By Dhruti Shah and Rosie Waites BBC History

Buried in volcanic ash alongside the people of ancient Pompeii and Herculaneum were the possessions they took with them as Mount Vesuvius erupted, but what do these items they clung to tell us about them and us?

The city of Herculaneum at the foot…

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…

It is that time of year again, when the degree shows in Scotland all kick off. As usual, the roll is started by Dundee's Duncan of Jordanstone College of  Art & Design - DJCAD for short. Regular readers of my blog will…

Waa!

My wonderful, indispensible, reliable, cheerful, friendly, unflappable workshop technician, Fiona, is leaving on Thursday. She's found a better-paid job with more promotional prospects and she'll be superb. The students will all miss her and they arranged a lunch for her today, which was great fun.…

thoughts about boston, in retrospect.

this was 2011, posting this today in honor of my last experience there..

boston fashion week…

The crazy Easter Holiday is over, back from Istanbul, Brighton and the Bowie exhibition at the V&A - quite wonderful, well worth seeing if you are a Bowie fan, probably best avoided if you are not - and back into the workshop. I've been there for a week now, but it has been so hectic that it feels like I've never been away.



My first morning back, I had agreed to help the Physical Education department to train their new personal trainers, so I was sweating buckets on a…

Friday morning, I set off early to cross the Bosphorous and set foot in the Asian continent, the "Asian side" of Istanbul. The weather was clear and warm, by far the nicest of the week, and I boarded the ferry to…

Following up from my last post that sizzled my then-upcoming trip to Pittsburgh, I'm back with a 'what went down' blog. During my travels I overheard a local mention that Pittsburgh was on its way to becoming 'the new Portland', which proved to be a far-too-tempting title for me to resist.

OK, titles aside, here's what happened:

I started March by flying to Pittsburgh. I was in town to teach my first ever workshop at the Society for Contemporary Craft, as well as lecture, teach…

Thursday and the second day I had to be a tourist in the city, I headed off to Topkapi Palace, a place which has held much fascination for me since Dingo introduced me to the 1960s caper movie, "Topkapi", a favourite fun film for both of us. Naturally, as a jeweller, I wanted to see the famous treasury and, as a metalsmith, the armoury.

I can't say that I was disappointed in the objects on display, but I can say that it was one…

Wednesday, I had the chance to relax a bit and be a tourist in the city, heading off first thing to see the amazing Hagia Sophia, the wonderful Orthodox church, turned mosque, turned museum.…

Time for my teaching session, held in Hraç Arslanyan's "Mahrec Art House" workshops.

Hraç Arslanyan is an amazing jeweller, working with…

Just returned from my five days in Istanbul where my first solo show was held in the Ayse Taki Galerisi as a result of the kindness and generosity of both the gallery owner, Ayse, and my friend and colleague Umut Demirguc Thurman who worked incredibly hard to make the show a phenomenal…

Did you ever wish to stay in St. Petersburg,

visit the magnificent buildings from the Imperial

days from Peter…

When confronted with the problem to present his bracelets in an innovative way at the London Jewellery Week, German silversmith Daniel Ramos had a truly enlightened idea. What he came up with is as ingenious as it is practical: he decided to…

People familiar with my work may be surprised to learn that I use CAD (Rhino, primarily) as a design tool and that quite often, elements of my work are made using CAM processes, such as 3D milling of wax which is then cast in precious metals. My own approach to these technologies is not unique and while I don’t use them as a primary method of production, there are many makers who do – Janet Huddie,…