As part of my involvement with the Arts & Business mentoring programme, I have recently commissioned Johnny Barrington to make a 3 minute film of my work. It will show the processes I use and follow the making of a silver and glass bowl, we also hope to illustrate where my creative inspirations come from. You can follow the making of the film through facebook updates and through the blog which will soon be added to this site.
I’ll keep you posted!
Craft Central’s two buildings in Clerkenwell offer the ultimate shopping treat. Avoid the High Street crowds and meet 90 plus designers selling exceptional craft and design
I will be opening my studio for Thursdays late night launch event 5-8pm, and also on Friday 20th 12 – 8pm. I am away at a wedding Saturday and Sunday so will not be open then.
Do come and join me for a glass of fizz
Studio 310 / 21 Clerkenwell Green / EC1R 0DX
Alex and and the Crafted participants were featured in an article in todays Guardian online. Follow the link to read
Arts & Business invited me to design the awards for the November 2010 Arts & Business Awards. This celebration recognises the very best of innovative cultural and commercial partnerships across the UK. My designs characteristically combined glass and silver, and were presented on the evening by Kate Mosse.
Ruthin Craft Centre – 12th February – 27th March
The National Museum of Wales – 11th April – 24th July
Dr Elizabeth Goring has curated this exciting exhibition, and has chosen three pieces of my most recent work to be shown at Silverstruck. To coincide with the exhibition, Ruthin Craft Centre will host a study day to celebrate contemporary silversmithing and to examine factors contributing to and supporting its success.
Saturday 19 March 2011 10.30am – 4.00pm £25 includes light lunch (£20 concession)
Speakers include Philippa Glanville (former Keeper of Metalwork at the V&A, silver historian and author of Women Silversmiths 1685–1845), Andrew Renton (Head of Applied Art, Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales) and young silversmiths whose work is included in the exhibition. Introduced by Silverstruck curatorDr Elizabeth Goring.
Please note that places are limited and must be booked and paid for in advance. To book, please call Ruthin Craft Centre on 01824 704774 or download a booking form from our website www.ruthincraftcentre.org.uk
I am delighted to announce that I have been selected to participate in Crafted - the Arts & Business and Walpole mentoring initiative that matches craft businesses with leaders from the luxury sector. This second year of the programme launched on 2nd February at Gieves & Hawkes of Savile Row. Crafted’s main ambition is to increase sustainability and stimulate business growth amongst craft entrepreneurs to providing them with vital mentoring and business advice, while connecting luxury businesses with a new generation of skilled craftsmen.
I am incredibly fortunate to be mentored by Bill Amberg – and have already benefited hugely from his advice and experience in the luxury craft sector. I already have a huge list of tasks and opportunities to explore from my first meeting with Bill in January – it is very exciting and its going to be a busy year!!
In May 2010 I attended a symposium of European silversmiths held in Copenhagen, called Hammerclub. About 150 silversmiths from all over Europe, and as far afield as New Zealand, attended and enjoyed a programme of talks, a tour of the George Jensen Workshops, and made work for an exhibition to the theme ‘Objects of Light’. I made a pair of Nitrate Negative Bowls for the exhibition and was delighted to win second prize. This was a unique and very special award to win because it was voted for by the gathered silversmiths and visitors to the Museum.
Many people also took their hammers to Denmark to make a collective silver bowl, which was to be a gift to The Museum of Art & Design. There is a fascinating (although quite noisy!) film on the Hammerclub website, which shows the bowl making process. It takes about 30 seconds for the actual filming to begin, after several still shots.
There was also plenty of time for socialising, wandering around Copenhagen and getting lost, exchanging thoughts and techniques with fellow silversmiths, and a general feeling that the community of silversmithing is alive, well and going from strength to strength.
I have recently finished an intriguing necklace for a client, which is made of glass he collected in the Egyptain desert. He told me the story of how a meteor had hit the desert thousands of years ago, turning much of the sand into glass. He had collected some pieces on a recent trip and he wanted a silversmith to make them into a necklace for his wife.
This was a very challenging project technically – as each piece of glass is irregular in form and an individual setting had to be made for each one. The glass is also quite heavy, so solutions to hanging the pieces comfortably on the neck had to be investigated. I am delighted to report that the necklace and matching earrings have been a huge success with his wife, and I am currently working on a matching ring to complete the set.
My glass has been made by a talented glass blower called James Carcass for many years. Once based in London, he is now living in Hungary with his wife and son. I visited their studio while Hungary was covered in thick snow, to watch a batch of new glass being made and to help in its production. This trip was also a wonderful opportunity for me to work as an assistant for a few days and be involved in the making process.
The Glass Workshop
James shaping the hot glass in a piece of wet leather at the beginning of the glass blowing process, and later applying copper to the hot surface to create the texture and patterns that appear in the finished object.
