On holiday and in Brighton!

Last week was a bit of a rush as I had to complete both a piece for the Craftspace "Made in the Middle" show but also the piece for Boris Bally's "Imagine" show, as previously mentioned,…

Almost.



A short post as I'm on holiday now in Brighton.

Last week was fairly quiet, finishing with a student lunch on Friday before we split up for the winter break. I did get a chance to finish the last commission for Christmas,…

Another packed week, kicking off with the "Chrysalis" show of works-in-progress by the final-year BA students, a fascinating glimpse into what we can expect come summer 2016.

This was a particularly interesting show as it was…

This was the week that the School of Jewellery hosted the recycling-performance work, "JUNK: Rubbish To Gold" with teams of the most experimental and interesting jewellers coming in - from as far afield as Ohio and Germany - to…

AND back at the bench! Hooray!

I've begun to catch up with commissions and making stock work. Immediately, I'm working on a piece incorporating a small 9ct Edwardian brooch and some of the metal found on Dungeness…

The new intake of students were in this week: gemmologists, horologists, jewellers, silversmiths, CAD designers; the new HND, BA, MA starts. It was brilliant to be in the school when it is buzzing and we spent Monday avoiding…

The main event this week has been completing my watch and chain for the ACJ exhibition "Sleight of Hand". The last element to be completed was the fitting of a glass to the 1838 silver watch-case which was…

Jan Donaldson

At last I can reveal the "secret project" I have been working on for the last month for "The Contemporary Jewellery Exchange 2015" in which various contemporary jewellers around the world create pieces which they send to each other. I didn't want to…

This last couple of months has been absolutely unbearable for someone who enjoys sharing the progress of works online. First came the Caledonian Sleeper cufflink commission, then came my work with "The…

Gets longer and longer.



I need to get into the habit of posting more frequently.



The last couple of weeks have been very busy, mainly working on the cufflinks for the Caledonian Sleeper which I am not allowed to show you until after the press-launch on 23rd March. It is a real production job and not the sort of thing I really enjoy, even though I am going to be so incredibly proud to know that my work is part of something so big and impressive.

I remember hearing an article on Radio 4's "All in the Mind" programme about how the definitions of mental illness were changing due to the re-writing of a single book which is generally used to define all mental illnesses. A psychiatrist who disagreed with the new definitions pointed out,



"most people in the west do not consider themselves to be fundamentally happy... because the majority of the population do not consider themselves to be happy, we could say that anyone…

At last the terrible weather and 'flu have abated and we've had a few decent days which, along with light for my bike ride to and from work, always raises my spirits!



I've finally completed the Verdura-inspired cuffs…

I've been in the workshop for two whole days now, finishing up my "sautoir/parure" which imagines the jewellery which Chanel (probably with the help of Fulco Verdura) would have…

What a week! There was a bank-holiday here on Monday, so it has been quick and packed and suddenly I find it is Thursday evening, nearly the weekend already.



Continuing with finishing off projects, I have completed my last "Tank" bracelet, this one more in my usual style and called "The Spoils Of War":…

I was so excited about the "Tank" bracelet that I made in a minimal style last week that I have started to make three more, two in the ultra-minimal style of the first, using only silver and one large…

Surely some joke?

Well, not really... I have to confess to having created something so minimal it surprised even me when it was finished:…

What a few weeks! Ever since Madelyn Smoak reminded me that some years ago - 2009 - I had started to make a set of Chimæric cutlery, I've been working furiously to finish all the work which, over the years, has been started and left incomplete. I am determined that there will be no unfinished work by Christmas!



There were a few projects which I knew about, having put them aside to work on commissions or exhibition work…

In case anyone didn't see my little conversation on Twitter, I have decided to complete all the partially-completed projects in my workshop, including…

Since returning from Istanbul, it has been non-stop in the workshop, preparing work for orders and making some new pieces too. I've sidelined a number of works-in-progress in order to get on with more pressing issues, so there are no updates on my Chanel-inspired piece or my tribute to Alexander McQueen, though I have progressed apace with my first foray into electronics in jewellery, "14th Century Nightlife" which I hope to finish finally this coming week after it sitting on my bench for…