Meet The Maker – Nicola Hurst

Nicola Hurst – Jeweller

Nicola Hurst, designer and maker of contemporary jewellery, has been hand making jewellery professionally since 1995, having completed a Jewellery BA (hons) degree in 1990 at Middlesex Polytechnic.

Silver Diver Cufflinks

Here at Heart Gallery we love Nicola’s new Iconic Collection – it’s the perfect gift for that special person in your life who loves to wear symbolic jewellery.

Silver Love Cufflinks

Each piece in this stunning collection of figure jewellery is individually cast in solid silver before being polished and hand finished by Nicola. Including gorgeous cufflinks for men and exquisite pendants for women, the Iconic Collection is a joy to wear. Whether you’re marking an important relationship or acknowledging a much-loved hobby, the Iconic Collection is for you.

Silver Woman With Attitude necklace

Nicola’s other ranges incorporate silver and gold with precious and non precious stones in some pieces, and simply silver or gold in others. All Nicola’s jewellery is beautifully elegant, contemporary and easy to wear. The inspiration for designs comes from Nicola’s fascination of architecture, clean and simple lines and her love of making the jewellery. New collections are frequently produced as well as many one-off pieces and commissions undertaken so take a look at her other pieces here.

Meet The Maker – Charlotte Bezzant

Charlotte Bezzant – Jeweller

Charlotte is a designer maker who works in silver and semi-precious stones, often incorporating etched text in her work. She did a degree in Fashion and Textiles, but after she fell into a non-creative job in the industry, she started studying silversmithing as a hobby.

Silver Arctic Twig bangle

After years of making for family and friends, Charlotte was persuaded to start selling her work, and was really pleased to find that it was well received by others.

Silver Arctic Hare with Moonstone necklace

Originally working on a bench in the corner of the kitchen, Charlotte now works from a lovely little studio at the end of the garden.

Silver Arctic Hare Pin

Silver Arctic Hare Brooch

She is at her happiest here, working away, especially when the sun shines and the doors can be flung wide.

Silver Arctic Twig necklace

Heart Gallery has some of Charlotte’s Arctic Twig and Arctic Hares collection. These were designed after a particularly beautiful and inspiring trip to the Arctic Wilderness, chasing the Northern Lights.

Silver Arctic Hare Necklaces with Aquamarine

The little twig was plucked from the snow and ice, wrapped in tissue and brought back to the UK to be cast in solid silver. The arctic hare however, proved elusive, the only sighting being of the lolloping footprints in the sparkling snow!

Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost silver necklace

Call in soon to see Charlotte’s stunning range before the Arctic Hares hop out of Heart Gallery and into someone’s jewellery collection!

Meet The Maker – Anna Baldwin

Anna Baldwin – Jeweller

Meet Anna – I think she’s a little shy so we are showing you a pic of her hands at the workbench. This photo in itself just hammers home how handmade our jewellery really is actually so we are really pleased with this notion that you don’t have to see what any of our makers looks like but you do have to know that they are in fact skilled craftspersons in the discipline they work in.

Dappled bangle

Based in Buckinghamshire, Anna has been designing and making jewellery for over 9 years.

Wrapped silver pendant

She makes all her jewellery by hand, working mainly in silver, gold, and semi-precious stones, and loves creating beautiful, contemporary, wearable pieces.

Dimpled silver ring

Anna loves working with natural forms and texture. Her designs have an organic, tactile feel, and share a sense of delicacy and movement.

Wrapped silver long earrings

 Anna gains inspiration from many different sources including light, texture, and natural and fluid forms. She also gains many ideas from simply working with the metal itself to develop new forms. 

Wrapped silver ring

 We adore Anna’s gemstone set rings that she can make to order using gorgeous faceted semi-precious stones such as smoky quartz, light amethyst, blue topaz, citrine or green quartz. You can order your birthstone and create a bespoke ring just for you. Anna loves making the Gem rings – the setting really shows off the stone and allows the light to filter through it. So pretty!

Gem ring stacked with a dappled ring

Anna’s recently developed the Dimpled range – its hammered finish is similar to the wrapped range, so they complement each other well.  She has made the rings and bangles in two different widths, which stack together easily. The gold highlights in the range add extra interest and colour.
The Gem rings go really well with Anna’s Dappled rings – it creates a bit more impact and is great if you like stacking rings. 

Meet The Maker – Marie Krazizky

Maria Krazizky – Jeweller

Marie is a Contemporary Jewellery Designer and Maker. She works predominately in silver and gold.  Marie’s ideas are generated through sketches and developed whilst experimenting with techniques at the work bench. 

Flower Hoops

Her recent designs are influenced by natural forms with fluid shapes, feminine styles and combine moveable features with oxidised and polished surfaces.

Flower Necklace, 4 stems

Marie trained at Birmingham School of Jewellery in the heart of the Jewellery Quarter. During the final year of her degree she was awarded the Goldsmith Bursary.

Flower Studs

After graduating in March 2000 with a BA Hons in Jewellery and Silversmithing, Marie was selected to exhibit her work in The Business Design Centre in London. Heart Gallery is proud to have been carefully selected by Maria to showcase her latest collection.

Meet The Maker – Julia Parry-Jones

Julia Parry-Jones – Jeweller

A collector by nature, Julia draws inspiration from fragments, curiosities and hidden treasures. Fascinated with the minute and delicate, she creates contemporary, intriguing and feminine jewellery, inviting the wearer to explore the hidden narrative within each piece.

Seek Brooch

Julia’s current collection is inspired by the treasure hoarding habits of the bowerbird, and explores the deliberate contrast of materials, forms and colours through their placement. Hardwoods, vintage elements and semi-precious stones are scattered amongst a showcase of silver and 9 carat gold, carefully arranged until a sense of harmony is achieved through their mismatching chaos. From dainty studs to tumbling neckpieces, her diligent attention to detail and love of the eclectic is evident.

Nestling Jewels Earrings

 Julia graduated with First class honours from Norwich School of Art & Design before completing further training in the London Jewellery quarter. She has exhibited and sold her work widely through galleries and exhibitions across the UK.

Adornment Rings

Heart Gallery is really pleased that in 2013 Julia is showcasing her collection here in Hebden Bridge….it will be in our cabinets soon!

Meet The Makers – Emma Winterhalder and Clare Whitehead

Emma Winterhalder and Clare Whitehead

Emma and Clare are both jewellery designers; their work is contemporary and strong with clean lines but stylish and some items are chunky silver with delicate gold plated elements added.  Their inspiration started from their imaginations and sketch books of ideas drawn from objects from the world around them.

Eclipse Ring

Most of their inspiration is from a mutual love for travelling and shared experiences which allows things to evolve in precious metals and bring the patterns and designs to life. 

Dual Bubble Necklace

Precious metal is hammered, to create texture, and overlaid with delicate moving parts; silver is highlighted with details and elements of chain.   Free moving shapes are forged and soldered to make necklaces or earrings from hand pierced shapes. 

Ring of Feathers

It makes it all worthwhile when they see a ‘happy customer’ wear their creations and for there to be a longevity. They wish to create wearable objects with fragility that questions traditional notions of wear-ability. As an item worn close to the body, jewellery contains a strong emotional and physical relationship to the wearer and its small scale makes it the ideal collectible item.

Each piece is designed with creativity and made with passion and worn with pride.  In their own words – ‘Our Style, your way’.

Quill Necklace

Their first collection arrives at Heart Gallery in March 2013 … are you as excited as we are?

Meet The Maker – Laura Millen

Laura Millen – Jeweller

Laura’s resin jewellery is inspired by her love for vintage textiles. She has always been passionate about all things vintage but her main passion for vintage textiles stems from her family history. Laura was given a box full of vintage laces, silks and buttons during her art foundation year which had previously been passed through several generations of dress makers in her family.

Lace Heart Earrings

She remembers looking through the box at all the beautiful fabrics with a sense mystery thinking about what they could have been used for all those years ago. This led her to start visiting antique centres, vintage shops and fairs to source more interesting material to inspire and feature in her work. Laura is mainly drawn to laces as she loves intricate patterns particularly in pieces from the Victorian era. 

Black and White Lace pendant

 Laura has been working in resin and selling her work through galleries and exhibitions for the past four years. The combination of vintage material and resin works well as the resin adds a modern twist to the designs and the properties magnifies and preserves the intricate pieces so that they can be worn in a different way and treasured all over again.

 

Long lace earrings

Lace Heart pendant

Laura’s collections offer resin pendants, earrings and bracelets featuring fragments of lace from trims and panels which she has collected over time. The making process takes several days as two layers of resin are applied to the moulds. A second layer of coloured resin is applied over the lace to enhance the detail. Her maker’s mark is stamped onto small pieces of copper which is then embedded into the back of each piece and she uses sterling silver findings and chains to finish each piece.

Lovely Lace and Resin Collection at Heart Gallery

Lovely Lace and Resin Collection at Heart Gallery

Say hello to Alice Stewart’s new work

Alice Stewart – Jeweller

British jewellery designer Alice Stewart’s new Woodland Collection has now arrived at Heart Gallery and incorporates acorns, robin, deer and all the wonderful things found in the woods.

Acorn necklace

Alice grew up in three very diverse places, Dubai, Hong Kong and England. Despite this her ideas mainly come from the beauty she finds in English countryside. Having grown up in the Cotswolds when living in England, she would spend time outdoors taking in the small things that sometimes go unnoticed. Nature has always been one of her greatest inspirations; from the smallest insect to a flock of birds she finds fascination in all things natural.

Silver robin necklace

Alice’s pieces are designed and made by her in her workshop in the heart of the famous Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham. Although based in the Quarter, she lives a little way out of the bustling city centre so she can still be surrounded by the countryside that inspires her natural pieces.

18ct Gold plated robin on a branch necklace

Alice creates jewellery that is both enchanting and sophisticated.

18ct gold plated Acorn ring

Silver and 18ct gold plated textured rings

Alice makes the original by hand, which gives her work an exquisite delicacy. She uses her skills to create pieces that are playful, but always very feminine. She uses a mixture of finishes on Sterling Silver and Gold plated Sterling Silver. Parts are satin finished as well as highly polished, to give a two tonal effect that highlights the delicate details and brings the pieces to life.

Silver Doves Necklace

 

 ” I aspire to make originally designed, great quality, wearable jewellery, which makes the wearer feel truly special. “

Meet The Maker – Emily Thatcher

Emily Thatcher – Jeweller

Emily graduated from Sir John Cass in London, with BA Hon Silversmithing & Jewellery in 2004 and now works from her studio nestled into the beautiful Sussex countryside.

Papila 3 drop necklace

Companion Rings

Led by her fascination of the microscopic world she uses electron microscope images of cellular structures, abstracting the organic shapes to create bold yet feminine collections that are easy to wear.

Amethyst Lamella T-Bar necklace

Hand made to a meticulously high quality, Emily’s jewellery is made from silver, gold and luscious gemstones. Playing with surface finishes and textures, she explores the creation of depth within her pieces, without making the pieces bulky or awkward to wear. 

Pink Tourmaline Lamella Necklace

With a love of classical history and the story of body adornment, she is inspired by the time-honored forms of these, which give her jewellery a modern classic look.

Pink Tourmaline Lamella Ring

Heart Gallery adores Emily’s new range and we are certain you will too x

Cleaning Silver

Hi there, this is a quick care post for cleaning the beautiful jewellery you buy from us!

Most of our UK based makers (I say most as we do have some that use recycled, ethical silver for their work) only use sterling silver, one of the most beautiful and lustrous of all metals and my personal favourite. With proper care, your silver will retain its beauty and character for many generations to come. But it can tarnish for many reasons so here is a quick guide for you:

Tanya Krackowizer silver bangle selection

What you need to know:

Sterling silver tarnishes, especially when exposed to salt air and some products containing sulphur, such as rubber bands, and some papers and products containing chemicals such as sun-creams, perfumes and body lotions. However, silver that is regularly used typically needs less care, so Heart Gallery strongly encourages you to wear your silver every day……why wouldn’t you? I don’t need an excuse do you? When you are not adorned with your silver simply keep it in the box we packaged your piece in. If you do use a jewellery box then please make sure you keep each piece in a separate place, perhaps wrapped in a fabric pouch or roll.

Elaine Jenkins – Silver and 18ct gold rings

Washing silver:

Heart Gallery recommends washing silver by hand in warm water with a mild detergent. Because many gases in the air and products that we use on our skin can have a corrosive effect, we suggest that you wash your silver immediately after use. Silver should not be left to soak in water. To avoid spotting, it is important to dry your silver immediately after washing and at Heart Gallery we place on absorbent kitchen roll on top of the radiator to ensure that it is thoroughly dry before placing back in the cabinet.

Emily Morgan – Heart Charm Bracelet

Our old-fashioned tip :

Regularly using this method will stop you having to use a more abrasive approach with dips and chemicals. Take a deep bowl and line with aluminium foil. Boil a kettle and add to the bowl with a couple of teaspoons of table salt and half a teaspoon of baking soda. Wait for it to dissolve and then drop your silver jewellery in to soak for a while. This is especially good when your jewellery includes pearls or gemstones as it is not harmful to them. Remove after about 20 minutes and rinse under warm soapy water then dry thoroughly as mentioned earlier.

Amanda Cox Silver and Freshwater Pearl Necklace

Gentle rubbing:

We sell a good quality silver cloth for only £3 which is impregnated with a compound to stop the silver oxidising. This can be used to gently rub over your silver once a week to remove any tarnish by using gentle back and forth movements so you don’t damage your piece of jewellery. These cloths can be used even if your jewellery contains stones or pearls as they are not harmful or abrasive.

Emily Thatcher Companion Rings Silver Onyx and Black Diamonds

Dips & Chemicals

These are quite harsh and should be avoided really where possible. By following our simple guide above you should not need to go down this route but if you do we recommend Silvex. This cleaner is not as abrasive as silver dip and others available and it’s not harmful to silver jewellery that also incorporates fresh water pearls or gemstones. You don’t need much and you can just apply with a soft cloth, small sponge or small soft bristled brush. Rub your piece gently but firmly using even strokes then rinse in warm soapy water, dry thoroughly and then buff gently with a soft cloth/silver cloth.

Alice Stewart Silver Doves Necklace

And there you have it, a simple guide to looking after your beautiful silver jewellery to ensure your pieces will become heirlooms of the future.