A Lifetime dedicated to jewellery
Me, Myself and… Jewellery
As a student I'd arrive with the cleaners. And at night security would have to throw me out. I'd even sleep with a sketchbook by my bed. 20 years later? Not much has changed!I’ve been lucky enough to have had a rich and exciting career developing my jewellery company. Since graduating from the Royal College of Art in 1997 some of the highlights include: opening a jewellery gallery, writing a contemporary jewellery book called Adorn, and commissioning and featuring in a short film called ‘For the love of it.’
Student Days
Royal College of Art, 1996
MA graduation certificate
Royal College of Art, 1997
Adorn New Jewellery
Laurence King publishers, 2008
I was also awarded the Freedom of the Goldsmiths’ Company and City of London in recognition of my contribution to the jewellery industry which was a huge honour.
Goldsmith's Company Freeman Ceremony
Goldsmiths' Hall, 2012
Freeman certificate
Goldsmith's Company, 2012
I debuted my first fine jewellery collections including Concentric and Reminiscence at Goldsmiths’ Fair in 2015 and was delighted that the Concentric ring was used to promote the fair on London Underground posters and flyer! I also received the Gold award from the Goldsmiths’ Craft and Design Council in 2016 in the fine jewellery category.
London underground poster
Goldsmiths' Fair, 2015
Flyer front cover
Goldsmiths' Fair, 2015
Awards Ceremony
Goldsmith's Craft and Design Council, 2016
Gold award certificate
Goldsmith's Craft and Design Council, 2016
If you’d like to hear more about my work and my collections - or you’d like to chat about creating a unique piece of bespoke jewellery - then just head here to get in touch.
THE JEWEL ATTRACTION
Where it all begun
Amanda's creativity and individuality has always shone through. From creating her own dresses and fashion style as a teenager, to decorating birthday cakes and cooking up a feast for the family. So what was it that attracted her to jewellery?Amanda graduated with a 1st Class BA (Hons) degree from Manchester Metropolitan University in 1994. Before this she'd set her sights on becoming a fashion or textiles designer. But this crafts degree was about to change the direction of her career.
BA Crafts, Class of '94
Manchester Metropolitan, 1994
Degree certificate
First Class Honours, 1994
As well as working with textiles she was introduced to wood, ceramics and metal. She found herself thinking more often in three dimensions and developed a fascination with the tangible and tactile. The palpable: the interaction between objects and their function.
At the time Amanda was focusing on a dissertation which explored Victorian attitudes to women and fashion: the expectation of elegance and the emphasis on the ornate. During this process, she became as interested in the intricate jewellery as she was in the elaborate dresses.
Victorian dress
Research and trips to the Victoria and Albert Museum
The attraction to this particular jewellery was simple. This jewellery didn’t just accessorise. It was loaded with symbolism. It told a story. It gave an insight into the life, the status, and the concealed secrets of the wearer. Rings disclosed secret messages. Intricate lockets revealed locks of hair and portraits as charming mementos.
Victorian jewellery
Research and trips to the Victoria and Albert Museum
Much of this research took place in London’s stunning Victoria and Albert Museum. Long days spent wandering the dress and the jewellery galleries. It was here she stumbled upon the Japanese Inro. Beautiful ornate boxes secured by an intricately braided textile cord suspended from the Obi of the Kimono. Boxes with special compartments in which to hold personal belongings.
Japanese Inro
Research and trips to the Victoria and Albert Museum
These combined influences begun to fuel Amanda’s obsession with interactive jewellery. Jewellery with stories to tell and a purpose that extends beyond mere accessory. And, when the time came to select two disciplines to specialise in for the remainder of the degree, the choice was obvious. Metal and textiles
It was no surprise that the jewellery Amanda created for her final show were intricate pieces that opened to reveal hidden secrets that could only be accessed by the use of an integral tool.
BA (hons) Final collection
Example of a brooch containing a hidden secret. The tool to access it is one of the brooch pins.
This is when she begun to forge a career as a jewellery designer.
The rest, they say, is history.