Collection Bites: Designed By Nature, Made by Hand

Check out the feature from this weeks Benchpeg's Newsletter on the event I'm running on Wednesday:

"Jade Mellor is a sculptural jewellery artist based in Manchester where she has been researching at Manchester Museum.

She will be showing work there to demonstrate how important the museum collections can be for inspiration for contemporary design from the 4th June.

Jade will share a unique insight into her experimental processes and unique designs which have graced the pages of Vogue Magazine, The Contemporary Jewellery Yearbook and Swarovski Trends. To kick off a series of events she will be hosting a free ‘Show and Tell’ where she will talk about how she utilised the museum collections and the importance of having these resources for process led and conceptually driven work. This show will delve deeper than surface aesthetics where science and nature meets art and design to create something new.
 

She will also be getting some beautiful treasures out for attendees to look at.

Since studying 3D Design at Manchester School of Art, Jade has found a rich resource in the Museum’s collections, her research and discoveries shaping the pieces she makes

The purpose of the events held at the museum are to encourage others to make use of our amazing Museums and see them as somewhere for new discoveries rather than just old things!"

Date Wednesday 4th June
Time: 1.05pm – 2.00pm
Venue: Manchester Museum, Seminar Room, 3rd Floor
Book on: 0161 275 2648 
Or email: museum@manchester.ac.uk
Cost: Free.

For more information:
[w] events.manchester.ac.uk

[w] www.jademellor.com

Many thanks to Benchpeg for supporting this event, I hope it will lead to some inspiration for all of us! You can read about more news and opportunities in the jewellery world on their website here and also subscribe to their newsletter. It's a great resource for everything going on in jewellery and it's all free! 

I am really looking forward to hosting my Collection Bites Event at Manchester Museum this Wednesday, 4th June. I have been to see many of the previous talks (and blogged about some including which you can read about here and here) and they have included a wide range of people who work with the Museum. From curators, artists, conservators and visiting experts they provide a personal insight into the influences the museum has and the importance of the objects it holds. My own talk will be a show and tell featuring the amazing specimens that have inspired my work and the pieces it has resulted in. I want you to experience the objects which have had an impact on me for yourself and hopefully we can engage in more of a chat sharing ideas and looking at some really cool things and some of my own one-off pieces, experiments and processes.

I may also be asking you to help me create something based on one of the objects!

Hope you can make it!

Celebrating Modern Ruin

Following on from Tate Britain's Ruin Lust, I call this work a "Celebration of Modern ruin" . As in the Tate's recent exhibition I want to look at the positive aspects in the unravelling of our environment.

I was recently interviewed by Kerry Flint for The 405 who asked the question "Who do you see wearing your jewellery?" I said; "A person who stops to look at a tree with a perfectly round knot hole, or notices that in the partly demolished building on their street there's layers of '60s wallpaper exposed in the crumbling remains of a half wall." 

I walk past this old lamp post most days. I love the weird faded pink and I have no idea how the paint has puckered in this way, it always reminds me of a peeling silver birch tree. From the other perspective, the rock in the other picture looks like a brightly painted chunk of masonry but the colours are natural and this is a real mineral called Orpiment.

I hope that if we can look at our own modern surroundings with the same rose-tinted view we use for aged ruins and natural objects, appreciating the processes and textures for what they are we will be happier in our daily lives.

One of my latest pieces using workshop fragments

Using fragments of ruins to make something new

"The very materials which we build with retain the vulnerabilities of their natural state: In truth, all stone weathering is stone disease. No stone resists the action of atmospheric agencies indefinitely; otherwise we would have no sediments, no soil, no natural sculpture. Chemical change belongs to the beauty and liveliness of stone: it is the natural carving that records Time in immediate form within the pattern & colour of the surface."  Adrian Stokes, Stones of Rimini. 

The rock cycle doesn't end or begin but shows us how one material can form another through different processses and combinations that create the various substances in our environment.

As one breaks down into sediments it finds itself in one of these processes it eventually goes on to become whichever new type of rock that it leads to. My workshop practices mean that in making there are broken pieces and surplus material left over. I have been collecting these fragments and using them in new pieces, to emulate the sequence in nature.

Each one of my pieces I personally make by hand. Every one of these coloured flecks is the result of a piece of jewellery being created. They wouldn't exist without the previous work, each a record of the pieces before it. In the same way by using hand working processes rather than having my work manufactured by others or machines means that with each piece I gain experience. Each one a tiny fragment gained that can build into something more varied and interesting. So everything I have learned also goes into the next piece.

The Berlin Wall has been crumbling into ruin for 25 years this November. It's demolition and the end of the separation of East and West Germany is a massive celebration, a positive Modern Ruin after decades of oppression. The bright colours are the expressions of artists from over the years, and the flecks throughout are the bits of rock, minerals and detritus in the concrete. This chunk of rubble has become a treasured memento, sold as a souvenir and creating a business for entrepreneurs. (there's an interesting interview with one of the main "wall sellers" here).

I love this image of a party goer sharing a light through a hole in the wall.

For this bright yellow ring I've used granite for a rugged edge.

A piece of the Berlin with a Thierry Noir painting.

Here's a quote from the artist Thierry Noir: "Painting on the Berlin Wall was an act of liberation. I had been living close to it for two years in April 1984, when after a while, I started feeling the need to rebel against its oppressive stature. I decided to physically react against the pressure and domination of daily life near the Berlin Wall. So I went to the back of my house at Mariannenplatz, five metres away from the wall and started painting. Living near this wall was very melancholic and after two years, I felt a little dizzy because nothing was happening in the morning, nothing was happening in the afternoon, nothing was happening in the evening or at night. So initially painting on the wall was a way for me to change my ideas and then it became a full time job!" Taken from his interview in Oyster Magazine, read it all here.

A collection of pieces made using workshop fragments, inspired by textures in our surroundings combining natural and urban. 

Here's a close up of some of the textures.

Here's a quote from the artist Thierry Noir who risked his life painting the Berlin wall before it fell:

"Between the LACMA (The Museum of Modern Art in L.A.) and the Variety Tower, there are ten pieces of the Berlin Wall on display. In the afternoon, during lunch break you can see people having their lunch in front of the pieces of the Berlin Wall. This shows the Californian people that not every wall stays up forever and I just loved being able to observe how the new generation was staring at the remains of past history."

Ruin Lust: Tate Britain

Ruin Lust "An ideal of beauty that is alluring exactly because of it's flaws & failures."

One of my granite and resin Hewn rings, inspired by the crumbling textures of ageing and weathering in our surroundings.

Ruin Lust (from the German concept of appreciating ruins - Ruinelust) is the exhibition at Tate Britain which finished this time last week. Now that it is over (as anything must end to become a good ruin) I will collect the fragments which I left with and assemble them here on my blog.

I was very excited to visit this exhibition as this idea of discovering partial remains of a bigger thing and capturing the textures of erosion have long been a big part of my work. But knowing me, I am a curious beast and the look of something has never been enough. I always want to find out the why and how, and these not only form the concepts behind my work but also my experimental processes. I was not disappointed by Ruin Lust, there was a great variety and depth on this cultural phenomenon to explore.

The main idea I'd like to take away from the exhibition is that Ruins can be seen as a positive thing.

Ruins as a Memorial

"Sublime warnings of the past" Ruin Lust, 2014

"We were intrigued by the World War II bunkers that were being drawn back into the water," Jane says. "It was like something from an ancient civilization, but darker."

Louise and Jane WIlson's work had a big impact on me. At first glance these angular forms could be contemporary sculptures, but they are the remains of Nazi bunkers in Normandy. These clean and crisp images with no discernible date let the stark forms stand out without complication. They could be from any time or place but in learning their origin presents them as symbol of the end of a devastating chapter in History with many things to learn from. "The ruin may remind us of a glorious past now lying in pieces or point to the future collapse of our present culture." Ruin Lust, 2014

Reinventing the Ruin

"Find new uses for ruins and new dreams among the rubble" from Ruin Lust, Tate Britain 2014

David B McFall, Bull Calf 1942

I was charmed by this sculpture by David B McFall. Following the Wilson's ruined bunkers this is a remnant from Great Britain's experience of the Second World War.The Portland stone used for this piece was once a part of a London Bank, one of the buildings destroyed in the bombing of Southwark. You can see the original carvings of the 19th Century swags and flowers from its architectural past. This wonderful re-use of debris and the subject of a young Bull Calf is a symbol of new hope and seeing the potential to grow strong and rebuild.

You can see why it was chosen for the Royal Academy Summer exhibition in 1942, even when McFall was still a student.

Engraved by J Greig, from a sketch by L Francia, for Excursions through Norfolk

"The ruin traffics with more than one time frame: it arrives from the past, but incomplete; it may well survive us."  Ruin Lust 2014

Another example of a ruin reused which not part of the exhibition is this unusual sight of St. Benet's Abbey. The ruined abbey is situated on the River Bure within The Broads in Norfolk England. Demolished from the dissolution the gatehouse remained, which is now a grade I listed building. In the second half of the eighteenth century, a farmer built a windmill inside the abbey ruins, (adapted even further to make a wind pump later on),  The windmill is now itself a grade II listed building, creating a ruin within a ruin.

Ruins to Incite 

I enjoy the fact that a ruin leaves space for your imagination. The journey it has gone through to get to that point had affected it and it is up to us to use our minds to investigate, elaborate and furnish the remaining bones. This is what engages us with it and makes our experience a personal discovery rather than being presented with a perfect, pristine place or object, which could literally be a brick wall to creative ideas.

Paul Nash, Steps in a field  near Swanage 1935

These concrete steps look out of place in this surreal image by Paul Nash. Without trying to envisage the lost structure of the demolished building they can be enjoyed as a curious sight in their own right. Like an Escher drawing these impossible stairs let us create an invisible doorway wondering where or when it might lead to, a portal to another time or dimension.

In my next blog post I will be presenting my response to this exhibition and some of my latest work, looking at these ideas and a few more...

Gold: A Material Possession

The recent eye-catching display of my favourite art shop, Cornellison & Son ( a trove of amazing traditional materials, professional pigments and art supplies, estd 1855!) to accompany their array of gilding materials.

Ancient gold jewellery from Manchester Museum's Ancient World's exhibition.

"Gold-the most universal of archetypes. It's allure gleams in liturgical traditions and Pagan rituals, royal celebrations & alchemical transformations. The splendour of this precious metal has limitless visual potential. While it's use can veer dangerously close to signalling excess & kitsch, gold is nevertheless flamboyant & resplendent - a spectacle to behold. Somewhere between elegant & overpowering, it became a catalyst for creativity suggesting the transformation of a raw material into a work of art to be admired." Dries Van Noten exhibition, the Decorative Art Museum, Paris

Golden garments, at Dries Van Noten's current Paris exhibition including a beautifully embroidered antique piece.

What I like about gold is the fact that it's NATURALLY OCCURRING, which I think can be forgotten because of it's expense. Valued since it's discovery for it's beauty and rarity, it is also a material with unique properties made up from a combination of ingredients found in the universe. The desire it has created and it's limited availability means it's used as a means of expressing wealth, giving it the reputation for being showy and gaudy. But unlike a wad of paper bank notes for a man made currency, if you found a nugget of gold gleaming amidst the gravel of a muddy stream, or peeking out of a rocky wall it immediately catches the eye as something special irrespective of knowledge of it's outside "worth". Real gold is a wonderful material to work with but causes creative limitations by it's expense. I love pyrite (fool's gold) which as well as having it's own unique qualities also shares some of the appeal of the treasured material. It's natural, it sparkles, it's warm and shiny, I WANT IT on a deep level. And I can work with it creatively on my artist budget and use larger pieces to make a big impact with objects in this lovely, sunny metallic hue. Yuuuuum.

An pyrite specimen I used recently for a bespoke ring.

Hubert Duprat's beautiful jewelled insect homes I saw in the Dries Van Noten exhibition in Paris last month.

A wonderful surprise at the Dries Van Noten exhibition was the inclusion of Hubert Duprat's amazing caddis flies which I had never seen in real life before! I love the way he has used jewels and precious materials in this way, showing them as natural things. To us, we know how "expensive" they are in our society, but to the caddis lavae they are just a handy building material to make their little home.  In a similar way, the pearl is known to us as a rare find in the watery depths, romantic, elegant and precious. However, to the oyster it is a way of dealing with an annoying speck of grit so it doesn't damage it's delicate insides, a biological process.

Pearls at The Museum of London

These are animals protecting themselves in beautiful ways.

A new exhibition has also just started at The Manchester Museum, From the War of Nature. Coinciding with the commemoration of the start of World War One, the exhibition looks at " the story of predation, competition, co-operation and collaboration... (revealing) that living things resolve conflict in many, often unexpected, ways and aims to challenge the perception that war is an inevitable outcome of conflict." I say hopefully we can form a pearl of wisdom out the irritating grit that gets in our shells. :)

Rust Lust

The fossilised egg of an iron dragon...?

This lovely textured stone is from the collections at Manchester museum. The iron content that makes up the rock has rusted in the atmosphere over time and weathered beautifully exposing different layers. Rust is something we're used to seeing in man-made metal objects, but here it is in a natural, organic object.

I have sculpted this ring in an iron and resin composite. It starts off pale and gradually darkens as the metal content oxidises within. The little old metal hammer I acquired (origin unknown!) has been rusting for such a long time it looks like it has formed organically rather than being intentionally manufactured.

More close ups of the rusty rock from the museum

One of these unique experimental rusted rings are available online Craft & Culture here. Smooth to the touch from the hand shaping and polishing this one is also sculpted around a piece of peacock ore mineral inclusion embedded withing with purple and gold tones.

I am currently researching more textures of objects in Manchester Museum, really looking forward to sharing the fruits of my labours soon... 

Dries Van Noten, Paris Exhibition

Paris is a city that takes fashion seriously. They respect the couture houses which have established themselves over decades, creating or even engulfing a designer's career (go and see Yves Saint Laurent if you haven't already, as indulgently beautiful a film as it could be). Speeding through the tunnel on the Eurostar, the evidence was there before I'd even sipped my Earl Grey, looking at the cover of their Metropolitan magazine.

I may have snaffled a copy because the journey went so quickly I didn't get chance to read it all!

On my wish list to see whilst I was in Paris was the Dries Van Noten exhibition at the musée des Arts décoratifs.  Happily I got to spend a good chunk of time there as it really is a feast for the eyes, I felt totally saturated by the colours and rich textures by the time I left.

This is the first exhibition devoted entirely to the Belgian artist's work, shows us his inspirations and processes allowing us to peer into the mind of the designer. As well as the fashion collections the exhibition has sourced some amazing paintings and pieces to demonstrate the broad references the designer draws upon.

There are many paintings by famous fine artists featured alongside the garments giving a sense of the depth of the ideas and a sense of creativity that goes into the collections. The use of portraits was interesting as clothing is such a personal thing. Selecting your most worn/favourite outfit and displaying it on a mannequin in a gallery could be just as personal and revealing (or more so) as with sitting for a portrait.

You can see directly how the styles and techniques of the artists have influenced the fashion work and what makes them more than just clothing. The way they were displayed as well is an all encompassing world of colour and patterns that grows over walls, floors and ceilings so with each section you are immersed completely. With this exhibition the aim really does seem to be an experience in Fashion as Art.

I loved the way they used these life-size photographs of Francis Bacon's studio. The paint splattered surroundings bleed into the mannequins associating them with their freedom of expression and creativity.

Happy Museum Week! Whether near or far, go and see something new, old, or a mixture of the two and be inspired!

Blue Skies

A matching set doesn't have to be traditional...

White resin hand carved bangle and Hewn ring, with gold and silver metallic inclusions. Real marbled stone pendant on gold plated chain.

Go modern with your own special set made up of whatever you like to wear designed and made just for you. Bespoke colours available too! Drop me an email at  info@jademellor.com with any enquiries.

Edgy Shapes

Learned a new shape today...rhombic dodecahedron

"In geometry, the rhombic dodecahedron is a convex polyhedron with 12 congruent rhombic faces. It has 24 edges, and 14 vertices of two types. It is a Catalan solid, and the dual polyhedron of the cuboctahedron."

I found this label on a mineral specimen I was checking out in Manchester museum in the pic below.

I love how a natural shape like this mineral can have such amazing angles. There's a design there that looks like it has been made somehow but at the same time it's not perfect, it is just how it's formed from it's structure and environment.

Quartz crystals have a really interesting shape. Slightly prismatic but with nibbled edges like an early glass artefact which has worn but survived underground. A lovely chunk of quartz makes up this one-off ring available at Craft & Culture. The silver lustre brings out the facets of the sculpted ring and it's polished to a metallic shine.

This piece is available online now at Craft & Culture

Paris in the Springtime

I am really looking forward to a little break coming up in my favourite city, Paris! We booked the mini hol a while ago in the middle of the bleak wintery weather. March seemed a long time away, so I was dreaming of floaty florals, sunglasses, cardigans, sandals and other Springtime wearables. These have been tucked in the back of the wardrobe for a loooooooong time behind the daily layers of jumpers, wooly tights and scarves and I was looking forward to rooting them out again.

Well holiday time has rolled around quicker than expected and weather wise I'm not quite at the bright & flowery stage as the clouds and cool breezes are still hanging around, but luckily inspiration from Saint Laurent's A/W14 collection has arrived!

These gorgeous 60s style pieces are right up my street, making me want to pack my suitcase with my own sequinned treats, collared shirts, metallics & bows with black tights (with my newly acquired ox-blood go go boots). Usually the sparkles are reserved for my party-time wardrobe but I'll be paring these down in the day with a navy oversized coat, woolly scarf and maybe still get a chance to get the sunglasses out if the clouds part occasionally...

Chanelling Nico!

I could definitely see a Breton top worn tucked under this cherry sparkle.

I'm planning on wearing with some of my black & pyrite Hewn rings...

Vintage style Gogo boots look rad back in the 60s they often had a comfy mid-heel to dance the night away so also great for wandering round the City's sights!!

These atmospheric images are all the work of Lea Colombo, courtesy of Dazed & Confused. See more in their article on the Saint Laurent A/W14 collection here

If Anna Karina joined Brian Jonestown Massacre I think it would sound like one of my favourite French bands, the Liminanas. I'll be listening to them on the Eurostar. C'est parfait!

Luxury In Progress

I was recently visited by a team from the fantastic website Luxury In Progress. They spent some time with me in the studio to learn about my processes and discover how I translate my ideas into reality. Rather than just covering the latest trends or focusing on a finished product their interest lies in showing "Design, Fabrication, innovation..." Here are some photos from their visit shot by Alice Balas, you can read the full interview  by Louise Benson on their site here: Luxury In Progress

Here I am with one of my mineral books looking at structures. My favourites are the 70s ones with illustrations and matt prints in great colours.

Choosing some materials, I use lots of different organic and found objects in my work I love collecting things and experimenting with my stash.

Smashing up a geode full of hidden treasure! I didn't know what this would be like inside until I broke into it.

Seeing how I could use the fragments.

The big sink, getting clean water to clean up my pieces.

A lot of my time is spent carving, shaping and sanding the objects that I cast. I can fill in and sand back several times, waiting for  them to dry and cure in between. For this reason I work on a few pieces over a time adding and working back into them so they develop organically.

When I'm happy with the final shape there is some hand polishing to achieve whatever surface finish I want on the piece. The very glossy ones take a lot of elbow grease to get a perfect shine working through grades of buffers and are finally coated in a protective wax.

Ready to wear!

Luxury In Progress are currently nominated for the AWWWards which recognises design & creativity on the internet! Check out their site for more practitioners and pioneering materials and processes to find out what's new in the creative world: www.luxuryinprogress.com

If you would like to visit the studio email me at info@jademellor.com. I'm based in Manchester City Centre, by Piccadilly Station and Northern Quarter. 

Wyatt Orr Spring Summer 2014

Spring Summer 2014 Look book for Wyatt Orr featuring my hand sculpted bangles.

Love the freshness of this shoot. Check out the Craft & Culture online store for these lovely pared back items, or email me at info@jademellor.com for other enquiries.

Available at Craft&Culture.com 

Soho Showroom

Many thanks to all who visited me in the pop-up showroom in London's bustling Soho this weekend. Tucked away with the rugged jewels in a beautiful Georgian setting, I hope it was a little relaxing niche of calm, amidst the streets of shoppers, sightseers and show goers (and the jubilant singing of the Hare Krishnas passing by).

Refreshments to keep us going

This was a chance to show continuing work joined by new pieces, as my collections grow and develop organically by the fact each piece is made by me individually.

My warmest thanks go to the wonderful people who helped in making this possible. For all your support, cheers!

C'mon Spring/Summer, the jewellery is waiting for ya!

Pretty Good For You

I had some rather grisly dental surgery scheduled on Monday, and thinking I'd be all right afterwards for a day in the studio I ended up leaving early due to feeling more than a little wobbly and green around the gills. After getting home and getting some sugar in my blood (and topping up my painkillers) I was feeling frustrated at having my plan of a creative start to the week curbed by other forces. 

On my way home I had picked up some flowers to cheer myself up (they are proven to aid in recovery, reduce stress and anxiety, and boost creativity read up on it on Huffington Post here). The tulips from the week before were more than ready to give up their vase, but the way they had fallen open reminded me of Christopher Kane's beautiful botanical designs for his S/S14 collection.

Looking for an outlet for my creative urges, I wanted to make some drawings of these delicate specimens. Being back at home, there wasn't much to hand as I keep my art supplies in the studio but I had recently organised my make-up hoard and had been surprised at how many cosmetics in a palette of pretty shades I had that I had barely used. And for my sketch book, I could use myself!

The pots of loose mineral eye shadows reminded me of pollen, used as a very early natural pigment. I had been drawn to this lipstick for it's soft petal pink colour, ready for Spring!

Christopher Kane S/S14

I drew out the outline in waterproof eye-liner.

Using make up brushes, rather than paint brushes to fill in colour using strong loose pigments.

The lipstick blends onto the skin perfectly for blushed edges.

Here it is. The tired out tulips went into the compost, but my drawing brightened my day every time I caught a glimpse of it peeking out of my sleeve until l showering the next morning! And the new vase of flowers have looked lovely all week. (Mouth is healing well too...)

Just like the flowers, it was only temporary, but while it was there it made my surroundings a little prettier.

Hope you are inspired like I was to treat yourself to a few posies and some creative time to yourself-just to make you happy!

Seeing Double

Happy New Year! Happy New Earrings!

These are limited editions I have created using real cut gemstones and minerals with sterling silver details. Once they're gone they're gone!

Inspired by my studies into Neolithic culture at Manchester Museum these real red jasper earrings mimic the shape of an ancient arrowhead as an accessory for the elegant modern huntress. Suspended from sterling silver earring wires and chains in an oxidised finish. More details here.

This is a shorter version using beautiful marbled brown jasper, I love that the natural colours of the stone have given a unique red tipped point! Deadly!

Details on these one off pieces can be found HERE.

Five Fool's Gold Rings

To celebrate this fabulous festive time of year, I have a special collection of rings available at Craft and Culture. In the spirit of the season they inspired by the traditional Yuletide Carol: The 12 Days of Christmas "and a Partridge in a Pear Tree..."

Five Gold Rings

Fool's Gold to be exact! Only one of each design, featuring a different formation of pyrite and hand sculpted to bring out the best in each: from big & rugged, to polished perfection.

Each of these original pieces has been hand made to be a special gift for a unique person, perfect to wear whilst clutching a glass of champagne to see in the New Year 2014. Architectural shapes and mineral specimens in black and gold give a flash of cool metallic for an all year round special sparkle even when the Christmas jumpers and sequinned ensembles are mothballed until next winter.

Available at Craft & Culture check out the full collection HERE

Behind the Bespoke

The first cast from a mould taken from a one-off master. A mixture of naturally formed raw quartz crystal and cast resin. the rest of the body of the ring will now be built up and cemented with more material.

Here is some background on a recent ring I was commissioned to make for a lover of bold, unique sculptural jewellery. Experimental and organic, it takes time and observation to let a piece like this develop.

This scrummy chunk of ferrous pyrite has the same textures I want to evoke through my processes. Naturally rusty and glittering due to it's combination of minerals and metals.

Hand shaping with files and emery paper, enhancing the natural shapes and creating my own angles and protrusions.

You may notice the cast was originally a dull grey colour. The coloration on the finished ring is due to the iron inclusions in the resin, it is essentially controlled rusting, a process usually prevented at all costs when causing a deterioration in metal objects (just see my poor tools). This ring is rusting to become the glittering metallic-brown, enhanced with lots of graded polishing and finishing. Here are some of the rusted metal fragment residue in my bowl from the shaping I did. To me it looks like a swirling galaxy in the surface of the dirty water. Even the messy work can become beautiful if you look at it closely.

Finished ring, coloured by rust, and finally encrusted with pyrite.

A crown or crystals

For enquiries into having your own bespoke piece made or giving the opportunity as a redeemable gift certificate just get in touch via info@jademellor.com and I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Simply Spoons

Uri Geller and me, messing up your cutlery drawer.

Spoons are very important in my work. Such a simple implement is the perfect tool to mix my pigments, powders and potions. The resulting caked on mess is a record of all the colours and textures I'm working with and I use the residue to match shades as samples of batches and weird objects in their own right. Then when I need a clean one I can smash off the hardened pigments revealing the shiny(ish) metal spoon underneath. I get a lot of use out of my spoons...

Spoon in the spotlight

VOGUE MAGAZINE Island Strata Ring

SO overjoyed that my new Island Strata ring is featured in the December Issue of U.K Vogue! You can see it in the Wonder of Winter Christmas special, here's Kate Moss beautifully resplendent in white plumes on the December cover. Out now!

This piece is inspired by my studies into geology at Manchester Museum. I have been learning how the landscape has led to the discovery of the Earth's secrets, from finding fossils in the exposed layers of rock strata to the formation of rocks and minerals. Visualising how the landscape looked millions of years ago and how it has changed has led me to experiment with my own versions of these natural processes that build and shape the world we live in.

Available to purchase, along with other unique hand sculpted pieces directly from my studio shop HERE!

Wish Upon A Star

Here's a recent bespoke order for a unique astronomical piece of jewellery as a gift for a special birthday. Set with a constellation of vintage marcasites (and a sprinkling of extra stardust).

If you would like to know more about ordering your own special piece get in touch! info@jademellor.com Orders will need to be made very soon to guarantee them ready for Christmas gifts or to sparkle as a one of a kind piece at all of those festive parties! 

Pyxis; A Box of Secrets

Iceland Spar Ring

I was recently working on a very special project. Inspired by a previous ring I made using Iceland Spar, known as a Viking Compass or "Sunstone" I was asked to create a ring using this stone but with personal references to an Italian heritage inspired by childhood tales of erupting volcanoes, family heirlooms, and treasured ancient artifacts.

Inspirational images personally provided by the commission

At this time I had been researching ancient vessels known as Pyxis after seeing them first hand on my visit to Greece. Used to contain jewellery and personal objects they had been made throughout time using of many materials including glass, clay and stone all over the world.

There was so much rich history and personal details to put into this very special piece of jewellery, we decided it needed to grow and become so much more. To make a vessel that would hold some of the precious fragments inside, it would also represent the person it belonged to through details in it's design.

More significant details to be included in the piece as part of their identity

In researching ancient Pyxis, this particular vessel caught my attention. The handle on the lid reminded me of my Hewn rings. I thought instead of the vessel merely holding the ring inside as a jewellery box, it could actually became part of the design. This would display the ring when not worn and make a sculptural combination of the pieces fitting nicely together.

For the actual aesthetics and technical creation of the piece, I needed to experiment. The image of the worn but vividly coloured tiles provided in the commission and the stories of forebears escaping volcanic eruptions meant the colours and formation of lava flows would be a fitting choice.

Studio experiments trying to capture lava's viscosity.

This gave me the method of unique marbled colours hinting at movement and with a lot of shaping and layering I had my vessel! The lid was cast and shaped to fit with a deep lip and hand carved with the niche to fit the bespoke Iceland spar ring to stand on top.

And here it is, the full combination! This piece also has a few more hidden details requested especially to make it personal but I will keep a lid on those...

If you have any niggling notions about having a unique piece made, get in touch! I'll be happy to answer your questions whether for just a little special somethin' or a wild and crazy idea you're not even sure is possible!