Announcing the Winners of JewelFund 2022
Blog
Introducing the winners of our £1000 JewelFund grants for 2022 ...
JewelFund is now in its fifth year and this year I am awarding six grants including three to ethnic minority jewellers.
I’d like to thank every jeweller that applied for JewelFund. We had over 500 applications this year, so shortlisting and choosing was a difficult job.
The winners get a £1000 grant each to be spent on their jewellery business, 1-year membership for Jewellers Academy and two 1-2-1 business mentoring sessions with me. We will be keeping you up to date with their progress throughout the year so do give these jewellers a follow on social media to support them.
Announcing the winners!
Alice fry
Alice graduated from The Glasgow School of Art in 2020, setting up her business in June of that year. She has also studied at Bishopsland Educational Trust and shown her work at several prestigious exhibitions.
Alice makes one-off pieces inspired by rocks, crystals and mineral specimens using the technique "chasing and repousse". Alice is one of two makes in the UK who specialise in using Niobium which she uses to add highlights of colour in her work.
Alice is going to use her JewelFund grant to purchase a polishing motor from Durston as this will allow her to polish her jewellery and silverware items efficiently and also to create and maintain the punches for her chasing and repousse work. Having this polishing motor will also allow her to run workshops, with students being able to learn how to make their own tools.
Find out more about Alice and her business
Website: www.alicefry.com
Instagram: @Alicefryjewellery
Images and designs copyright Alice Fry
Jessica Bamborough
Jessica Bamborough is a jeweller based in Australia. Jessica's jewellery business, Jedika Jewellery is currently on hiatus due to the horrific floods in her area which caused her to lose her home and studio.
Jessica is going to use her JewelFund grant to replace her lost materials and get started making again. Her work was stocked in local galleries but she has been unable to restock them.
Jessica is also hoping to move into working with gold and fine jewellery.
Find out more about Jessica and her business:
Website: https://www.jedikajewellery.com
Instagram: @jedikajewellery
Images and designs copyright Jessica Bamborough
Martha Schmidt
Martha Schmidt sells handcrafted jewellery inspired by nature, mythology and ancient tales under her brand Copper Cauldron Art. Starting in 2017, she is self taught and has been continuously developing her skills, starting with metal clay and now working with traditional goldsmithing techniques, stone setting and wax carving.
Martha is based in Germany and will be spending some of the grant on a plugin to make her website bilingual, part of her new online marketing strategy. With the rest of the grant, she will be booking booths at two festivals that suit her target market where she can show her collections and upcoming bespoke services.
Find out more about Martha:
Website: www.coppercauldronart.com
Instagram: @coppercauldronart
Yala Jewellery
Audrey Migot-Adholla runs the Bristol-based Yala Jewellery. Yala started 4 years ago as a hobby and was the first jewellery company in the UK to become a certified B Corp. Yala uses traditional materials and production techniques with a low carbon footprint and the majority of the pieces are made using recycled brass, glass beads and deadstock leather.
Audrey is going to invest her grant into the development of new designs and inventory, which will re-engage her customer base.
Yala is currently a one-woman business but Audrey is hoping to grow it and hire assistants. She wants the brand to make it easy for consumers to make sustainable buying decisions, with the B Corp status being a guiding light for everything she does.
Find out more about Yala Jewellery:
Website: www.yalajewellery.com
Instagram: @yalajewellery
Maun Glass Recycling initiative
The Maun Glass Recycling Business was established in 2020 as a livelihood initiative in Maun, Botswana. The business employs 7 women who have been trained to make glass beads in a traditional kiln, to use a modern glass smelting kiln and to string the beads together effectively. . They recycle glass bottles to make rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces which are currently sold in safari camps and 2 other local stores in Maun.
The JewelFund grant will be used to create a shop area for their products, installing shelves created by a local craftsperson and also a shade for the area in front of the shop where the jewellers can meet potential clients and demonstrate how they create their pieces.
Images copyright Maun Glass Recycling Initiative
Lala grace calle
Lala Grace Calle is a marine biologist by day and a metalsmith at night, using silver, brass and copper with sea glass. She has an assistant helping with wire wrapping and stainless steel jewellery, the money earnt goes towards her children’s school needs.
Lala also works with a small island community in the Philippines which has a small community that picks sea glass. Lala is going to use the grant to invest in new tools which will enable her to create more jewellery which will help more sea glass pickers. She would also like to hire another assistant from her community
Website www.sakilidbaybay.com
Instagram @sakilidbaybay
Images copyright Lala Grace Calle