Well, what an exciting time for Pogo Jewellery this year is turning out to be! After what has been upon reflection a rather slow start, these past few months have seen so many changes: In the collections, in sales, in exposure... and I can now really see my gamble paying off :)
Having followed my head not my heart, choosing to study English Literature in favour of Art (ooh, poetic) - whch incidentally wasn't to prove a financially more rewarding option for me - the yearning for Creativity would always be my ball and shackle, eventually dragging me down the dark path of drunken student treachery once again. Well okay, so the second time round was hardly hardcore, but one must remember that a girl does have a certain student cred to live upto and I wouldn't want to disappoint....
I almost fell into the jewellery world. Infact, I did fall. Why pretend otherwise for it was a number of happy coincidences that have brought me and my collections to where we are today. My Uncle brought a highly skilled jeweller into our lives, the uber-talented Chris Irick, http://www.chrisirick.com/ and I think this was probably my first proper insight and or awareness into the design-led side of the jewellery world. With textiles, sculpture and carpentry amongst the professional routes my extended family have taken, whilst aware of the instability that self employment can sometimes bring I was equally aware of its rewards and found the idea strangely compelling. Me my own boss, my finances a show of my own determination and hard work. I think it was around then that the penny dropped and I realised I had no option but to follow my heart and throw myself into that creative world. A gamble it may be but with risks come rewards...let's hope :)
I moved to Birmingham to study in the heart of The Birmingham Jewellery Quarter, studying for an HND in Jewellery/Silversmithing in 2005-7. During this time I made the most of the summer courses on offer and enrolled on a course about Anodised Aluminium. The word colour is all that it took to hook me in and is what continues to excite me today. Nowadays I work predominantly in Anodised Aluminium and Sterling Silver and its usually the materials that dictate the collections rather than pre-conceived ideas. Having said that, a year spent teaching English in rural Japan prior to my jewellery studies has influenced my ranges alot both in terms of colour and motif. After graduating I was accepted onto Design Space, a Birmingham City Council incubation scheme that is going from strength to strength- check out this year's delegates (and Pogo Jewellery whilst you're at it!) at The David Louis Project AT Artful Expression, 23/24 Warstone Lane, Hockley, Birmingham, B18 6JQ.
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