Seashell, steel, silk clay: a new generation of jewellers shows material worth

Kath Libbert’s eponymous gallery in Salts Mill, Saltaire, has made a commitment to nurturing talent central to its ethos. Libbert’s own expertise as a curator means her annual selection of the best new UK jewellery graduate talent is a notable calendar highlight. The jewellers taking part in this year’s exhibition, ‘Identity’, are high on our new talent hotlist.
Adrienn Pesti, from the Glasgow School of Art, incorporates a plethora of textured materials including silk clay, enamel and steel in a bid to explore how jewellery can prompt social interactions. ‘My design work carries its own visual language creating conversations and interaction between people,’ Pesti explains. She hopes cheerful, bright hues and inviting designs will encourage playful dialogue stimulated by simple curiosity.
Rings in silver and gold plated silver by Hannah Lornie.
Miki Asai, also a student of Glasgow School of Art, finds beauty in impermanence: ‘My jewellery captures preserved fragments. Ephemeral phenomenon like shadow and light or morning dew portray the nature of everything in this world.’ Her philosophy translates into soft, nebulous forms – fragile materials like paper and veneered seashell resemble cracked eggshell and shimmering pearl. Also intrigued by tangibility, Glasgow graduate Mara Balode transposes urban photographic fragments of urbanity onto minuscule acrylic squares.
Other Wallpaper* highlights include Hayley Grafflin of Sheffield Hallam University, whose pipe detail brooch and necklace is unusually finished with orange rust and soot. Also unconventional, Glasgow School of Art’s Hannah Lornie transports the hypnotising patterns in lichen into her jewellery, while for Paula Treimane, a graduate from the same university, it’s the intrinsic values in natural materials like bone and wood which are captivating.
Left, 'Colour of the Wind' brooch in paper, Japanese lacquer, veneered seashell, silver, steel wire. Right, 'Pair' brooch in paper, Japanese lacquer, eggshell, veneered seashell, silver, steel wire, by Miki Asai
'Linear Thinking' brooch in African blackwood, silver, mild steel, paper brass and low temperature enamel by Hayley Grafflin
Left, 'Mixed Materials' necklace in oxidised silver, bone, wood and rubber cord by Paula Treimane. Right, 'Beyo(u)nd' earrings in silk clay, enamel, steel and silver by Adrienn Pesti
INFORMATION
’Identity’ is on view until 28th January 2018. For more information, visit the Kath Libbert website
ADDRESS
Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery
Salts Mill
Saltaire
Bradford
BD18 3LA
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Hannah Silver is the Art, Culture, Watches & Jewellery Editor of Wallpaper*. Since joining in 2019, she has overseen offbeat design trends and in-depth profiles, and written extensively across the worlds of culture and luxury. She enjoys meeting artists and designers, viewing exhibitions and conducting interviews on her frequent travels.
-
A 432 Park Avenue apartment is an art-filled family home among the clouds
At 432 Park Avenue, inside and outside compete for starring roles; welcome to a skyscraping, art-filled apartment in Midtown Manhattan
-
Kitchen Trends 2026: luminosity, colour, and unexpected materiality
These are kitchen trends shaping interior design in 2026, from collaborative kitchens to warm luminosity
-
A gallery in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales showcases work inspired by nature
Thorns Gallery opens in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, with founders Jonathan Reed and Graeme Black aiming to showcase artworks inspired by the natural world
-
La Maison Couture and Rock Vault link up at London Fashion Week
-
Young gems: a new exhibition at the Museum of London rounds up the city’s fresh jewellery talent
-
La Frontera exhibition at Velvet da Vinci jewellery gallery, San Francisco