. Through the exploration of sculptural form and pattern, Laura translates the fascination and beauty she finds in elements of the natural world to the wearer and observers of her jewellery. Laura's previous design techniques, used in paper and textiles, have lent themselves naturally to the medium of silver and gold in her current work. A recent oceanic theme has emerged from sketches, photographs and memories of previous diving and snorkelling trips to Borneo, Thailand and Fiji, to the specimens of shark eggs, eroded rock formations, shells and plant structures she recently observed on the British coastline. 

Francine Oeyen 

Francine Oeyen is an Argentinian Jewellery designer based in London. She grew up in Buenos Aires, a sophisticated city of contrasts where seductive nostalgia and vibrant chaos sit side by side. There, she studied Fine Arts specialising in Painting and discovered her love for jewellery. In those years she also travelled across Latin America and became interested in textile techniques and traditional crafts. Her eponymous jewellery brand focuses on the unconventional use of materials and techniques to create pieces with a strong narrative element. Every jewel is handcrafted in her London studio with a commitment to sustainability and fairtrade sourcing. The result is a series of quality timeless pieces that can be treasured and worn across seasons.

Mark Nuell 

Mark Nuell’s inspiration for jewellery came from early contact with gemstones in Australia where his father mined sapphires. Mark learnt to cut and polish these stones spending six years as a gem cutter and later studying jewellery design and making in Sydney. He continues to visit the sapphire mines where he meets the miners and cutters giving him unique access to rare and beautiful sapphires. Distinctive sapphires in shades of blue, green and yellow come to life nestled amongst 18ct gold and silver. His 'spiral' rings and bangles are set with a scattering of precious stones and gold detail. New this year is a collection using rose-cut sapphires, tourmalines and aquamarines cut from a collection of rough gemstones. Using his metalworking and gem-setting skills he creates a constantly evolving and bold lustrous collection.