I must sort out this recent lack of blogging...

The problem is working out what I can tell you? After lots of meetings, countless phone calls, emails, drawings and test pieces, my most recent developments all have to be kept under wraps for now... I will spill the beans as soon as I can! But things are good.

Some great news I can share is that I'm delighted to be showcasing my new collection at the wonderful & inspiring Wolf & Badger from 1st August 2011. The store, located in Ledbury Road, Notting Hill is showcases and retails the finest in independent fashion, jewellery, art and deisgn. Vogue voted it one of "Britains Best Boutiques 2010".

wolfandbadger.com

THE PRICE OF THINGS TO COME...


Whilst designing and roughly working out what metal I need to order for sampling up pieces for the new collection I was horrified by the recent price of silver. Look at these graphs I got from one of my suppliers...the rise in just one year is just frightening, and even this month it continues to go up.
I don't think we'll see these prices coming down.


I really hope that the perceived value of silver now changes. The mass-market buying power of the high street combined with poor quality cheap overseas manufacturing low cost silver jewellery has resulted in a warped sense of the value of this beautiful precious material.

On a happier note with all this lovely weather, I am really enjoying the chance to spend a little time drawing in the sun (you're not allowed to see the drawings yet!) It's been so nice as soon I shall be entirely workshop-bound!

What an interesting day, I had a meeting which was held at a coloured stone cutting workshop (known as a 'lapidary') in Hatton Garden (London) and they kindly let me take a photo of one of their cutting benches for me to share. Can you believe stones are still cut in this way?! Of course, this is mostly for one-off or special stones as opposed to the vast majority which are cut overseas. Diamond cutting is done slightly differently.


Anyway...
For such a complicated task the equipment appears relatively basic, (from what I understand) the stones are cut & polished against a copper plate finely loaded up with a cutting powder. The stone itself is held on an incredibly basic stick stuck on with setters cement & correctly angled by maker by wedging it against the post with all the holes in it (see pic) and lowering onto the revolving plate, which is motor powered or turned by hand depending on whether you are cutting or polishing (the turning handle was made from very old bike parts!). The cutters and polishers must be incredibly skilled and it was a privilege to see a snippet of how it's done.

If you have ever wondered how on earth those amazing pieces of high jewellery are made... well then here's a sneak peek into the making of the Makis Decor Timepiece. Van Cleef & Arpels posted a great video condensing what was probably months of work into 3 minutes. It appears to be made entirely by hand by their seriously skilled makers. So impressive!

Click on the image below to view...

Went to see the "Goldsmiths' Craftsmanship & Design Awards" exhibition today at the beautiful Goldsmiths' Hall....my entry didn't win this time but it was nice to see they had chosen to exhibit it anyway. My entry is below. I was impressed with so many of the entries, but wish I had found time to enter a few other catagories...that's the trouble with a January deadline. It's the dreaded tax time!

The brief was to find an innovative way of using coloured gemstones, yet in a wearable way. My concept 'Lovelocked' was inspired by the locking mechanism of a beautiful Victorian combination lock. To fasten the bracelet you place the 'key' in the barrel (on one end of the chain) & rotate the three central sections, essentially scrambling the gemstones into a random pattern. Once the three rubies are back into alignment the key will release and the bracelet can be removed.

Take a look at my new twitter feed background...I know it's probably OTT! It features my new 'Chevron Bangle' made from two layers of hand cut solid silver, black lizard skin and golden bronze snakeskin. Right now this cuff is probably a personal favourite - I'm loving all things geometric! 

https://twitter.com/#!/zoe_harding

Sometimes I just love it when the post arrives! The other day the postman delivered the new snakeskins I’ve  just bought from a retired craftsman….They are stunningly beautiful and the photos above just don’t do them justice. The textures and colours are awesome, some of them sparkle like sequins. So inspiring. You will see these in some lovely new cuffs soon. In the meantime check out my trademark feather and leather lined sterling silver cuffs at zoeharding.com 

On Wednesday, armed with a powerpoint presentation, I made my first ever appearance as a guest speaker…an initially daunting but fun experience!! Thanks to everyone who came along.

I was very honoured to be invited by the London Jewellery School to talk about my career in jewellery so far, my work for Vivienne Westwood and what I am doing now. Also talking was the very talented designer maker Michael Milloy who has made catwalk jewellery for the likes of Marc Jacobs, Peter Pilotto, Antonio Berardi and Tristan Webber. It was really interesting to see such amazing show pieces as well as his own range.

Alongside my current work I showed my early pieces including my A-level experiments making ‘body sculpture’ out of thin baking trays, wire and bits of leather from old leather jackets. It was a time of total creative freedom and represents the moment that I realised that jewellery was for me! Check them out below…

Check out my website....online shop coming soon!  zoeharding.com