Meet The Maker – Hannah Bedford

Hannah Bedford – Jeweller

Hannah graduated from the prestigious Birmingham School of Jewellery with a first class honours degree in 2004 and has been represented at Collect and exhibited at Origin. Her studio is at Cockpit Arts Deptford, the heart of South London’s creative community.

Hannah’s jewellery designs explore texture and form using the traditional processes of granulation and Keum-boo (fine gold fusing). Working in golds and silver, Hannah creates a range of women’s jewellery, from bespoke neckpieces through to delicate earrings and rings.

Selection of Rings

Hannah Bedford’s jewellery designs explore texture and form using the traditional process of granulation. Working in precious metals, Hannah creates a range of women’s jewellery, from intricate necklaces to bespoke engagement and wedding rings.

Oval Necklace

Collections are inspired by organic growth patterns in the natural world. Hannah uses granulation to create raised, textured surfaces that entwine each piece.

Fine Double Granule Ring

Fine granulation en-captures precious stones and interlaces between surfaces, linking bangles and weaving across rings. The work is often led by these technical explorations, using them to play with scale, form and contrasting precious metals to create aesthetically beautiful forms.

Froth Ring set

Each piece is carefully handcrafted in her London studio, and her jewellery collections are exhibited nationally.

Granule ring set with freshwater pearl

We are delighted to be working with Hannah once more and know that you will fall in love with her work too, all over again!

Meet The Maker – Joanne Tinley

Joanne Tinley – Jeweller

Joanne’s first career was as a secondary school teacher, first of all teaching geography and then ICT and business studies. However, she had always made her own jewellery and as time went on she sold her work at local craft shows and in a couple of local galleries.

Simple Treasures Tag – Butterfly

Butterfly Treasure earrings

Combining her love of making jewellery with her teaching skills Joanne taught jewellery making workshops both at her school’s summer school and at one of the galleries she supplied, and started writing projects for craft magazines too. By the time her eldest son was born she had a fledgling business, so it was a case of now or never for setting it up properly!

Simple Treasures Tag – Heart

Heart Treasure earrings

Seven years on Joanne still teaches City and Guilds Jewellery Design evening classes, writes articles and projects for UK and US magazines and books, teaches privately in her studio, and of course supplies galleries in the UK. Joanne absolutely loves the fact that she is using skills that have been around for hundreds of years, and is passionate about passing these skills on. She loves the link between the history of the techniques and tools that she uses and the contemporary twist she adds to her designs.

Simple Treasures – Flora necklace

Simple Treasures – Flora earrings

One of her favourite techniques is Keum Boo, a Korean technique that literally translates as “attached gold”. A combination of heat and pressure causes 24k gold foil to bond with fine silver at the molecular level. The foil is thick enough to cut with scissors, and so creates a thick layer on the silver. The process is almost magical, and it is a beautiful way of adding the warmth of gold to silver jewellery without breaking the bank.

Cup of Gold necklace

Cup of Gold Studs

Joanne’s new studio is just outside Southampton which she shares with other residents including illustrators, leather and fabric designers, costume designers and both fine and modern artists, and it is a wonderfully creative and supportive environment to work in.

Cup of Gold Bangle

Joanne’s aim is to create jewellery that is special enough to be passed onto the next generation, yet perfect for wearing every day. 

Cup of Gold Cufflinks