Saturday 30 JANUARY until 21 MARCH 2010

Karen Thomas is a jewellery designer and maker, originally from the Midlands, who has been living and working in York for over ten years. She graduated from the Birmingham School of Jewellery (UCE) in 1998 with a BA(hons) degree in Jewellery and Silversmithing. She has worked in a busy trade workshop and taught jewellery making at a local college and school, while also producing her own designs. She now concentrates solely on creating her beautiful, wearable ranges of jewellery, limited editions, one off pieces and commissions. She uses traditional jewellery making techniques; mainly working in silver, sometimes in gold. She sells her work through galleries across the country.

"I love the process of creating functional, wearable pieces of jewellery, be it constructing a mount for an unusual stone or handcrafting a master, making a mould and running off waxes in order to generate cast units so I can produce ranges of silver jewellery that are affordable."

"My designs are inspired by the world around me. Whilst studying in Birmingham many of my pieces echoed the cities industrial past. Now in North Yorkshire I take inspiration from the landscape and its colours. I am particularly drawn to the natural forms of the dramatic North East coastline. This is clearly evident in my Silver Shell Collection which comprises four ranges created with solid silver castings made using moulds of actual shells. In contrast, living in the beautiful, historic city of York has also had an impact on my work, some of my designs reflecting the shapes and forms seen in the magnificent architecture

Naomi was born and educated in Sussex. She graduated in Jewellery at Middlesex Polytechnic and then worked as an assistant technician at the Royal College of Art. After two years as a self employed jeweller working at Jess James, W1, she travelled in Thailand, Borneo, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia, India and Nepal. Since then she has worked as a self employed jeweller, and was manager of the National Theatre Dazzle exhibition in 2001 and 2002.

Naomi has worked in a variety of materials since she started making jewellery at the age of 14. She has always designed as she works, allowing the making process to inspire the final design. Most of the pieces are made using simple hand tools and she enjoys the fact that a lot of her jewellery can still be made in this way.

She has frequently used embossing in her work. Earlier designs involved piercing patterns into stainless steel which was then rolled with silver. Recent work began with picking up feathers in the park with her young son – she found that despite their delicate appearance they could be transformed into a solid form by embossing into silver. She then experimented further with dried flowers, leaves and leaf skeletons and found that an amazing amount of detail was picked up on the silver, which she then complemented with touches of 18 carat gold. Some designs include coloured semi-precious stones.

Other elements of her work have evolved through experimentation with the textures that can be achieved with hammering metal. She uses a variety of hammers to create surfaces and marks that alter the way light is reflected. She likes the feeling that the metal appears to have been aged by beating it with a rusty hammer – like something that may have been dug up.

I was born in Germany and undertook an apprenticeship to become a Goldsmith. After this I studied Metalwork and Jewellery in Hildesheim, Germany. I have lived and worked in Oxfordshire, England, since 1998.

My work is inspired by nature. The offset position - the placing of the stone setting or a pearl - also plays an important part in my jewellery. I work mainly in silver with a structured rough surface and gemstones set in gold as a fine contrast.

Whatever catches my eye inspires my work - purely for the pleasure and joy it gives when designing, making and wearing jewellery.

Annika was born in Belgium, of a Swedish mother and Norwegian father, and spent every summer of her childhood returning to these countries to visit relatives. Inspired by the crisp bold lines of these landscapes and the diversity of modern and traditional designs there, Annika draws strongly on her scandinavian roots for inspiration. A modern Stockholm based apprenticeship followed by a top Degree in 3D Design, specialising in Jewellery and Silversmithing, has moulded Annika's distinctive style, whilst giving her an amazing array of skills from sinking to setting.
Before striking out on her own Annika gained valuable experience within the trade, working first for a bullion dealers in Hatton Garden, and then for contemporary jewellers Jess James in London.
Annika’s passion for jewellery means that she is continually broadening her skills. In her quest to improve the breadth and quality of service on offer she has, in more recent years, educated herself in the art of computer aided design. This means that we can now produce lifelike renders and 3D images for customers to view when commissioning more complex designs.

Awards
2006: Worshipful Co of Goldsmiths design commendation
Oct 03: Perles De Tahiti - UK Tahitian Pearl Competition
- 1st place Male Jewellery Category
- 3rd place Parure Category
Aug 97: New Zealand Wearable Art Competition Finalist, New Zealand
Jan 93: Swea Scholorship. Sponsors: Swedish Women’s Educational Association
Dec 92: Master Cutlers Book Prize for design. Sponsors: The Worshipful Company of Cutlers
April 92: Highly Commended, Gold design Competition. Sponsors: The World Gold Council
Dec 91: Award for design, Travel prize. Sponsors: The Worshipful Company of Cutlers
June 91: 1st Prize Pewter Live Competition. Sponsors: The Worshipful Company of Pewterers

Exhibitions
Sept 98-09 Yearly exhibitor at International Jewellery London (IJL) Earls Court
Feb 99, 01, 03, 05 International Spring Fair, NEC Birmingham
May 00 Martin Hall Studio Exhibition, Brighton Festival
June/July 99 Jewellery Showcase, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield
Feb/March 99 Wedding Ring Exhibition, Primavera Cambridge
May 98 Harrogate British Craft Trade Fair
Sept 97 'Showing Off' Marle Place, Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Apr 97 'Things that Fly' Exhibition, Skylark Studios, Wisbeck, Cambs
96-97 Exhibition of work at Serendipity Galleries, Anarcortes & LaConner, Washington State USA
Nov 94-Feb 95 Exhibition of Jewellery & Silversmithing at Avalon, Mulberry Fine Arts, B’ham
July 92 New Designers, The Business Design Centre London
Sept-Dec 91 Exhibition of Pewter work at Liberty's London
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