A new jewellery design can be influenced by any number of things – nature, a magnificent building, a vivid colour. It can also come about when we purchase a new tool, one that opens up possibilities that we couldn’t create without it.
One such tool is our new enamelling system. I use the term enamel only to describe what the end result will look like as this is actually a ceramic composite that is hardened under a UV light. It gives a fantastic range of colours and effects and is much harder wearing than enamel. I ordered this system when I visited a German trade fair in February and I have been mulling over designs since. I love colour and when I think of colourful jewellery, India is the first thing that comes to mind. Indian jewellery is big, ornate, colourful and intricate. My aesthetic would be much more minimalist than a typical pair of Indian earrings but I can appreciate the beauty in them and thought it might be nice to take this as the base for our new range.
We started by researching lots of Indian patterns and jewellery. Pinterest is a great tool for this (an online platform for collating and sharing images).
From this we started sketching out various ideas, taking the main components of Indian jewellery and simplifying them.
If I were simply a designer who outsourced manufacturing this sketching process would be a lot more detailed. Working out every detail on paper and drawing amazing mock-ups of how the range would look, sit, hang, etc. Having the workshop in store allows us to create sample pieces in metal – I much prefer to work out the details in 3d than on paper.
There are so many factors that have to be considered when designing a new collection:
1. Manufacturing – How long will it take to produce?
2. Price point – Worked out based on the weight of metal needed and manufacturing time?
3. Imagery – Will the range photograph well and get press coverage?
4. Customer – We are in the lucky position that we speak to our customers every day. Is this design one that will suit our customers?
We made lots of samples of the various ideas and played around with them. A lot of them were scrapped immediately and others went into the box of samples as possible ideas for future ranges. I often find that a design becomes clear when I walk away from it – we will be discussing a piece in detail one evening, decide to leave it until the following day and the next morning I will wake up with a very clear idea of what I want. Jemma created a couple of the final ideas and I added the colour – this gave the collection a whole new dimension and I was happy with direction it was taking.
I have now decided on the overall look of the range and the main components but there is still a lot of work to be done tweaking each piece until I am 100% happy with it. Creating one of each piece and seeing how they sit together in a display. Creating the final pieces, photographing them, pricing them, sending the images to the press, putting the collection online…. The list goes on!
This new collection will be launched this summer along when we officially open our new shop, watch this space!
