London Jewellery Workshop
London Jewellery Workshop has launched a self-certified six month diploma course in Shoreditch, London. The course, which starts in January 2015, is run by Nina Gilbey, who has been a silversmith and teacher for over 20 years. This new diploma offers students something completely different from conventional jewellery courses currently available.
This 6 month structured course is unique. It’s very much design focused. By the end, students will have been exposed to many techniques and expert approaches.’
The course is suitable for complete beginners and those with basic skills who wish to learn through a structured programme. At its core, the course covers basic skills, piercing (cutting) filing, annealing, textures, finishing and polishing; chain making, links & findings (clasps, clips and catches).
‘Where we differ’ Nina enthuses, ‘is in the way we investigate and develop the students’ personal journeys, creating a practical and creative record of the learning process. We take our students on a thought journey that gives them the opportunity to explore, play with ideas and research both the medium and the creative process.’
‘We achieve this by using journals in which students record their learning. It is a liberating and highly practical approach that allows a student to learn from mistakes and experiments. Students can also record their thoughts and the making process itself. They will build a valuable resource that they can use for the rest of their career, enabling people to move forward in their practice and maybe study at a higher level.’
The brand new jewellery course will be held just off Shoreditch High Street. It’s situated on one of the very first housing estates ever to be built in England. ‘This is a highly creative and historic area’ says Nina ‘One of the most attractive aspects of siting London Jewellery Workshop right here is that this housing estate was originally built with an integrated set of workshops and today, artists, designers and makers continue to use the workshops as practical working spaces and contribute to the creative environment that Shoreditch is today.’
Nina is keen to reiterate: ‘Students will learn through a structured process that remains flexible, and is not rigid. Learning to be creative, understanding how to think about design and connect with thought processes are as an important part of the course as having a thorough understanding of practical skills. I can’t wait to begin.”
