Jewellery now in today's society means more to people than objects which show wealth and status, jewellery now more than ever has value and meaning. Jewellery can have more than just a simple aesthetic function: it can tie people, societies ,individuals; and ethnic groups together. Jewellery can symbolise something, whether it is an engagement ring or a piece to remember a lost loved one. People like to wear jewellery which has value, whether it's a piece of jewellery that has been given to them by a loved one or a piece that's been personalised to their specific requirements .

 

I previously studied at Cardonald College where I achieved my NC, HNC and HND in Jewellery Design and Silversmithing. I decided that I wanted to further my studies and applied for the degree course at Glasgow Kelvin College, as they were recognised for working with new technologies, which was a deciding factor for me. I felt this was the next step as it would widen my experience from what I had previously learned and what I felt was the way forward in the jewellery industry. I am currently in the last few months of my honours year and looking back on my two years at Glasgow Kelvin College I have developed advanced 3d Designs skills using CAD technologies , also learning the art of advanced stone setting and also casting and manufacturing skills.  

 

As a designer and maker I have always been inspired by patterns, colours and textures and whether something has a story behind it, whether it is a narrative piece of jewellery or a decorative piece. As a result of this, I aspire my honours degree show work to have a modern take on remembrance jewellery. Without sticking to the morbid theme that can sometimes be linked to remembrance jewellery, I want to celebrate people and their lives. In order to achieve this idea I came up with a questionnaire involving 26 personal questions. The idea behind it was to generate sympathetic, meaningful answers with memories of people and their lives. This gave me the information and source material to then create a unique and thoughtful collection of work.  I hope that my collection will be something that is aesthetically pleasing, sits comfortably on the wearer and become treasured items.

 

Dual Jewellery Designs was created with the idea behind it being that dual means two , and as I am a designer and maker ,  but also being that I have both traditional bench skills and 3D design knowledge that it suited it well, as in this industry there is two sides to it , being traditional and modern day with technology , but it was also a direct link to me without it being my name.