FEATURE
What are your 2018 business goals?
In 2018 I will continue to grow my business and my bench skills
alongside my full time job as a university lecturer at the School of
Jewellery. Over summer I will be focusing on my own solo show,
which I am currently putting plans down for and hopefully will
be touring my work around the UK and hopefully further afield.
SARA PRENTICE
Creative director,
House of Garrard
Can you give me a description of
job title and what you do?
I handle the look of the brand, the
design and make sure that the tone of
voice is correct. It’s the point of who
the brand is and that all comes from
me, although I am still very muc h
involved in designing the collections.
What drew you to the industry in
the first place?
Initially I wanted to do fashion, and I
2005 - 2007:
went along to an art college with my
Graffs
portfolio in hand to go to my interview
2007:
for a fashion course. I walked past
Fabergé
the jewellery design section, and at
2012 - Present:
the time I didn’t even realise it was
House of Garrard
something you could do. I had a look
at the course and I really loved the idea
that it was not only design but there was a practical element to it as well.
that carried down through the years, and if you go to a lot of the
workshops around Hatton Garden there generally do tend to be
men running them. In that regard there aren’t a lot women in the
workshop environment in the industry.
What advice would you give to women who want to get into the
industry?
Don’t give up. You do have to work at it and I think that for any
opportunity you are given you need to maximise that to the limit.
You have to get your name out there, knock on the doors. Like most
industries you also have to hound people and that’s not easy. Also,
enter competitions, since you get your name out there by doing that.
What are your 2018 business goals?
We have just launched our new collection called Fanfare, which has
gone down a storm. So we will be looking to add new and exciting
pieces to this collection.
HARRIET KELSALL
Founder and chair of Harriet
Kelsall Jewellery Design
1993 - 2005:
Cartier
Tell me about some of the awards you have won?
In 1994 I won my first proper prize for the Goldsmith’s Craft and
Design Council. I won a lot first and second commendations and
ended up being a judge for the competition for about 16 years.
Tell me a bit about how you design your jewellery?
Everyday is unique, there are so many things going on. I like to be
very inclusive in the way I work, it’s very important to get all the
teams input into what we are doing. For Garrard it’s very much
about the heritage, so I would find a moment in our history which
I think is relevant and we will use that as a starting point for the
inspiration. We then have an offsite brainstorming session for a
couple of days were we just sit and design.
What challenges do women face in the industry?
You’re not taken quite as seriously being both a woman and being
younger. Also I think in the jewellery industry (and most other
industries), there is a very old school network. There are traditions
April 2018 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk
1998 - Present:
Harriet Kelsall Jewellery
Design (Founder & Chair)
2016 - Present:
National Association of
Jewellers (Vice Chair and
soon to be Chair)
2016 - Present:
Responsible Jewellery
Council (NED)
British Hallmarking
Council (NED)
2018 - Author:
‘The Creative’s Guide
to Starting a Business’
will be published in
September
Can you give me a description of
job title and what you do?
I am the founder and chair of Harriet
Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery- that’s my
main job. I am still in some way
involved in running the business, but
not the operational side of things,
which is handled by the managing
director and the management team.
What drew you to the industry in
the first place?
My father was a doctor for the
NHS, but he was also a really
talented jeweller. He used to make
jewellery to help pay the school
fees. So I grew up watching him
make jewellery, and when I was
four I made my first ring with him
- I got the jewellery making bug at
an early age.
Tell me about some of the awards
you have won?
We are very lucky to have won
lots of awards, particularly for
design, business, ethics and innovation. I wanted to design things
on individual bases - unique jewellery made for each customer,
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