Hot metal: sculptural forms rise to the top at this year’s Goldsmiths’ Fair
Now a leading international platform for the finest contemporary jewellery and silver, Goldsmiths’ Fair first opened its doors in 1982. It is staged within the palatial confines of the Philip Hardwick-designed Goldsmiths’ Hall, built in the City of London in the 1830s. The fair is rooted in excellent craftsmanship but the focus is on contemporary design in precious metals. As well as the chance to meet established makers and rising talent, a series of informal talks and tours by design, jewellery and antiquities experts also takes place throughout the Fair. Joining them, on 30 September, is Wallpaper’s very own watches & jewellery director Caragh McKay, who will talk about the designs that caught her eye from week one. Here, we spotlight five of the designers on show...
The Goldsmiths’ Fair is on view from 27 September – 1 October . and 3 October – 8 October. For more information, visit the website
Stephanie Holt
Brutalist architecture and manmade environments are among the references Stephanie Holt draws upon in her futuristic designs. Experimentation is a key driver: ’I use different media such as card, mesh and plaster, but I particularly like working with sheet metal to create unusual forms,’ she affirms. For her Goldsmiths’ Fair debut, Holt will show pieces from her new ‘U.F.O.’ (unique finger ornaments) collection, which is inspired by her love of crystals. The standout? A gold plated silver and pink resin ‘U.F.O. Conchoidal Ring’ (pictured), which protrudes from the finger like a cosmic beam of light.
Emmeline Hastings
Bristol-based designer Emmeline Hastings is a previous winner of the Best New Design award at Goldsmiths’ Fair. She defines her approach as ‘a sculptural, intuitive process that satisfies the need to create artistically, while also producing a wearable product’. Using acrylic, her new ‘Murmur’ earrings (pictured) contain individually placed fragments of sterling silver and 18-carat rose gold. The result is a tactile pattern that moves with the wearer.
Teri Howes
‘My jewellery redefines crochet for the 21st century,’ says Teri Howes of her textural creations, which are firmly rooted in craft traditions. Using fine wire that’s less than a millimetre thick, Howes traps tiny diamonds in stitches of gold thread, culminating in fluid, sensual forms that she likens to ‘drawings in the air’. Her oxidised fine silver and black diamond ‘Talon’ earrings (pictured), reveal an edgier (though equally luxurious) side to her design vision.
Ornella Iannuzzi
Rough gemstones are a starting point for Ornella Iannuzzi’s jewellery: ‘I work around a stone in wax, before casting it in metal, like a bronze sculpture,’ she says. Driven by ‘the perfection of nature’, her designs riff on the colours and textures of natural environments, including forests and mountain landscapes. This year Iannuzzi will reveal her ‘most ambitious pieces to date’, including her ‘L’Exceptionnelle Emeraude’ earrings (pictured), crafted from sliced Trapiche emeralds and 18-carat gold, resembling gilded stalactites.
Shaun Leane
Drawing from street culture and urban life, London-based Shaun Leane – famed for his catwalk jewellery design for Alexander McQueen – uses traditional techniques to create avant-garde statements. ‘Tusk’, Leane’s signature silhouette is a variations of a sharp talon. Topped with diamonds, Lean’s weapon-like ‘Tusk bracelet’ (pictured) in red-gold vermeil is a jewel fizzing with power and elegance.