For as long as I can remember I have been raiding my family’s drawers, dressing up and parading around wearing their jewellery. It was not until I was considerably older that I started to notice the shapes, forms, colours and textures of what I and everyone around me were wearing. It was then that I realised that jewellery was no longer something I just wore; it had become something I wanted to design and create myself. Furthermore jewellery had become the path that I wished to pursue. I have done so by achieving my HND in Jewellery Design at Cardonald College and I am currently enjoying the new challenges of the BDES Hons Jewellery Design and Technology course. During the course, I have developed advanced 3D design CAD prototyping, casting and production knowledge, skills and experience, and sophisticated stone setting techniques.

 

The relationship between jewellery maker and wearer excites me; especially the notion that a sentimental piece I have created becomes as special to someone else as it was to me. It is due to this belief that I consider that there is a strong connection between the choice of material, methods of manufacture and symbolic meaning within contemporary jewellery. This is the basis of my theme for this year’s work.

 

There are different ways of defining the value of jewellery: the preciousness and price of materials used to create it; the inspiration and sentimental concept behind the piece; and how it has been produced. I feel that a connection must be created between the consumer and jewellery for the collection and branding to be successful, and that the public feels the need to know the concept behind pieces. It is due to this that my body of work is sentimental and narrative.  I hope that when a person looks at my pieces, they can immediately notice where my inspiration is sourced from, and feel connected to it.

 

For source material for my degree show, I have analysed the word ‘value’, and what this word means to me. By definition it means the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something. I asked myself what I value most in my life and the answer was straightforward, family. In addition, I chose Maud Jewellery Design as my company name. Maud is a traditional name which has been passed down through generations of my family’s history and one which I strive to give new meaning to and keep alive.