Brilliantly Birmingham 2009 Events Catalogue by Brilliantly Birmingham

21st November 2009 to 28th February 2010

Catalogue and Guide

Image courtesy of Sara Preisler Gallery. ‘Scenes from a commission’ – an exclusive insight at a Van Gogh Museum, (Amsterdam), collection.

welcome In this important tenth anniversary year, Brilliantly Birmingham celebrates the rich tradition of designer making that is unique to the city. For the past ten years it has grown from strength to strength building on its roots in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter and is an event that continues to be a showcase for designer makers and other individuals involved in creating and selling jewellery in Birmingham, across the West Midlands and beyond. In 2009, exhibitions will be held across a wide range of venues from Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery and Symphony Hall, to The Custard Factory, Birmingham City University School of Jewellery and the Escola Massana in Barcelona, whilst the newly launched web site will give the event an online presence. Birmingham City Council is proud to spearhead this project which would not be possible without the continued support of our partners in the public and private sector. Birmingham's jewellery sector has both a strong heritage and a bright future and I would like to thank everyone involved in making this festival such an impressive celebration of the creativity of the industry in the City. Cllr Martin Mullaney Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture X 2

10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

From Findings to Wearable Art Happy 10th Birthday Brilliantly Birmingham! As this midlands extravaganza of jewellery reaches double digits in 2009, the Crafts Council is proud to recognise the importance that the show has made to contemporary jewellery design during this time. Its growth from an informal group of makers to this, a substantial international offering in ten short years is an undeniably valuable contribution to the sector which we hope is set to continue for another decade and more. Brilliantly Birmingham demonstrates that harnessing the energy, passion and self belief that is indigenous to the craft industry can really bring results of mutual benefit to all and exposure to a wider audience, which is something that we all strive for. Well done! Elizabeth Cameron Market Development Manager Crafts Council

Self-adornment is one of the oldest human urges. From earliest times jewellery has been used to express values, beliefs and emotions as well to communicate the wealth, power and status of the wearer, and Birmingham has a long history of creating such jewellery for a world-wide market. Many of today’s leading makers, however, use their medium as a way of questioning such traditional values. Some contemporary jewellers choose to work with precious materials such as gold and silver set with gemstones, be it using historic techniques or the newest computer aided methods. Others work in non-precious materials such as plastic, paper and found objects. Their aim is often to interrogate notions of preciousness and value by using materials which possess no inherent worth. The preciousness comes from the maker’s ideas. The idea and often physical aspect of such jewellery the result of the maker’s head, heart and hands - can be challenging. For the last decade Brilliantly Birmingham has risen to that challenge, bringing contemporary jewellery not only to the people of Birmingham but to an international audience. 10 years ago, at a time when there were no local commercial outlets for their work, a small group of independent designer makers - with the help of Birmingham City Council - put on an exhibition designed to show their jewellery to people across the West Midlands. Their concept of a one-store exhibition has grown into an umbrella event, an eclectic treasure trail of jewellery-based activities including shows, talks and walks through the Jewellery Quarter. For the last few years one maker has become the face of Brilliantly Birmingham and several have even been featured at the Milan Fashion Show. This year Retrospective profiles artists selected over the last decade and Paradigma features an international exchange of research ideas between staff of the Birmingham School of Jewellery and the Escola Massana in Barcelona. Brilliantly Birmingham’s jewel in the crown is Flux, a show which gives selected emerging makers the chance to sell their work. Equally importantly, the organisers provide makers with extensive pre-show mentoring in marketing and sales. Flux allows designers to learn from

10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

their contemporaries as well as from the public, who in turn can talk to makers, see new work and, crucially, buy it. Flux has become aspirational for emerging makers and a focus and meeting place for established and emerging makers alike. It is now a crucial forum for the transmission of ideas and good practice. This raising of awareness has implications for the Jewellery trade at all levels, helping it build on its historical roots and keeping it plugged into developing markets and changing tastes. Emerging makers from Birmingham University’s prestigious School of Jewellery have been encouraged to stay in the area, rejuvenating the trade and creating an industry cluster of contemporary makers. The positioning of this year’s Flux in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery is a validation of the importance of contemporary jewellery. The creative industries are the key to Britain’s economic future and Brilliantly Birmingham has played a major role in educating, developing and sustaining creative jewellers. Brilliantly Birmingham has become an important brand, raising the game across the board. It gives the public a recognisable series of events (widely anticipated each year) and has helped to develop an appetite for contemporary work; where once people turned away in incomprehension, today contemporary jewellery is established as ‘wearable art.’ Birmingham and its jewellers are now taken seriously in the world of modern jewellery. Brilliantly Birmingham has changed the perception of people outside the City, but just as importantly it has changed the city’s residents’ ideas of jewellery and of Birmingham’s contribution world-wide.

Corinne Julius Broadcaster and writer on contemporary craft and design 10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

Katy Barton

FLUX Over the last four years, Flux has established itself as one of the most exciting exhibitions of new and emerging contemporary designer makers anywhere in the UK. This year, the work of 22 designer makers will be exhibited at the stunning and prestigious Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery in the heart of the city. For the first time, this traditional backdrop offers a striking contrast to the vibrant, challenging and diverse work on show.

States. Flux emphasizes the strength of work being produced right here in the UK's jewellery capital, as well as providing a platform for stunning work from national and international designer makers. The breadth of materials, styles and techniques employed is astonishing.

Designer makers were chosen by an expert selection panel and hail from across the UK and beyond, including Scotland, China and the United

Flux takes place at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3DH

Flux is your chance to commission a new piece direct, pick up a beautifully unique Christmas gift, or even discover the next big designer maker.

The aim of Katy’s work is to introduce a fun, fresh and innovative approach to glass jewellery design by creating body adornment which decorates and alters the aesthetic elements of the female body. The attractive and pleasing exteriors of Katy’s pieces create a physical desire to hold, wear and examine the work. She uses a variety of materials including textiles, print, photography, wood, metal and glass.

Opening times: Opening times for the Tenth Anniversary Retrospective at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery are:

info@katybarton.co.uk Jen Brown

Saturday 21st November 2009 – Sunday 28th February 2010 10.00am – 5.00pm Monday – Thursday, Saturday 10.30am – 5.00pm Friday 12.30pm – 5.00pm Sunday Closed on December 25th, 26th and January 1st. Admission: FREE

Liam Beckett Liam’s adopted method involves sculpting wax and casting models in silver. He contrasts colour and texture, exploring them through combinations of unique coloured alloys and gold. Working to complement raw nature, he recreates pattern and texture through the precise yet expressive application of hand carving and engraving with precious metal inlay. ljbeckett1@yahoo.co.uk

An obsession with detail informs Jen’s work. Elements or anomalies which might go unnoticed are a constant source of inspiration, and she aims to create wearable objects which appear beautiful, sophisticated and quiet, but which invite closer inspection. Jen’s fascination with the sparkle of gemstones has led her to develop innovative methods of using cut stones in her work. jennifer_e_brown@hotmail.co.uk

Jemma Daniels Jemma’s collection of jewellery features colourful and elegant stones which are allowed to move freely, creating fanciful and playful reflections within each piece. This movement creates a further subtle level of interaction between the piece and its wearer. jemma@jemmadaniels.com

10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

Lydia Feast

Louise Frances Evans Louise makes jewellery, textile and installation pieces, frequently involving found objects and vintage clothing. She uses photographic images and scraps of documents as a form of social commentary.

Tamsin Leighton Boyce

Working directly from her own photographic explorations and intuitive visual compositions, Lydia has explored the concept of contrasting elements. Using materials including ceramics and enamel, she experiments with surface pattern and has produced a collection of wearable and nonwearable pieces. Her challenging work stimulates an emotional interaction with the viewer and wearer. info@lydiafeast.co.uk

Tamsin makes one-off recycled steel jewellery pieces using traditional and low-tech processes including sawpiercing, blanking and enamelling. Her jewellery combines aesthetics of ornamentation with images observed in the street. Enamel is applied to the steel to add symbolic contrast to a material not usually seen within jewellery. toojammy@googlemail.com Isabella Hart Emma Simone Madden

Isabella’s designs are inspired by paper crafts and concertina paper, and the organic feel of this material. Her pieces are formed from hand-pressed silver and feature semi-precious gemstones. The delicate forms are strong yet light in weight.

She finds inspiration in objects, stories, images, diaries, documents and memories. She will collect, manipulate, cut, hammer, solder and stitch any material or object that resonates with the narrative she seeks to express.

Influenced by the mechanics of small and large structures, Emma has developed a novel way of engineering precious metal. Her ‘Kinetic Collection’ is a range of articulated, customisable, stylistic jewellery. Her most recent collection ‘Time Series’ addresses and comments upon temporal asymmetry and one’s personal experience of time.

isabella.hart@talk21.com

esmjewellery@gmail.com

louiseevans@fsmail.net

Fiona Hermse Inspired by the uncertain and mysterious relationship we have with nature, Fiona fabricates decorative and wearable pieces with an ethereal, strange and uncanny aesthetic. Her work is created using iron and stainless steel wire which has been spool knitted and laser welded before being combined with textile elements to complete the finished work. f.hermse@gmail.com

10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

Emma’s work uses colour as a primary focus, and she works in non-precious materials that allow her to create brightly coloured and unique pieces. Emma uses anodised aluminium to create her own brightly coloured surface patterns, often in 3D pressformed pieces. emma@ef-jewellery.co.uk

Photo: Simon B Armitt

Emma Farnworth

Mikaela Lyons Rae Mearkle Mikaela creates surreal illustrations which are collages of macabre, romantic, fantastical images. The illustrations are created by digitally manipulating her own photographs with the main body of work made using laser-cut acrylic and oxidised copper settings. An eclectic use of materials, images, colours and techniques are adopted to create Mikaela’s work.

Rae creates small to moderate-sized brooches with stainless steel pins. Each is scored, folded and fabricated to form a rectangular 3-D corner with different finishes such as enamel, gold-plate, sandblasting and/or high polish. Each piece in her collection is a different interpretation of the human psyche as it relates to the heart and soul and the outward display of these aspects - how the inside might or might not mirror the outside.

mikaela_lyons@hotmail.com

earmear@gmail.com 10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

Clare Pardoe Inspired by the female form, Claire’s jewellery and silversmithing aims to satisfy the senses. Often created using traditional silversmithing techniques, their sensual curves draw in the eye and awaken a desire to touch and experience.

Rebecca Steiner

clare@phioro.com Diana Silva

Toni Mayner Drawing on the environment around her, Toni’s work seeks to capture the essence of the subject matter. She makes visually striking jewellery, utilising contrasts created by materials, textures and colours. Her ‘Chain Reaction’ collection examines the use of repeat forms, and combines oxidised sterling silver, fresh water pearls and stainless steel to create large scale wearable chains. tambirmingham@yahoo.co.uk

Diana’s necklace pieces are based in cellules. The cellules defend our bodies, some fighting and eating germs and bacteria whilst others produce secretions. Diana’s work is made up of materials including felt, latex fabric and nylon yarn. Sarah Rhodes

shivaselene@hotmail.com

By casting and manipulating ordinary fragments such as wooden carvings, telephone wire baskets or glass beads, and juxtaposing them with texture, colour or content, Sarah gives her work new visual meaning. She takes everyday objects out of their traditional context and re-appropriates, producing small, sculptural objects to be worn on the body.

Rebecca’s work is concerned with themes of exploration and discovery. Her love of travelling and discovering new things feeds into the work she creates. Yellow gold is dotted with natural yellow diamonds that sparkle subtly from within the jewels. In some pieces pearls and other stones can also be found. She makes things to be treasured and enjoyed both as elegant jewellery and as beautiful objects in their own right. info@rebeccasteiner.co.uk

Shadi Vossough Shadi uses graffiti techniques, layering colour and images with resin to make wearable objects. The pieces are often self-referential with the image as the link or method of attachment: a drawing of sewing hands embroiders a brooch to a garment or an engraving of artist’s hands draws a line around the neck to secure a brooch. Drawn or engraved images on the matte surface of the resin give the impression of a tattoo.

sarah@sarahrhodesdesign.com shadivossough@yahoo.co.uk

Laura Sarawan Katherine Richmond

10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

Katherine’s work explores the fragile relationship between people and objects. She uses books as symbols of permanence to create objects with a feeling of fragility that question traditional notions of wearability. Her work challenges values of permanence and stability by embracing the beauty of the imperfect, impermanent and incomplete.

Laura’s work is a constant exploration of colour and form, pushing boundaries through experimentation and creating work that appears ephemeral, and fragile yet still durable and precious. Laura has developed a collection of feminine, delicate and wearable pieces of jewellery. She uses enamelled precious metal and white matt resin in individually-made moulds to make each piece of jewellery unique and representative of impermanence.

katherine.1@btinternet.com

laurasarawan@hotmail.co.uk

Nicola Turnbull Organic movement and the flux of the natural world are the inspiration for Nicola’s Concentric Rhythms collection. Her pieces are threedimensional drawings which explore this sense of motion. Each piece in the collection has been individually designed to allow the half-circular sections to spin and move freely. Her pieces are made from sterling silver, with a few incorporating sections of 18ct gold and black gold plating. nicola_turnbull@msn.com 10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

Associated events

The Argentium Project

12th September 2009 – 20th February 2010

Buttons & BLING!

19th September 2009 – 20th March 2010

The product of a collaborative research project between the University of Wolverhampton and Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, The Argentium Project displays an important range of new work by Kristina Niedderer. She has created a range of objects which explore the potential of the new Argentium sterling silver alloy through hand work and new machine techniques, testing the parameters of traditional craft practice. The project is funded through the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Buttons & BLING! is a community based project that explores the rich heritage of Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter and the neighbouring area of Newtown.

Contact Details: Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3DH Tel: 0121 303 4649 Email: martin.ellis@birmingham.gov.uk Web: www.bmag.org.uk

Buttons & BLING! is a partnership project between the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter and St. George’s Post-16 Centre, Newtown with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Opening Hours: Monday – Thursday and Saturday 10.00am – 5.00pm, Friday, 10.30am – 5.00pm, Sunday 12.30pm – 5.00pm. Closed on December 25th, 26th and January 1st. Admission Free The Argentium Project is displayed in the Metalwork Gallery, on the Industrial Gallery balcony. The balcony is only accessible via a flight of stairs.

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This exhibition highlights some of the journeys and discoveries made by four distinct groups living in the neighbourhood including personal reminiscences, photography, internet searches resulting in colourful scrapbooks, as well as pieces made by participants working in stained glass and silver.

Contact Details: Museum of the Jewellery Quarter 75 – 80 Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham B18 6HA Tel: 0121 554 3598 Email: anna_dolecka@birmingham.gov.uk Web: www.bmag.org.uk Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10.30am – 4.00pm Admission Free We are accessible to wheelchair users.

Associated events

Taking Time: Craft and the Slow Revolution.

17th October 2009 – 4th January 2010 The exhibition considers how the practice of contemporary craft making embraces similar values and philosophies to those supported by the Slow Movement which developed as a reaction to the relentless pace of modern living and the pressures to live fast. This Craftspace touring exhibition brings together nineteen international artists, makers and designers whose making practice connects with the Slow Movement. They examine the world through making and in places quietly ask questions about global and local conditions that we find ourselves in today. Contact Details: The Waterhall, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3DH Tel: 0121 608 6668 Email: info@craftspace.co.uk Web: www.takingtime.org Opening Hours: Monday – Thursday and Saturday 10.00am – 5.00pm, Friday, 10.30am – 5.00pm, Sunday 12.30pm – 5.00pm. Closed on December 25th, 26th and January 1st. Admission Free We are accessible to wheelchair users.

Debut

Paradigma: Birmingham - Barcelona

Debut will focus on the emerging talents of recent graduates from craft and applied art degree courses. All exhibitors have completed their studies within the last three years, so for many, this is the first chance they have had to showcase their work in the West Midlands. It will be an excellent opportunity to see some of the leading crafts people of tomorrow and witness innovations in design and techniques. From contemporary ceramics to jewellery, glass and silverware, Debut will demonstrate the RBSA’s continued support of designer makers working in a range of media.

Curated by Professor Jack Cunningham, The exhibition Paradigma, a hybrid of paradigm and paradigmas, is the work of 8 members of staff from the School of Jewellery at Birmingham City University and 8 staff from the School of Jewellery at Escola Massana in Barcelona.

9th November 2009 – 8th January 2010

Contact Details: RBSA Gallery, 4 Brook Street, St Paul’s, Birmingham, B3 1SA Tel: 0121 236 4353 Email: louise@rbsa.org.uk Web: www.rbsa.org.uk Opening Hours: Monday – Friday 10.30am – 5.30pm, Saturday 10.30am – 5.00pm, Sunday 1.00pm – 5.00pm. Private View 19th November 2009, 6.30pm – 8.30pm, speeches at 7.00pm

14th November – 18th December 2009.

UK – Jack Cunningham, Jivan Astfalck, Jo Pond, Zoe Robertson, Terry Hunt, Anna Lorenz, Karen Bartlett & Bridie Lander. Spain – Ramon Puig Cuyas, Silvia Walz, Judy McCaig, Carmen Amador, Ursula Vinolas Subirana, Carles Codina Armengol, Josep Carles Perez & Elisabet Puig Barral. The aim of Paradigma is in its’ title, to showcase examples and present diversity of; ideas and concepts, of materiality and technology, of form and function, from these two institutions, demonstrating the current range of research interests in Birmingham and Barcelona. There may well be identifiable cultural paradigms, aesthetic similarity and difference in this

exhibition. However, these factors need to be viewed within a wider context, as neither the staff at Escola Massana, nor Birmingham, are exclusively Spanish, or British. As a core value, this exhibition demonstrates a commitment to the transformative power of continual communication and exchange with others worldwide and a belief in the growing internationalisation of both the School of Jewellery within Birmingham, the UK and beyond, and our friends and colleagues at Escola Massana in Barcelona. Contact Details: School of Jewellery, Vittoria Street, Birmingham B1 3PA Tel: 0121 331 5940 Web: www.schoolofjewellery.co.uk Opening Hours: Monday – Friday 10:00am – 5:00pm. Admission Free We are accessible to wheelchair users.

Admission Free We are accessible to wheelchair users. 10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

Associated events

Centrepiece Christmas Selling Exhibition

19th November – 23rd December 2009 Symphony Hall, Birmingham will be brimming with handmade jewellery to treat yourself and others this Christmas, courtesy of ‘Centrepiece Jewellery’. ‘Centrepiece’ has been promoting and selling jewellery from a talented group of designer makers working in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter for over a decade, focusing on design and craftsmanship. ‘Centrepiece’ features diverse designs in materials such as Gold, Silver, Aluminium and Resin. A total of 28 designer makers will be exhibiting, presenting the perfect opportunity to buy some beautiful Christmas gifts. Contact Details: Symphony Hall, Broad Street Birmingham B1 2EA Tel: 07985 126630 Email: kcampbelegg@hotmail.com Web: www.centrepiece-jewellery.co.uk Opening Hours: 10.00am til late at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall

Associated events

James Newman Jewellery

Aura34

Visit James Newman’s beautiful shop in the heart of Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter to see his entire current collection, including affordable designs in silver, through to exquisite diamond set platinum jewellery.

Aura34 are an exciting new company made up of second year BA students studying at Birmingham School of Jewellery. On the 24th November they will be launching entwined collections with a flair of personal reflection, comprising of 34 individual jewellery ranges. Contact Details: Tel: 07930659708 (Grace) or 07843209966 (Drew) Email: aura34@hotmail.co.uk Web: www.aura34.co.uk Exhibiting at: St Paul’s Gallery 94 – 108 Northwood Street, Birmingham, B3 1TH Thursday 26th November – Monday 7th December 2009.

21th November 2009 – 28th February 2010

James's work stems from a strong design philosophy and is entirely designed and made in-house, giving the customer a truly unique experience in the Jewellery Quarter. His aim is to continue pushing boundaries, creating beautiful jewellery that endures. Contact Details: 49 Vyse Street, The Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham, B18 6HF Tel: 0121 245 1555 Email: info@jamesnewman.co.uk Web: www.jamesnewman.co.uk Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday, 10.00am – 4.30pm Admission Free Wheelchair access restricted.

Museum of the Jewellery Quarter 75 – 80 Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham B18 6HA Tuesday 24th November – Saturday 5th December 2009.

Birmingham jewellery designer/maker, Sara Preisler, was approached by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to design and manufacture an exclusive collection of contemporary jewellery to compliment an new exhibition, featuring previously unseen letters from Vincent to his brother Theo shortly before he died.

Brilliantly Birmingham Silver Visit A Unique Opportunity for the Public to Visit the Birmingham Assay Office and View its Private Silver Collection The Birmingham Assay Office is pleased to be a partner in Brilliantly Birmingham 2009. To mark the 10th anniversary of Brilliantly Birmingham, The Birmingham Assay Office is offering limited places on its popular Silver Visits programme.

The collection is currently on sale alongside the exhibition in Amsterdam. Sara will be producing a limited selling collection, together with an exhibition of her sketches and photographs of the collection in her gallery this December to coincide with this year’s Brilliantly Birmingham Jewellery Festival.

Usually these visits are only available to organised groups, so this is a unique opportunity to see the spectacular Silver Collection, the Library, and to hear the Curator, Dr. Sally Baggott talk about the history of hallmarking and The Birmingham Assay Office.

Contact Details: The Sara Preisler Gallery, The Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Birmingham, B9 4AA

Visitors will be met with a warm welcome, including coffee and biscuits before the visit, and afterwards, in the Gift Shop, they will be able to buy gifts such as books and silver items all made in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter and hallmarked at The Birmingham Assay Office. There are lots of Christmas Gift ideas for that someone special…..

Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10.30am – 4.00pm Admission Free

Admission Free

We are accessible to wheelchair users.

We are accessible to wheelchair users. 10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

Museum, (Amsterdam), collection.

Opening Hours: Monday – Saturday, 12.00pm – 5.00pm Sunday – 11.00am – 4.00pm Tel: Sara Preisler 0121 248 4445 Web: www.sarapreislergallery.co.uk

Admission Free

Sara Preisler Gallery, presents: ‘Scenes from a commission’ – an exclusive insight at a Van Gogh

Location and Times: The Brilliantly Birmingham Silver Visit will take place on Thursday 3rd December at The Birmingham Assay Office, with the option of a morning visit at 10.30am or an afternoon visit at 2.00pm. Places are limited to 25 for each of the visits, so early booking is advised. To book a place or for further information, please call us on 0871 871 6020 or email silver@theassayoffice.co.uk A charge of £7.00 per head is payable in advance and non-refundable. The Birmingham Assay Office Supports Brilliantly Birmingham. Contact Details: The Birmingham Assay Office PO Box 151, Newhall Street Birmingham B3 1SB Tel: 0871 871 6020 Fax: 0121 236 9487 Email: gem@theassayoffice.co.uk Web: www.theassayoffice.co.uk

10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

Associated events

Brilliantly Birmingham Talks

Brilliantly Birmingham Birthday Pop up Shop Starting 5th December 2009

A temporary exhibition of work by Birmingham based designer makers, who help us to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Brilliantly Birmingham. Selected work by new and more established Brilliantly Birmingham designers. All work exhibited will be handmade accessible contemporary jewellery and craft. This is a unique opportunity for the public to buy or commission work that has been made in Birmingham. There will also be free workshops and talks over selected weekends from designers using recycled materials and new technologies. Please look at our web site for up to date information on dates and times. www.brilliantlybirmingham.com Contact Details: Unit 10, Pavilions, 38 High Street, Birmingham, B4 7SL Tel: 0121 464 1187 Email: prim.currie@birmingham.gov.uk Web: www.brilliantlybirmingham.com We are accessible to wheelchair users.

10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

Workshops for Schools The Museum of the Jewellery Quarter is offering a series of free one-day workshops for schools based on jewellery related themes led by artist & printmaker, Adrienne Craddock.

Partridges & Pear Trees!

Friday 27th November and 4th & 11th December 2009 Opening Hours: 10.00am – 2.30pm Design and create a decorative 3-D wire work hanging with a seasonal twist!

Printmaking Magic!

Wednesday 2nd & 9th December 2009 Opening Hours: 10.00am – 2.30pm Make a decorative badge or brooch using collagraph printmaking techniques. Each session will be accompanied by a visit to the old jewellery factory of Smith & Pepper, as well as the exhibition Earth’s Riches: Jewellery from the Natural World. Contact Details: Please contact the Education & Outreach Officer at the Museum to secure your place! Museum of the Jewellery Quarter 75 – 80 Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham B18 6HA Tel: 0121 554 3598 Email: anna_dolecka@birmingham.gov.uk Web: www.bmag.org.uk

Katherine Campbell-Legg

Photo: Adrienne Craddock

Form to Function Thoughts and opinions on getting from where you are now to where you want to be in your design practice - Join us in conversation with; Dorothy Hogg MBE, Tatty Devine, Nicola Malkin and James Newman Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Saturday 9th January 2010 2.00pm

Brilliantly Birmingham Open Studios

A session about making creative decisions and identifying business options on your route as a creative practitioner.

Visit some of the region’s best contemporary designer makers as they open their studio doors for a special glimpse behind the scenes, exclusively for Brilliantly Birmingham. Take advantage of this one off opportunity to commission a unique piece direct or simply find out more about the traditional art of jewellery making. Please see further details on page 19.

How do you make those difficult choices available to you as a jewellery artist or designer maker? What are the routes open to you in getting your work to market? How do you develop your creative aesthetic, retain professional integrity and make this all work alongside current trends? How do you balance life changes with your business practice?

Saturday 12th December 2009

Opening Hours: 10.00am – 4.00pm Contact Details: Contact Prim Currie for general enquires on 0121 464 1187. Limited wheelchair access.

In conversation with artists and designers who have chosen several different ways to develop and maintain their creative practice, you will be able to ask those questions that will help you on your way to achieving what you want from your work. Through varied experience and an astounding level of expertise, you can come along and gain an insight into how others have enjoyed their journey.

Dorothy Hogg MBE Artist jeweller, former Head of the Department of Jewellery and Silversmithing and Professor at Edinburgh College of Art, 1985 – 2007. Dorothy is a Crafts Council Trustee, recipient of the Brilliantly Birmingham award, and most recently the first jeweller in residence at the V&A. Tatty Devine Harriet Vine and Rosie Wolfenden trained at Chelsea School of Art. Their fashion accessories have become a market stall to department store success story. Tatty Devine have worked with Gilbert and George, Tate and Selfridges and are about to open their third shop, in Covent Garden. Nicola Malkin A highly respected contemporary British ceramic artist, best known for her large scale sculptural charm bracelets and ceramic nipple tassels - bought by some extremely high profile clients. Nicola has designed for Coco de Mer and exhibits and sells work nationally and internationally. James Newman Creating designer jewellery from his studio in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter since 1998, in 2008 James opened his gallery, selling directly to the public. He employs age-old jewellery-making skills in combination with new technologies, creating beautiful, enduring work.

Brilliantly Birmingham 1809 Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, 14th January 2010, 2.30pm to 4.00pm Presented by Dr Sally Baggott – Curator of The Birmingham Assay Office The Birmingham Assay Office offers you the opportunity to experience a glimpse of “Brilliantly Birmingham” 19th Century style. Attendees have a rare chance to inspect some original artefacts taken from the Private Silver Collection of The Assay Office. Curator Dr Sally Baggott will explain the latest fashions and cutting edge techniques being developed by the Birmingham Jewellery Industry in the early 19th century, This innovative approach led to the successful foundation of Birmingham’s famous Jewellery Quarter and continues to this day, as evidenced by Brilliantly Birmingham 2009. Contact Details: To book your place please contact Prim Currie on 0121 464 1187 or email prim.currie@birmingham.gov.uk as numbers are limited.

Creative Clinics Brilliantly Birmingham is committed to developing continuous business and professional development for designer makers. In partnership with Business Link West Midlands, Brilliantly Birmingham will host 2 days of Creative Clinics for participating regional designer makers. This provides designer makers with the opportunity to access invaluable business advice in relationship to their practice, industry and routes to market. For more information contact prim.currie@birmingham.gov.uk

10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

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Five Ways

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Routes from ID Snow Hill and D LE Moor Street stations W AY to the centre of the Jewellery Quarter

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11. Shona Marsh, Rebecca Joselyn, Louise Cheshire, Esther Lord 15c Vyse Street, Hockley, Birmingham B18 6LE

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10. Design Space Unit 1 Hylton Court 25 Hylton street Hockley, Birmingham B18 6HJ

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Katherine Campbell-Legg HAGLEY ROAD Unit 4 23 – 24 Warstone Lane Hockley Birmingham B18 6JQ

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Isabella Hart Andrea Körsgen Studio 4 23 – 24 Warstone Lane Hockley Birmingham B18 6JQ

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Jewellery designed by Mikaela Lyons

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Front page photography by Matt Cannon

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10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

Design and Art Direction Empty Creative Tel: 0121 233 4323 Email: jo@emptycreative.com Web: www.emptycreative.com

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Press Enquiries S&X Tel: 0121 604 6366 Email: Jo@sx-media.com Web: www.sx-media.com

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Bus number 101 from Colmore Row and Bus 16 from Moor Street go to the Jewellery Quarter

General Enquiries Brilliantly Birmingham Tel: 0121 464 1187 Email: prim.currie@birmingham.gov.uk

James Newman Jewellery 49 Vyse Street Birmingham B18 6HF

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Visit www.brilliantlybirmingham.com for updates and further information

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Further details and Acknowledgements

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Contact Details: To book your place please contact Prim Currie on 0121 464 1187 or email prim.currie@birmingham.gov.uk as numbers are limited.

Walk 2 begins at the Assay Office in Newhall Street.

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Walk 4 begins at the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter in Vyse Street.

Walk 3 begins outside St Paul’s Church in St Paul’s Square.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Brilliantly Birmingham, today’s walk will look at how jewellery making still thrives in the Quarter today, more than 200 years after it began, And we’ll call in at one of today’s studios to see how the tradition continues.

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They made more than just jewellery in the Jewellery Quarter. This walk will look at some of the less well-known trades in the area. And while we’re at it, let’s visit the site of the largest public meeting in British history, and learn how to write.

Saturday 23rd January at 2.00pm

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Saturday 9th January at 11.00am

4. Making Jewellery

RBSA Gallery 4 Brook Street St Paul’s Birmingham B3 1SA

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3. Pen Nibs and Pencil Cases

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Saturday 12th December at 10.00am

5. BCU School of Jewellery Vittoria Street, Birmingham B1 3PA

Jewellery Quarter

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Museum of the Jewellery Quarter 75 – 79 Vyse Street Hockley, Birmingham B18 6HA

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2. Assaying, Electro-plating and Boating

3. Symphony Hall Broad Street Birmingham B1 2EA

Walk 1 begins by the Chamberlain Clock, at the junction of Warstone Lane and Vyse Street.

Dr Chris Upton's tour of the Jewellery Quarter will begin at The Birmingham Assay Office. During coffee and biscuits, Curator, Dr. Sally Baggott will give a short talk on the history of The Birmingham Assay Office, the oldest native business in Birmingham, housed in a spectacular Grade II listed building at the gateway to the Jewellery Quarter. You will have a rare opportunity to see how the country’s busiest Assay Office hallmarks gold and silver. After that a chance to stretch the legs on Birmingham’s secret canal. There will also be an opportunity to buy gifts such as books and silver items, all made in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter and hallmarked at The Birmingham Assay Office.

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2. Birmingham Town Hall Victoria Square, Birmingham B3 3DQ

Vyse Street

Warstone Lane has changed just a little since the Ice Age. Today we’ll explore just a few thousand years of its history. We’ll make a mint, meet a lady who smells of peardrops, and find out why sand was the most valuable commodity in the Jewellery Quarter.

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Chamberlain Square Birmingham B3 3DH

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Saturday 28th November at 2.00pm

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1. Peardrops, Real Ale and Mints

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Dr Chris Upton’s Walks in the Quarter 2009

10 Years of Brilliantly Birmingham

In celebration of Brilliantly Birmingham’s tenth anniversary, this exhibition features the jewellery of seven designers: Kathryn Marchbank, Anke Plath, Betty Pepper, Vaishali Morjaria, Lisa Juen, Sally Collins, and this year’s profile designer, Mikaela Lyons.

Tenth Anniversary Retrospective

Having graduated from or taught at the School of Jewellery in Birmingham, these designers now work throughout the world, from as far afield as Germany, Kenya and China. This vibrant exhibition brings together their jewellery for the first time.

Brilliantly Birmingham's profile designer for 2009, Mikaela Lyons, uses surreal illustrations inspired by old travel photographs. These are digitally manipulated to form the base for colourful and theatrical body adornment pieces and smaller-scale jewellery.

Contrasting precious metals with recycled materials, traditional jewellery-making skills with domestic crafts, their work provides a diverse and eclectic display of contemporary jewellery design from the 21st century.

Also on display are the Brilliantly Birmingham award-winning pieces of jewellery by Dorothy Hogg, Wally Gilbert and Andrew Lamb. Fiona Slattery Curator of the Brilliantly Birmingham Tenth Anniversary Retrospective

Opening times for the Tenth Anniversary Retrospective at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery are: Saturday 21st November 2009 – Sunday 28th February 2010 10.00am – 5.00pm Monday – Thursday, Saturday 10.30am – 5.00pm Friday 12.30pm – 5.00pm Sunday Closed on December 25th, 26th and January 1st. Admission FREE

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Working closely with artists in the fields of performance, dance, choreography and music is an important part of Kathryn’s work; it is the embodiment of the energy and spirit that inspires her creations. The fusion of dance and light are ideas that constantly inform the design and aesthetic of her jewellery. She is fascinated by the human figure in motion and strives to create a visual expression in abstract styles and figurative shapes.

Anke Plath was born in Germany and lives there today. In 2003 she graduated from the School of Jewellery in Birmingham.

Betty Pepper’s jewellery, rather than an accessory, is an extension of dress. The pieces are inspired by traditional jewellery techniques but are translated into stitch, a comment on the importance of textile in everyday life.

Coming from a mixed cultural background, Vaishali has always been enticed by how the beauty of one culture can be drawn out and merged with another.

The world around us changes, mixes, grows, and becomes a melting pot of different people and cultures. Whilst globalisation helps us to unite the world, it also threatens to homogenise difference and individuality. It is Lisa’s belief that one way of escape can be found in a self-created realm of fantasy, where one can indulge one’s needs and desires.

Sally creates earrings, brooches and neckpieces, which explore a traditionally domestic approach to recycling and sustainability. Using domestic crafts such as knitting, sewing and crochet, alongside more conventional jewellery making skills, Sally produces colourful and tactile contemporary pieces.

Mikaela creates surreal collages of macabre, romantic, fantastical images. She works intuitively, drawing images from her subconscious; they are often responses to her perception of modern culture. The illustrations are created by digitally manipulating her own photographs.

Her concern is not only with the ecological benefits of re-use and re-invention, but also with the beauty of the history of an object.

She converts these images into large one-off pieces of body adornment and smaller-scale jewellery. An eclectic use of materials, images, colours and techniques are adopted for the pieces. She uses punchy, vibrant and often clashing colours and materials to create fashion-conscious, high-impact and theatrical body adornment.

Kathryn Marchbank

Kathryn’s designs have featured in British Vogue, London Fashion week and The Southbank Centre Festival terrace shop. She has also exhibited globally.

Anke Plath

Her current work is a collection of jewellery and sculptures, varying in size. By combining different materials like silver and silk, she gives her objects a tactile quality. Anke Plath is intrigued by the infinite ways an object can be transformed through manipulation. The pieces of jewellery on display all have an egg-like shape. Although structurally similar, the different patterns and combination of materials make each piece unique.

kathrynmarchbank@hotmail.com

Betty Pepper

The jewellery hides in orphaned books found in charity shops, illustrating the adage ‘never judge a book by its cover’.

Vaishali Morjaria

Her work explores the freedom and design found within different cultures, and she creates pieces that not only fit into the present, but are also multifarious and stand alone.

Betty’s work is inspired by stories, poems and memories. Reused materials are an integral part of her work, and they have their own story to tell. Every discarded object is a piece of the patchwork of someone else’s life.

By merging two or three cultures with a touch of feminine beauty and expressive use of colour, Vaishali’s contemporary jewellery offers a new approach to combinations, explorations and exposures, which is marked by the engraved roots and learnings of her cultural traditions.

betty@bettypepper.co.uk

vaishalimorjaria@gmail.com

ankeplath@yahoo.de

Tenth Anniversary Retrospective

21st November 2009 – 28th February 2010

Lisa Juen

Lisa’s pieces are witnesses of experiences made in reality, but transferred to a place of fantasy. They offer the viewer pathways to the world of dreaming and the inner self. There, we can find the resources and strength needed to carry on living in reality. lisa_juen@yahoo.de

Sally Collins

She layers pieces of recycled fabric and ornate, handpierced metals into wearable forms, combining these with sections of crochet and knitting from recycled thread.

Mikaela Lyons

mikaela_lyons@hotmail.com sallycollins@live.co.uk