BAJ Podcast

Crafting Careers with Caroline Jackman

Starting the New Year with a bang, we have invited Caroline Jackman, the Head of Craft Business skills at the Crafts Council to discuss her work for the Charity, their annual showcase Collect and the opportunities the council provides makers. We will cover tips and advice on how to get started and promote yourself in the craft world, and gain an insight into the importance of finding help and connecting with others to make progress.

Caroline is Head of Craft Business Skills for the Crafts Council, leading on support and business development for all craft businesses. Moreover, she is a coach, mentor, advisor and project manager specializing in International practice with a current focus on Europe. Caroline is also an artist, a shepherdess, a Trustee for New Ashgate Gallery, Mentor for Arts Emergency and an Advisor for Radcliffe Trust.

All That Glitters with Tianne Simmons

With the second series of the BBC's popular jewellery competition 'All That Glitters' only recently crowning its second winner, Sofie catches up with our very own BAJ graduate Tianne Louise-Simmons. They discuss what it was like to take part in the show, and what Tianne has in store for the future, reflecting on the importance of her educational journey for her confidence, and what it was like to get started in the industry.

Following in her father's footsteps, Tianne is a jewellery industry professional who graduated from the British Academy of Jewellery in 2020. Trained as a goldsmith she has gained experience in education and industry, and her work is known for its technical excellence, exampled by having won the award for surface finishing by 77 diamonds at BAJ's Final Show 2021.

In 2022 she was selected to participate in the renowned BBC jewellery competition 'All that glitters' season 2, where she demonstrated her passion for geometric lines. Following the show, she is focussing on the creation of bespoke custom commissions in her studio where all jewellery is handmade to order. To gain further experience, Tianne also continues to work as a jobbing goldsmith completing fine jewellery repairs.

As her style is developing, her jewellery is often made using traditional techniques but with a modern mechanical and engineering inspired background and theme.

Molding Sky with Ioannis Michaloudis

In this episode, Sofie speaks with Professor Ioannis Michaloudis about his research career investigating the application of the NASA-created material Aerogel in design, his creative work and his collaboration with Boucheron.

Prof. Ioannis Michaloudis is a visual artist, researcher and academic, internationally acknowledged as a leader in Art&Science, and the first researcher worldwide to apply the ethereal nanomaterial silica aerogel in visual arts and design. His career began in Paris, at Sorbonne University, where he presented his thesis on Visual Arts in 1998. After receiving a “Greek Artists” Fulbright Award in 2001, he undertook research on art and nanotechnology at MIT where he started his research on the application of the space age silica aerogel in visual arts. He is the Founding Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, American University of Cyprus (AUCY), Larnaca, Cyprus. An astonishing achievement of Prof. Michaloudis is that in 2022, two of his silica aerogel aer( )sculptures -as part of Carnegie Mellon’s University MoonArk project- they will be rocketed to the moon and exist there for billions of years.

Opening Up on Jewellery with Loukia Richards and Christoph Ziegler

Following the discussion in the previous episode about the article by Loukia Richards, we meet with Loukia and her partner Christoph Ziegler to discuss their work for SMCK Magazine, SMCK on reel, how to get started with writing and of course, what Loukia aimed to achieve with her article titled 'Why does contemporary jewellery not take off?'.

Loukia Richards is a visual artist, curator, and co-publisher of SMCK Magazine. Along with her partner Christoph, she is the curator of SMCK On Reel - the first international video festival inspired by jewellery. The first edition of SMCK ON REEL was screened in Weltraum Gallery and Bayerischer Kunstgewerbeverein during Munich Schmuck week in July 2022. It is followed by SMCK ON REEL - Chain of Solidarity featuring Ukrainian and international jewellery artists working on the theme War & Peace. SMCK ON REEL - Chain of Solidarity takes place during important jewellery events and festivals in October 2022.

Christoph Ziegler studied visual arts at the University of the Arts in Berlin and the École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille. In 2015, after ten years of experience in the fields of sculpture, performance and installation, Ziegler started working with jewellery. Along with Loukia (duo name: ZLR Betriebsimperium), Ziegler has curated fifteen international group shows, many of which have received German state funding."

Beyond Silver: Part 2

A special edition episode featuring the plenary speakers of the ACJ 'Beyond Silver' Conference Dr. Jivan Astfalck and Professor Theo Smeets. A discussion about the key themes of the conference, the field and the subject of jewellery. 

Dr. Jivan Astfalck is Professor of Jewellery Art and Design at Birmingham City University. Born in Berlin, where she trained as a goldsmith, she has been living in London for more than 30 years. She obtained her MA in the History and Theory of Modern Art at Chelsea College of Art and Design, and her PhD in Fine Art at the University of the Arts London.

Theo Smeets has been working since 1998 as Professor for jewellery at the University of Applied Sciences Trier at the Department of Gemstone and Jewellery in Idar-Oberstein. He has been Head of the Department since 2017. He studied gold- and silversmithing at Schoonhoven (1982-1986) and jewellery design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy (1986-1992) in Amsterdam.

Beyond Silver: Part 1

A special edition episode recorded during the conference 'Beyond Silver' of the Association for Contemporary Jewellery. A discussion on the theme of the conference, the impact of conferences, the state of play in the field, the major challenges and opportunities and where we go from here, featuring collector Linda Lambert, educator and jeweller Bridie Landon and Chair of the Association for Contemporary Jewellery Terry Hunt.

Terry Hunt is the Association for Contemporary Jewellery Chair. He is a designer-maker, and his practice has predominantly been concerned with exploration of surface pattern and colour using titanium and anodised aluminium. Most recently, this has grown to include larger sculptures in coloured plastics.

Bridie Lander is an experienced jewellery designer/maker and lecturer. Her personal research interests include issues of the handmade and the digital, intersections of art and design. She considers art jewellery as a medium, an interface of the virtual (interiority, the imaginary) and the real. 

Linda Lambert is director of the Association for Contemporary Jewellery. Until she retired, Linda Lambert was the Publisher for the Visual Arts at A&C Black Publishers (now part of Bloomsbury). During her time there, she established a number of Crafts lists, but notably the Jewellery list which included the Jewellery Handbooks series that continues today. Linda joined the ACJ when she first started looking into the field of jewellery.

Meanings and Messages with Anthony Wong

A conversation with Anthony Wong, a director of the Association for Contemporary Jewellery, on the association's 25th Anniversary events and the benefits and support for members.

The Association for Contemporary Jewellery (ACJ)
Contemporary jewellery is one of the most dynamic and innovative areas of 21st-century craft and design, that inspires and appeals to people of all different backgrounds. The association welcomes anyone with an interest in contemporary jewellery. Whether your interest is personal or professional, they have something to offer you. 

Anthony Wong specialises in the design and manufacture of exciting, innovative, contemporary handmade jewellery, art and precious objects. Anthony believes that the purity and innovation of materials, the method and the strength of the form are captivating. He works to distil and strip designs to their minimum form to produce pieces with a timeless interest, imbibing snippets of stories through clues, in form and material. Current work highlights the belief of fate, migration and re-settlement.

Alongside his making practice, Anthony is also an ACJ director, helping to shape the work of the association. His brooch, “BOILED.POACHED, SCRAMBLED OR FRIED – Someone throw me a lifeline” was selected for the ACJ’s 25th-anniversary tour, Meanings and Messages and he is also speaking at Beyond Silver, the ACJ’s 2022 conference, with a presentation titled; The Blue Funnel Line and a Ring in his Pocket, exposing his final and ongoing work, produced during a Ma at RCA.

Narrative Jewellery with Jonathan Boyd

A conversation with Jonathan Boyd, a multi-award winning Artist and Jeweller working with a variety of materials, specialising in conceptual and narrative-led jewellery and objects. Jonathan is the Reader in Jewellery as well as the Head of Programme in Jewellery and Metal (Acting) at the Royal College of Art in London. He is an active practitioner and researcher in the areas of Jewellery and Metal.

Jonathan's research focuses on exploring the relationships between language and objects. His practice-led, critically reflective research employs an interdisciplinary approach, utilizing digital and analogue working methods placing jewellery at the centre of the dynamic relationship between person and thing.

​The Precious Collective celebrating Art Jewellery

A conversation with the four powerhouses (Lynn Speake, Lucy Spink, Juan Riusech, Spam Glam) behind Precious Collective, a collective with over 300 members from around the world, who organises exhibitions, charitable calls and much more. 

​Precious Collective was formed to celebrate Art Jewellery; showcasing this art form to new audiences. Through building a community, networking and creating a dialogue between members in various countries, Precious Collective supports the sharing of ideas and knowledge. With around 300 members across the world what binds Precious members together is their ambiguous relationship to notions of what is ‘precious’. Makers who wish to become part of the group either follow this line of thinking or work in ways that challenge traditional jewellery making through materials, techniques or concepts. The collective offers opportunities to makers at all stages of their jewellery career and as a result, creates opportunities that may not normally be financially viable or even possible on a personal level. 

https://www.preciouscollective.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4RF1a1i4C8flEu3PFHNSCA

The female power behind Studio Collect with Saskia Govaerts

A conversation with one of the female founders of the Antwerp based jewellery label Studio Collect about running a label as a team, working with retailers and more.

After graduating from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Hermien, Saskia, Magaly and Hannah decided to join forces and founded Studio Collect in 2013. A shared passion and vision on jewellery design led to their collaboration. Characterised by clean aesthetics and functional form, Studio Collect shapes contemporary jewellery for everyday wear, satisfying both practical and poetic needs. Their jewellery is carefully crafted by hand in their studio in Antwerp. Since launching their label, Studio Collect has continually refined, perfected and pushed the boundaries of its jewellery making.