I've started work at the School of Jewellery just as it turned 125 on Friday 18th September, 2015.

From the Birmingham Daily Post of 19th September 1890:…

The ACJ annual exhibition for 2015, "Sleight of Hand" opened last Thursday at…

Well, it's Friday and I'm home in Bearwood, Birmingham, my new home. I suppose I should feel a bit unsettled, maybe even a bit down, but I don't. From the moment I turned up at the School of Jewellery on Monday to wishing my new…

Today was the first day of my new job at the School of Jewellery in Birmingham, part of Birmingham City University. I've spent the last six weeks preparing for the…

It is the end of the holiday period and some of you might be wondering why I've not posted very much over the last few weeks and the truth of the matter is that I've not been able to speak about what's been happening until now.…

Such a lot going on and I've not posted again for two weeks. SO, since my last post, summer has been an intermittent affair of hot sun and cold rain and the last week or so, the weather has turned decidedly cool. On one of those cool…

I have recently had cause to find a serious alternative to cross-border money exchanges since my spat with PayPal last summer which has left me relying on other methods to take payments for work. Google Wallet will only work within the country in which you are resident; a couple of other transfer services wouldn't identify my bank correctly; direct bank-to-bank transfers are costly if you are…

So, as per my summer norms, I am in Brighton again for the summer season, reminding me of the quote from "Prick Up Your Ears", 'When you say he's on the Coast, dear, do you mean he's in…

A year has passed since the 2014 Handmade By Machines show at…

Another busy week, this time hosting at Glasgow Kelvin College our first "Jewellery Technology Day" comprising demonstrations and visits from a variety of people connected with digital…

As the end-of-term approaches and it becomes time to pack up the workshops for the summer break, I've been making up the stock to keep things going over the summer, which this time has involved using up odds and ends from other projects. A while…

SO... it is that time of year again and the degree shows are in full-swing. Unfortunately, because of the timings of holidays, the exam board and external examiner for my own graduands, I didn't get to…

Just spent the weekend in Brighton, a much needed break after the week of marking last week, marking the final submissions of our degree students. The above cake was a present from the lovely…

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…

I've been on holiday! Last thing on my bench were the silver "rabbit in a hat" charms, one of which I managed to set and polish:

This one has 24 x 1.8mm garnets round it and I'm making others with…

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…

... I find February to be by far the cruellest month and the raw, icy blasts this year have not done anything to make me change my mind.

Lots of odd things to report on since my last post, including a box of "gingerbread gimps"…