- 47 designers and makers from Scotland and the rest of the UK
- Exhibition of award-winning work from the “Jewellery Oscars”
A stunning array of jewellery, silver and gold will be on display with the return of Scotland’s Elements Festival of Jewellery, Silver and Gold.
Organised by The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust, in partnership with fine art and jewellery auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull, it showcases some of the finest established and emerging UK-based designer-makers.
After two years when Elements was largely digital, the partners today announced its return to being a three-day, in-person event featuring a major exhibition and selling fair.
Among those taking part this year are Lynne MacLachlan, from Bishopton, who studied as an aerospace engineer before attending art school and now uses advanced materials and 3D printing techniques to create highly tactile and colourful work.
Then there is Caitlin Hegney, from Helensburgh, whose handmade silver and wooden jewellery is inspired by the ancient past – including the stone carvings at Kilmartin Glen.
Another of the 47 makers in the selling fair will be Glasgow-based Kelda Young who handcrafts candlesticks, boxes, jewellery and other items from recycled silver.
The exhibition will see award-winning pieces from the Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council (GC&DC) competition, known as the “Jewellery Oscars”, showcased in Scotland for the first time. Alongside spectacular examples of Cartier and Goldsmiths’ Company Award winners, there will also be a display of drawings and jewels to celebrate the vision, skill and extraordinary legacy of GC&DC Lifetime Achievement Award winner, the late Dorothy Hogg MBE.
Elements will run from 28-30 October and takes place in Lyon & Turnbull’s historic HQ in Edinburgh’s Broughton Place.
Lynne, who uses materials such as laser sintered nylon as well as precious metals, said: “My aerospace engineering background gave me the confidence to experiment with new techniques and materials to come up with innovative approaches and designs.
“It will be the second time I’ve taken part in Elements, and I’m really glad its back this year. It’s a highly prestigious chance to show my work alongside lots of absolutely superb makers. There’s nothing else like it in Scotland.”
Caitlin is fascinated by ancient cultures, the places they built henges, stone circles and burial mounds, and the patterns made on their pottery.
She said: “There’s still a great an allure about places like Kilmartin Glen and the artefacts created by our ancestors. It really draws me in. I’m enchanted by the beautiful and intricate adornments on their pottery and how their meaning is now shrouded in mystery. These are things that often translate directly into my work.”
Caitlin is also intrigued by the connections between past and present cultures, and the ways people measure time – including prehistoric carvings that may have acted as calendars.
Kelda’s interest in sustainability developed while she was studying at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee, which is a signatory of the Scottish Goldsmiths Trust’s Ethical Making Pledge.
She said: “I went to a talk about ethical making and how using recycled material could help with sustainability, reduce exploitation and child labour. I didn’t want to contribute to things like that, so it seemed like a no brainer to me.”
Kelda became a student ambassador for the Ethical Making Pledge. Due to COVID, Elements will be the first opportunity Kelda has had to display her bold, contemporary jewellery at a show in Scotland.
Ebba Goring, Chief Executive of the Scottish Goldsmiths Trust, said: “It’s great to be able to announce that the eighth Elements festival will be a return to an in-person event after two digital years.
“There’s nothing quite like the buzz of being in Lyon & Turnbull’s historic saleroom and seeing the incredible jewellery and silver produced by some of the very finest designers and makers in the UK.
“We also think it’s important to have a showcase here in Scotland where makers and designers can share their work, and where the public can see and buy pieces of every conceivable kind from all over the UK.”
Ruth Davis, Head of Jewellery and Silver at Lyon & Turnbull, said: “Like everyone else, we are excited to be inviting the makers back for the first in-person Elements Festival in two years. It is so exciting to create such a hub of contemporary design, creativity and craftsmanship in our iconic saleroom. A real showcase of the best of UK jewellery and silversmithing in the heart of Edinburgh’s historic New Town.”
Picture by Colin Hattersley.
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Notes for editors
- Twitter: @scotgoldsmiths @lyonandturnbull
- Instagram: @scottishgoldsmithstrust @lyonandturnbull
- Facebook: @scottishgoldsmithstrust @lyonandturnbull
- Hashtag: #elementsedinburgh #scottishgoldsmithstrust #lyonandturnbull
- Website: www.elementsfestival.co.uk
About the Elements 2022 partners
- The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust (SGT) was founded by The Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh in 2000.
- The SGT has a dynamic programme of opportunities, exhibitions and educational resources.
- The SGT curates the Millennium Silver Collection, Silver of the Stars and the historical archives of The Incorporation.
- It aims to promote and support the education, art and craft of Scotland’s gold and silversmithing heritage and trade.
- In recent years, their work has expanded with the creation of the Ethical Making Programme to support the adoption of responsible and sustainable practices in Jewellery and Silversmithing.
- Established in Edinburgh in 1826, Lyon & Turnbull are Scotland’s oldest firm of auctioneers. In recent years Lyon & Turnbull has become one of the fastest growing independent auction houses in the UK. They have achieved this through innovative marketing, flexibility and dedication to personal service delivered by a team of specialists. It has offices and representatives throughout the U.K. in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
- Together with Samuel T. Freeman & Co, Philadelphia’s leading appraisers and auctioneers, they make a powerful transatlantic force in today’s auction world. Both Freeman’s and Lyon & Turnbull are now becoming identified on an international stage, setting world record prices for Scottish paintings and Asian works of art, along with outstanding results in other areas, such as jewellery, silver, furniture, ceramics, books and decorative arts. See http://www.lyonandturnbull.com
About Caitlin, Kelda and Lynne – see attached document for more
CAITLIN HEGNEY, Helensburgh: Graduate of The Glasgow School of Art, 2018: Jewellery artist Caitlin Hegney creates handmade silver and wooden jewellery that resonates with the ancient past. She is based in Helensburgh, on the West coast of Scotland, and designs and makes in the tranquillity of her home studio. Caitlin looks for rhythms and patterns that transcend ancient times, interpreting them for the present day. Drawing is at the roots of her practice. She uses hand-made tools to translate the expressive quality of her sketches into precious metals and hand-mixes pigment recipes to dye wooden surfaces rich shades of blue.
KELDA YOUNG, Glasgow: Graduate of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, 2020: Kelda is a designer and maker based in Glasgow. She creates contemporary jewellery and objects using recycled precious metals, each piece unique due to the nature of the handcrafted process. Kelda looks to her own fragmented memories for inspiration, abstracting forms and elements to create compositions. Her work celebrates the contrast and harmonies found between nature and the manmade world. Often combining bold, striking shapes with intricate, organic details. The connection to material and the physical process of making is essential to the success of her work, which allows for an intuitive approach to making and designing.
Kelda uses hollow forming techniques in conjunction with high pressure embossing to create tactile, enticing pieces – highlighting textures and details that might often go unnoticed. The softness of the pushed metal and the misleading perception of weight heightens curiosity and longs to be picked up. Kelda stumbled across this technique in her early university years through experimentation and play in the workshop. Continuing to work in an experimental style she allows the process to shape her work, playing with balance and pushing the boundaries of wearable versus scale.
LYNNE MACLACHLAN, Bishopton: Lynne produces colourful, sculptural jewellery, thoughtfully designed and made to bring colour and joy to life. Her pieces range from accessible everyday jewellery to collectable contemporary craft pieces to large scale interior installations. She takez a creative approach with digital tools and materials, exploring and pushing the capabilities of these, using bespoke software tools and 3D printing to materialise complex forms. Combining these tools with meticulous hand finishing techniques, such as dying and traditional metalwork techniques, elevates the pieces to become artful pieces of cutting-edge design that endure.
About the exhibition
For the very first time, award winning work from the prestigious Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council (GC&DC) Competition, known as the UK’s Jewellery Oscars, will be showcased in Scotland at Elements 2022 in collaboration with The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust and Lyon & Turnbull’s Auctioneers at their fabulous auction house in Edinburgh.
Through its annual awards the Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council aims to encourage, stimulate and promote excellence across the whole industry, embracing every aspect of design, craft and technology activity being practiced nationwide. The exhibition will feature a beautiful selection of award-winning work by some of the UK’s most renowned designers and craftspeople.
Alongside spectacular examples of Cartier and Goldsmiths’ Company Award winners, there will also be a display of drawings and jewels to celebrate the vision, skill and extraordinary legacy of GC&DC Lifetime Achievement Award winner, the late Dorothy Hogg MBE, which will be on loan from The Goldsmiths’ Company Collection.
For information about SGT contact Eda Obermanns on 0131 322 3868 or [email protected]. For media information contact Matthew Shelley at SFPR on 07786704299 or [email protected].
The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust, Goldsmiths’ Hall, 24 Broughton Street, Edinburgh EH1 3RH. The trust is a Registered Scottish Charity no. SC028384