Meet The Maker – Bek Genery

Bek Genery – Jeweller

Bek has been lucky enough to bump into people along the way who have taught her the basics of playing with metal including a jeweller, a Norfolk tractor driver with a welding shed, a third generation engineer and a blacksmith from Yorkshire! She has a real belief in learning direct from crafts people. The rest is experimentation and the library.

Affirmation tag bracelets

Bek has always been interested in processes that start with a pile of raw materials and end up with an object. She has experimented with a range of techniques such as tempera painting, spinning and knitting, felt making and eventually settled on precious metals and stones.  This allowed her to bring together a love of treasure, decoration, self-expression, craftsmanship and an excuse to indulge her desire to just get up and go places. Her work has a rough luxe spirit.

Affirmation tag earrings

Bek is interested in where the materials lead you in themselves, how far you can stretch them. Cold forming and reticulation appeal to her particularly. The geology and structural properties of stones and small found objects that can be incorporated into the metal shape her work.

Affirmation tag ring

Affirmation tag necklace

When we travel both geographically and chronologically we often take a keep-sake with us, something that anchors us in some way to the place or people that we come from or to ourselves; they act as navigation aids as we negotiate our way about. Bek is interested in these objects (contemporary and historical), actual compasses and astrolabes as well as lucky coins, photos, bits of baby blanket and locks of hair.

Affirmation tag selection

Bek has created a range of affirmation pieces for us and if her words don’t call out to you then why not chose some of your own and ask us to make you a piece. Bek is happy to work on commissions to help you personalise a piece for you or for a loved one.

Affirmation tag selection

Meet The Maker – Nia Fiori

Nia Fiori - illustrator, designer, artist

For those of you who don’t know Nia – you should! I had the pleasure of meeting her in Heart Gallery a couple of years ago as a customer and now I am seeing her fledgling business blossom and grow and it is a joy to watch.

Greeting Card

Nia is combining her playful personality with a wealth of artistic experience to create colourful, sophisticated and stylish stationery for all occasions.

Hollywood Glamour Tickets Admit One

Nia’s work is an eclectic mix of controlled doodles and impulsive designs and Nia has an obsessive fixation with all things paper….  and pretty.

Country Meadow Save The Date

All work is handmade by Nia, with careful attention to detail and only using the highest quality materials to provide you with a beautiful, unique piece of artwork. nothing is mass produced, and everything you see can be personalised especially for you.

2012 Nia Fiori Wall Planner

Nia Fiori designs are created in her studio, in Worsley Village, Manchester.

Cheeky Bum card

Nia is also qualified artist/designer with a BA (Hons) in Interactive Arts & a qualified 11-19 Art Teacher.

Selection of Nia's cards

Nia has a great range of themed wedding stationery, exciting invitations which translate beautifully to on the day stationery, but she can also work with you to design a bespoke range to your own theme and colour scheme.

Rockabilly Twist Wedding Stationery

Nia Fiori Stationery

Heart Gallery has a comprehensive selection of Nia’s Wedding stationery in at the moment so do call in to see samples and discuss your requirements with us soon.

 

 

Meet The Maker – Katherine Lawrie

Katherine Lawrie - jeweller

From an early age Katherine has been familiar with the techniques involved in making jewellery and working with metal. Her father works as a jewellery designer maker and often Katherine would work alongside him in his workshop.

Silver textured heart studs

Silver textured heart drops on long wires

By the age of 16 her jewellery making became a serious hobby and Katherine sold jewellery to her friends for pocket money. She won young Craftsman of the Year in the early 1990s, which made her take her talents more seriously.

Silver textured leaf necklace with fresh water pearl

Katherine went to the Surrey Institute of Art and Design and then on to Edinburgh College of Art and in 1999 Katherine set out as a professional jewellery designer maker.

Personalised silver bracelet on fresh water pearls

Katherine’s jewellery, handmade in sterling silver and gold, is inspired by natural forms and textural qualities.She uses various techniques to create her jewellery. The predominant one is roller texturing, an unpredictable technique which involves the use of steel rolling mills and natural and manmade materials, such as feathers, leaves, lace and petals. The object disintegrates but leaves the surface of the metal with a rich ethereal texture.

Silver textured heart necklace on fresh water pearls

Using this technique involves a lot of happy accidents, but that is what keeps it fresh, and inspiring. The jewellery can be very evocative, the pressing of a special leaf from a place visited once, or grandma’s lace.

Silver textured heart necklace

She uses this in conjunction with semi-precious and precious stones and beads to create a body of work with sensitivity and subtlety which works in sympathy with the wearer. 

Personalised silver bracelet with fresh water pearls

Katherine sells her work through various outlets and off exhibitions and she is also an associate member of the Society of Botanical Artists, which has an annual exhibition at Central Hall in London. She regularly takes part in Open house exhibitions in Brighton and Heart Gallery is proud that Katherine has chosen Heart Gallery as a more northern stockist for her new range.

Meet The Maker – Sarah Lawrence

Sarah Lawrence - Jeweller

Sarah is both excited and pleased to introduce her newest collection of jewellery entitled ‘Nearest & Dearest’ and Heart Gallery is proud to have been chosen by Sarah to be one of the first to showcase this bespoke collection.

Silver key - personalise yours

Each piece of jewellery is beautifully handcrafted in sterling silver and personalised with a name, word or date specific to each individual piece or person. The collection has taken inspiration from Sarah’s love of keys and locks, that each key or lock is unique and that they are used to protect those things that are dear to us.

Silver 21st key close up

General 18th key

Be Mine necklace

Each key or charm can commemorate a loved one’s name or special date, and more keys can be added to build up a collection or ‘bunch’ that are entirely individual to each owner.

Personalised 16th key - GRACIE

Personalised keys and padlock necklace - Sarah and Andrew 12.05.2001

Silver padlock and key charm bracelet

Personalised heart and key necklace - Love You Mummy

Sarah has always loved jewellery, raiding her Grandma’s jewellery box from a young age. She went on to study Jewellery Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Scotland, where she graduated with a Bdes (Hons) in 1997. After graduating Sarah worked for several years in the jewellery industry before starting her own jewellery business in 2001. Following the success of making jewellery for other shops and galleries, she opened her own shop in 2004 with Emma Jay, stocking her own work, Emma’s work and that of many other jewellers and craftspeople. 

Pink Butterfly - Farsley

After 8 years in retail and with a young family at home Sarah has now decided to hand over the reigns of the shop to Emma and concentrate on making her own jewellery again back at the work bench. This is what Sarah enjoys the most and she hopes this is reflected in her work, celebrating two of the things most important to her: jewellery and family.

YOU ME silver double heart necklace on rubber

Together Forever heart charm necklace

Secret riveted heart necklace - Emma You Rock My world

Sarah wears her silver keys with the names of her children and her wedding anniversary date on everyday. Personalised pieces tell a story and your story can be visible for the world to see or private – the choice is yours!

Key to my heart bangle - I ❤ Joe

Heart Gallery hopes that you enjoy your bespoke piece as much as Sarah enjoys making it and we enjoy giving it and that it brings you joy.