Lola Brooks

I discovered a Jeweller called Lola Brooks. She has a website http://lolabrooks.com/ which for some reasoned I can’t get into, probably something really obvious that I missed! I discovered her piece while going through pinterest and absolutely loved it. The piece I saw originally was the Blood Garnet Heart brooch. 

 

 Sienna Gallery

The reasoned I was attracted to it was because I feel like it relates a lot to my B-tech. Although it is a heart with bows on it (which are both very commercial) she has managed to give it her own twist by using different materials. This piece is made from vintage rose cut garnets, stainless steel and 18kt gold. I later discovered the Bubblegum Heart Brooch with a really cute enamelled bow which is now on my Jewellery wishlist. 

Sienna Gallery

I feel so inspired by her work and it makes me think that sometime during my B-tech I could accomplish my aim of making 'artistic" pieces which the public will like.

I Heart Market

This is my stand at the Feb I heart market. I really loved how full the table was and I feel it definitely attracted more people. What I was also pleased about was the response to the notice saying DUT  students. It was the first time I put up this sign and I received a lot of comments about how people prefer students jewellery because it is so creative compared to other jewellery.
This makes me question my original thinking that  people prefer commercial jewellery.

Bracelet

This is a bracelet I made for the market using red leather thong with silver charms.

Origami Bunting

I decided to use my origami hearts to make a bunting around our workshop. It was intended to make people smile but i think it annoyed some people.

Artist Statement

I’m currently doing my B-tech in Jewellery design and manufacturing at Durban Institute of Technology. For my B-tech I’m going to explore how to market myself and my jewellery to the public. The problem that I am facing is that the pieces I find that sell at the markets are very simple commercial pieces and the prices of the pieces are affected by how much money people would walk around a market with. The pieces that I enjoy making are intricate filigree pieces which take up to a week to make so therefore I could never sell them for a price that would work at a market. My aim for my B-tech is to find a balance between the commercial pieces and my filigree work.

Origami Hearts

Take a piece of paper and cut into a triangle

Fold from corner to corner

Bend the two corners to meet up with the top corner

Turn over

Bend half of the solid square down

Bend the two pieces outwards towards the corners

Fold corners to make the heart look more rounded

Origami Heart

       

Rocco Chocco

chocolate brownie from Remos

I Heart Market Feb 2013

 

http://iheartmarket.blogspot.com/ 

My puppy

My cute puppy Bella.

Organic Bracelet

For this bracelet I used a Technique called  reticulation. This is when the metal is heated up to give the silver a very organic feel. I used oxidized silver to give the metal more of a contrast between the different texture and then enamel to add colour.