Goldsmiths Fair and some flash backs!

This weekend my ring, Green Cats Eye Tourmaline Octopus Ring is one of 100 artist's rings being exhibited at the Goldsmiths' Collect Fair at Somerset House which is open from Friday 28th February - Sunday 2nd March 2025. There's going to be some incredible work so do stop by if you can. Collect is curated by The Crafts Council and showcases makers from around the world including ceramics, glass, lacquer, textiles, paper, jewellery and metalwork. 

Here I am at Collect 2025 with Harriet Scott who's the head of Goldsmiths'. 

Last year Goldsmiths' Collect at Somerset House showcased 100 Brooches from artists and craft people and my 'Hidden or Exposed' brooch was selected. 

The first time my paths crossed with Goldsmiths' was when I was studying at The Royal College of Art and came second in Ayrton Metals Platinum Competition inspired by Jazz in May 1992. Here I am being awarded the prize. 

Below is my entry - a two-part brooch in platinum and 18-carat yellow gold. The amorphic shape represented music as it bursts from the trumpet and breaks away floating into the air. Gold and platinum beads tremble on the surface and the bubbles grow larger and larger until one escapes and floats away - represented by the smaller part of the brooch.

Stepping back in time, I was first selected to exhibit at the prestigious Goldsmiths Fair in 1997. At the time my studio was in Cockpit Yard in Holborn and my work was available in Heals, from the Crafts Council shop, the V&A and the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco.

The Goldsmiths Fair is the jewellery event of the year and the most prestigious jewellery event there is. It's always been hard to get in but the selection process is fair and the judging panel changes each year. Historically you could decorate your stand but today the stalls are uniform so that the work stands out.

My work at the time was described as: 'inspired by natural forms, the work combines sensuous liquid shapes with smooth, crisp, highly finished surfaces'. I was placed next to the jeweller Joanna Gowan and we've been friends ever since. It was Joanna who encouraged me to open my Tunbridge Wells jewellery shop as Joanna, at the time, had a shop in Sawbridgeworth Hertfordshire. The picture below is of Joanna Gowan and I from 2003.

I then exhibited again each year at the Goldsmiths Fair until 2002. I took a break in 2002 as my daughter had just been born but was back again in 2003 until 2004. I then took a five year break, which is when I had my second child and moved from London to Tunbridge Wells. 

In 2002 I also had the honour of being made a Freeman of Goldsmiths of London. I was heavily pregnant at the time and gave birth a few weeks later. A friend, Polly who is a textile artist received the honour at the same time and shared these pictures with me. 

Exhibiting in 2013 was a very special year as I was chosen to be stand one and exhibited next to my friend and talented jeweller Petra Bishai. The picture above was taken of Petra and I in 2013. The following year was extremely busy as I exhibited again at the show but it was also the year my Tunbridge Wells jewellery shop opened. 

If you can't make it to Collect you can view my jewellery collection online here. For the past few years I haven't exhibited at Goldsmiths as I've been focusing on my shop but who knows what will happen in the future. My Tunbridge Wells jewellery shop in The Pantiles is also open each week from Thursday to Saturday so do stop by. You can find the details here.