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,…

Well, not quite, but I did have to travel on a bus - which is nearly a handcart - the trains being cancelled due to a landslip.

Hull is an odd place. For the place in the UK with the highest rates of unemployment and some of the lowest property prices, it feels like a prosperous city. It is clean, it is busy, there are plenty of galleries and cafés. Adding to the oddness is the fact that it is in Yorkshire but while the buildings are completely as you would expect in that great county…

Catching up!

Monday brought me to visit the lovely Oakland campus of the California College of the Arts with Curtis, where I met the legendary - but modest and charming - Marilyn da Silva and spoke to their excellent students.

This was the first time I had been asked to give a talk about my work and background, rather than talking about technical practice and I found it quite nerve-wracking. Unusually, I was exceptionally nervous, fumbling about and fluffing lines until I…

I had originally nothing planned for the Sunday of my visit. I had been hoping that Victoria would be able to get down from Seattle to meet me, but that didn't happen. Mike - from Velvet da Vinci - and his partner, Tom, took me out for breakfast at "Brenda's", the most happening place in San Francisco for breakfast, it seems (we had to wait about 40 minutes for a…

Apologies for the hiatus in blogging my visit to San Francisco; I had to spend some time in Yorkshire discussing a project which I hope to present here in the very near future.

My second day in San Francisco was spent at the American Craft Council/California College of the Arts symposium called "Craft Forward-ing", an event aimed at students and new graduates with a view to giving them an introduction to the world of business and suggesting ways of actually making money out of…

Just back to a cloudy, damp, icy cold day in Glasgow, having boarded the plane from San Francisco at 18 degrees C and brilliant sun. The air there was clear, here it is fugged with tobacco smoke. Everyone looks miserable. I look miserable. I have to get to work before 4pm for a meeting with the college Prinicpal at which he told us about financial cuts to the education sector. Not a great return from what was an amazing four days on the East Coast of the USA...

I am not really sure…

I've never channel-set round stones until today...

I'm genuinely surprised that it is easier than channel setting square stones, which I have done before on many occasions. I had always imagined that the round stones - not fitting so squarely into the channel - would rock about, but they don't. The problem…

One of the publicity images for Ferrous, the joint Crafthaus/VdV show at Velvet da Vinci, San Francisco...…

One of my students, Inness Thomson, though only part of the way through his course, has just opened his first small show at Scotland Art.Com, a gallery in the centre of glasgow. As you can understand, he is justifiably proud:

I especially like his silver and…

I quite often find myself a bit "drained" when I've finally finished a piece of work and, having finished the codpiece, I could relax a bit and make some less challenging work, such as some earring trios to offer to the "Earrings Galore" show at Heidi Lowe Gallery, the call for which is here. I had the annoying problem of a flask of castings of settings for one set failing twice, but have…

Further to yesterday's post, I now have the professional photographs of the codpiece, taken by Simon Murphy: 

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First of all, a belated "happy new year" to my colleagues and friends on Crafthaus. I returned from my festive break to a 'flu which completely knocked me for six, to the point that I was in bed and unable to move... feverish, coughing, weak and aching. Horrible, in short. 

2013 has already started off to be busy. First of all I had a quick-fire commission to make a ring "with fish that have a bit of life about them, something in blues and greens" but which had to be…

I am now winding the workshop down for the end of the year. I'll be shutting-up fully on Thursday for two weeks, back again in 2013 with new projects to tackle.

Although I've not been quiet in this holiday season, I have been dealing with people who have been startlingly organised and this has meant that for the last week and the week to come, I don't have any rush-jobs to complete, no last-minute dashes to the post-office. The last Commission for the season was sent out on…

Well, I've not been blogging so much of late because I've been working on a project which I have been forbidden from documenting until the client has received it!

It has been the Christmas Sale at work this week. All my students make their work and sell it in the college, a percentage comes to the department for buying equipment and the balance goes to the students themselves. We keep the prices low and go for volume and this usually pays off, especially as most of the customers are…

Today, I found this essay by Joan Didion on keeping a notebook, an essay of which the editor of the hosting site says, "Though the essay was originally written nearly half a century ago, the insights at its heart apply to much of our modern record-keeping, from blogging to Twitter to Instagram."

I constantly make notes on paper - always ideas…

Two of my ex-students had a little Christmas preview of their new work tonight. For some very odd reason, it was held in a hi-fi shop... quite a strange location but the specialist hushed acoustics made for a really lovely feel to the show.

Ishbel Watson has been working on some new work based on Fritz Lang's "Metropolis":

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I wouldn't normally post a commercial link on my blog but I have to confess to having been practically salivating at this wonderful collection of Fabergé - and related - objects for sale. The reticulated gold picture frame is just incredible!

Not much else to report. I've had to make another two of those "Black Christmas" stars for Goldsmiths' Hall in…

I've just been sent this link to an essay by Valerie Steele on "Gothic" Jewellery:

http://www.sofaexpo.com/chicago/essays/gothic_jewelry_sinister_pleasures

Interesting read.

Finished my decoration for the tree in Goldsmiths' Hall in London, "Black Christmas - A Punk Star for Poly Styrene":

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My first inkling of the impending festive season... I've been invited to make a precious decoration for the ACJ show at Goldsmiths' Hall! The Goldsmiths' Hall already have their own line of decorations. Mine will be somewhat different, using some of my beloved sewing-machine needles: 

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