Artists Open Houses: Yes, it’s that time of year again, the clocks have changed, the nights are drawing in and next thing we know it will be Christmas. As ever, we have Christmas all wrapped up for you with the Artists Open House Christmas 2018 Festival – 50 Open Houses featuring 500+ artists. Pruden and Smith are participating in Ditchling showing their new Christmas Jewellery Collection, from jewellery stocking fillers to jewellery that will become a family heirloom. Open every day from 10-5 up until Christmas Day.
During the festival artists are opening their doors to welcome you inside – inviting you to take a break from the High Street, and shop in warmth and comfort, with a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie. The Christmas Artists Open Houses create a special atmosphere, where you can chat to artists and makers in their homes and studios, whilst viewing a spectacular selection of individual, unique arts and crafts.
The festival is also a community event and includes artists with learning disabilities, artists who have experienced periods of homelessness and a group representing creative ageing activities, alongside established, professional artists and makers, as well as young and emerging artists.
There are craft-learning workshops and activities for children such as puppet shows and story telling, alongside artworks ranging from ceramics, jewellery, print-making, photography and home-wares, to handcrafted Christmas cards, wreaths, tree decorations and homemade foodie gifts.
This Christmas you can visit artists from Poland, Scandinavia, Spain and Germany to sample European artwork and delicious regional treats. The Artists Open Houses Christmas festival offers the perfect opportunity to pick up a unique and original Christmas gift for friends, family (or for yourself!) and is a great way to kick off the festive season.
Pearl stacking rings by Pruden and Smith, unusual handmade Christmas jewellery gifts
Summer is the most popular time to get married, so we understand that finding the perfect wedding gifts are on people minds. It’s also hard to find wedding gifts that isn’t just one off item that gets thrown out eventually, but something that holds sentimental value. Here at Pruden and Smith our expertise are in bespoke and handmade jewellery. We have designed a few pieces of jewellery and silverware specifically with wedding gifts in mind. Everything is handmade and modifiable creating a perfect unique wedding gifts that will be cherished forever.
Here are a few of our favorites. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like tweek these products, or even come up with something completely new!
For Them:
Napkin Holders
Silver Napkin Holder
Handmade solid silver napkin holders with a bespoke engraving with hammered or smooth finish.
On Sunday I attended Solemn Vespers at Worth Abbey Church which has just reopened after a major refurbishment of the never finished interior of architect Frances Pollens’ grade 1 listed 1960’s church and the installation of new furniture designed by Thomas Heatherwick. As part of this project we, at Pruden & Smith were privileged to be asked to design and make a sculptural silver and silver gilt altar set comprising ten chalices of different heights and 3 stacking ciboria.
In 2008 Brothers Anthony and Gabriel visited our workshop with a long list of requirements for the soon-to-be-refurbished Worth Abbey Church. They went away rather down-hearted when we totted up the total minimum cost in silver, which had recently started to spiral upwards in price due to the shaky state of the financial markets. I was both surprised and pleased to have a phone call a year later to say that Worth would like to go ahead and begin the design process as funds were now available thanks to the Friends of Worth.
An obvious place to start designing from was the date and distinctive design of the church building. But on seeing the new plans for the interior, the furniture design by Thomas Heatherwick and in discussion with Father Christopher, the brief for the refurbishment was clearly to create a lasting contemporary interior that regenerated the unfinished aspects of the church to bring it into the 21st century.
The space inside the church is dramatic with the altar as the focal point. The doors, walkways and seating serve to keep your attention on this one place at all times. The layout of the circular roof window enhances this and alters the atmosphere in the church with the weather and the time of day: a strong column of light often accentuates the altar in a single spotlight effect. It was clear that it was not just a list of functional vessels that were required for this sacred space but a single sculpture that worked with the altar, the lighting and the church building to further enhance its meditative focus, drama and sense of wonder.
This was created by giving the ten repeated chalice forms different heights to start to break up their uniformity. To transform their form the base was flattened to the altar top, the stem reduced to be as slender as possible and the knop almost flattened out of existence with the intention of having the lower section of the chalice disappear to leave the chalice bowls floating above the altar in a cloud form. After experimenting with different finishes on silver in the light of the church, silver was chosen for the bases for its mirror reflectivity that enhanced the disappearance of the base and stem. It was lightly brushed to bring down any visible contrast. Brushed silver gilt was used for the bowls giving them a golden shimmering visibility.
The design is repeated at a lower level by the three sets of ciboria. These separate into nine receptacles but assemble into three stacking pebble shapes that lie at low level beneath the chalice bowl “cloud”. They are gilded at the rim and silver below, the shape created by the gilt parts is a flattened reflection of the bowls above. The finish was achieved by bright polishing, “butler brushing” then gold plating and “butler brushing again until the surface had the right reflective level.
Attached is a computer render of the design. We have commissioned Tomek Henke of Henke Images to photograph the chalices and ciboria now that the interior is complete.
My thanks to all those who helped to make this commission possible especially to the friends of Worth Abbey for their tireless fundraising.
Rebecca Smith, Designer, Worth Abbey Altar Set, Pruden and Smith.
Sunflower Studs by Sheena McMasterSunflower Brooch by Sheena McMasterLarge Chapel Pendant by Susan Jane DunfordBeach Hut Earrings by Susan Jane DunfordLace Circle Flower Pendant by Rebecca Anne LeeLace Teardrop and Flower Earrings by Rebecca Anne LeeTrillion Molecule Strata Necklace by Kat ZahranSilver and Gold Molecule Ring by Kat Zahran
Guest Jewellers for Artists. This year we are featuring 4 guest jewellers for the festival in May: Sheena McMaster, Susan Jane Dunford, Rebecca Anne Lee and Kat Zahran. Suzy, Becca and Kat also work for us here at Pruden and Smith, Suzy is our Sales and Marketing Manager, Becca is our Jewellery Production Manager, and Kat is one of our Sales Assistants. They all also run their own jewellery businesses and we are delighted to stock their work in our gallery.
Sheena McMaster graduated from Glasgow School of Art with an honours degree in Design in 1987 and spent a further year studying for a Diploma in Postgraduate Studies in Jewellery and Silversmithing. The inspiration for her work comes from the environment that surrounds us and the natural world we live in, her travels and experiences. Since graduating she has lived and worked all over the world including London, Australia and Galloway in South West Scotland where she set up her own business making jewellery to her own designs, running training workshops, teaching and completing private commissions. In 2008 she moved to South West France where she continues to be inspired by sunflowers and sunsets.
Susan Jane Dunford graduated from the University for the Creative Arts, Farnham in 2009 with a BA(Hons) in Three-Dimensional Design: Metalwork and Jewellery. Susan has a passion for historical architecture which provides the inspiration for not only The Model Village Collection but also bespoke one-off sculptural boxes and jewellery. Her imagery comes from the rich textures and diverse forms of old buildings and she is always finding new inspiration from the architecture around her. The Model Village Collection is a representative series aiming to capture the essence of the buildings that we hold nearest and dearest in our local surroundings. These wearable silver and gold miniatures mean you can always carry a reminder of home wherever you go on your travels. They are Ideal for every day wear whilst making the perfect talking point.
Rebecca Anne Lee graduated from the University for the Creative Arts, Rochester in 2008 with a BA(Hons) in Silversmithing, Goldsmithing and Jewellery. Rebecca’s work is primarily based on textures and contrast. Her ideas rarely come from a subject matter; instead she finds inspiration in experimenting and manipulating metals, as well as in found objects and interesting textures. She enjoys combining precious materials with objects and metals which are traditionally seen as ‘un-valuable’. One example of this concept is her ‘Bowls of Steel’ range which incorporates spun steel with delicate cast silver lace. We currently stock Rebecca’s solid silver lace jewellery which includes a beautiful range of earrings, necklaces, bracelets and brooches which have a vintage yet elegantly contemporary feel.
Kat Zahran studied Geography & Environmental Studies at the University of Sussex followed by an MSc in Environmental Assessment and Management. Kat began studying jewellery in 2007 at evening classes whilst working as an Environmental Consultant. She went on to complete the Holts Academy stone setting course in Hatton Garden. She launched her first collection in 2009 and has exhibited at some of the top jewellery and craft exhibitions in the UK. Her previous work with the environment has influenced her style, this is reflected in her use of gemstones and the natural/organic feel of her work. Kat’s jewellery has a distinct style, mixing gold, silver, precious and semi-precious stones, and oxidisation to provide pieces which are highly distinctive and modern yet extremely wearable. We love her Molecule Collection which features individually handmade spheres of gold and silver clustered together to create sumptuous tactile designs.
During the festival we have a larger selection of work on display from our guest jewellers, including pieces you wouldn’t normally get a chance to see. As well as showcasing the work of our guest jewellers we will be launching some of our own exciting new designs.
Our gallery is open as usual 10am-5pm, 7 days a week and we are offering tours of our workshops (no appointment necessary for groups of 5 or less).
Discovered in North Tanzania in 1967, tanzanite deposits run through the base of Mount Kilimanjaro, over 500 million years after it began to form.
Tanzanite is the birthstone for December and the unique blue-purple tone that makes it famous, only comes from heat treating the original brown stone at low levels to transform it into the eye catching colour we have come to know it as.
Found only in Tanzania, this type 1 gemstone can be easily manipulated by different lights giving the blue a hint of red and orange under sunlight, more sparkle by halogen lights, and it can look distinctly sapphire under fluorescent lights.
Despite being a relatively soft stone, 6.5 on the MOH scale, it’s colours are perfect for the December birthstone and also representative of 24 years of marriage. When it comes to fine Tanzanite jewellery, one company automatically springs to mind Pruden and Smith.
Tanzanite is the birthstone for December which is why we think it will also be a really popular seller in the next couple of months! Please call us on 01273 846338 if you would like to make an enquiry…
Well sometimes it is actually OK to put yourself out there and just say what you do – yes we are Jewellers in East Sussex!
We design create and sell the most exquisite jewellery to clients all over the world, but if they want to come into the shop, then it is probably best for them to live around East and West Sussex.
We do actually have many customers come down from London to check out our stunning jewellery, and they will normally go away really happy with the unusual and handmade jewellery we are offering. Our customers are quite a choosy and selective bunch of people who really like to have something a little different.
Even though we have an actual shop linked to our workshop, we don’t class ourselves as high street jewellers and we take a lot of jewellery commissions for special work. This is something we really love to do – working with our clients designing and creating something really special. Now this can be done by email, but obviously it is also great to meet and see who we are designing for, it gives us a real idea of who the person is and what they are really looking for.
We can then chat about the precious stones they are wanting to use, the size of these jewels and also the precious metals they want to encase these rocks! As well as this, our clients can also then see some examples of the work we have already designed to give them further inspiration.
Being jewellers in East Sussex, many of our clients make the 10 minute journey up from Brighton. This goes hand in hand with our customers wanting something a bit different – isn’t that synonymous with Brighton!
So give us a call on 01273 846338 to see when is a good time to pop in – we want to give you all the time you need.
Brighton Pride 2013 is looking like it is becoming the biggest and best of all the parades we have ever had. Excitement is really building now, with many top acts being confirmed with more to come!
Among the acts already confirmed are the beautiful and talented Paloma Faith, the world famous Alison Moyet, the newly famous but fantastically talented Lucy Spraggan. Stooshe are also in the line up and more to come…
Let’s hope the weather is great on 3 August, when there will be the parade, live acts and plenty of food, drink, frivolity and amazing sights!
With Brighton Pride kicking of at 12pm it will give you plenty of time to call in to Pruden and Smith beforehand and make it a double celebration! How about collecting the engagement ring you have ordered beforehand and making that special proposal at Brighton Pride 2013? How fantastic would that be!
Or perhaps a handmade eternity ring or stunning dress ring would be more appropriate to tell that special person in your life how much you love them? Or perhaps you could collect your partnership rings, the choice of celebration is entirely up to you!
Our hearts and charms range would also be really applicable to match the joy, love and celebration of Brighton Pride, so please pop in on your way through.
We thought it may be nice to find out a little more about Anton, one of the partners in Pruden and Smith. Here are some quotes and thoughts made by him, based on some questions asked when he was interviewed:
1. Is there a quotation you live and craft by?
“We are all born makers: the only thing that stops us is the story in our head about why we can’t”
2. How did you get started and who did you learn from? I was inspired to become a silversmith by my grandfather, Dunstan Pruden – the silversmith in the Eric Gill-founded Guild of St.Joseph and St.Dominic on Ditchling Common. This Arts & Crafts experience provided an invaluable grounding in the integrity of general craftsmanship, design and lifestyle.
I am passionate about full, integrated craftsmanship: technical mastery of the materials being only one step to excellence in design, business and career.
3. Give us an anecdote about something you have done or made anything for anyone famous? We were exhibiting at a show in Islington in the 1997 when I was approached by a woman who complimented me on my work and asked whether I ever supplied my work on approval. She said her husband needed some special gifts and usually got trade prices. At this point I was beginning to feel a little impatient though my professional customer service won through and I started to take down her details. She said perhaps she had better give her husband’s address: 10 Downing Street, London W1A 1AA.
I gulped and realised I was talking to Cherie Blair. Yes I would like to send some samples! In the end, Tony said my silver bowls, although so beautiful, were a little too opulent for the Japanese prime minister- I think he was very mindful of the potential criticism a left-wing leader could attract for giving extravagant gifts, trade prices or no!
4. How would you encourage the next generation to get started or to get the most out of your craft. a) Great craftsmanship begins with what I call ‘observing the results of your actions’. Never just copy the actions of your teacher – use the tool on the materials & look carefully at what you have done, right or wrong: practice & look, over & over again.
b) Apply the same careful craftsmanship you lavish on what you make to your business skills. A spreadsheet is your best tool.
c) Never price your work to include your own free labour. It is tempting to not cost in your own time, especially in selling. If you do, the inaccuracy of your pricing will haunt you for years.
The choice of diamond cut is often decided by the original shape of the rough stone, location of internal flaws or inclusions, the preservation of carat weight, and popularity of certain shapes among consumers.
The cutter must consider each of these variables before proceeding.
Having said that, the vast majority of stones used in jewellery these days are
Round brilliant cuts:
This is because of a formula developed at the beginning of the twentieth century designed to maximise the reflectivity of diamond. There will always be some variation, but the same basic proportions are maintained to give the stone maximum ‘sparkle’
Then there are fancy cuts, perhaps not quite so bright but fulfilling many design directions.
Marquise Diamond Engagement Ring
One of our favourites is the marquise or navette (French for “little boat”, because it resembles the hull of a sailboat):
Moi et Toi ring set with two pear diamonds
or indeed the pear cut that does indeed work well in ‘pairs’ such as here in our moi et toi ring that is becoming rather famous!
Princess Cut
This is a really bright square cut that is very popular, particularly in our rub-over settings
If you are looking for the perfect diamond eternity ring then Pruden and Smith is the place to visit. We are based in Ditchling, East Sussex, and all of our unusual eternity rings are handmade to order in our onsite workshop. We have a great selection of platinum eternity ring designs to choose from, just come in and try on your favourite designs from our stunning collection of samples, we even have a few handmade in advance for those buying in a hurry.
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