Back in June, we visited the School of Jewellery in Birmingham for a very special event. The event was the Graduate Show Industry Event, where we proudly sponsored a few awards presented to the students at the school. The Silver Techniques (HND) Award and New Technologies (DFI) Award.
The School of Jewellery is located opposite our Birmingham store, on Vittoria St in the Jewellery Quarter. The school is part of Birmingham City University and was founded in 1890. Courses held there include jewellery, silversmithing, horology and gemology.
As you can imagine this building houses a lot of talent and this was shown at the Graduate Show that we attended. There were so many amazingly creative pieces on display. This end of year show was a great way to bid farewell to this year’s students. We are sure that all the judges had a hard time picking the winners, like we did. However, we picked the following winners:
- Helenka Boden received the Silver Techniques (HND) Award. We chose Helenka because her creations showed great skill, used traditional smithing techniques and was beautifully finished, showcasing impressive hand skills. It was nice to see how the concept translated from large to small.
- Mary-Beth Hamilton, who won our silversmithing award last year. This year she won the New Technologies (DFI) Award. We thought that her pieces are delicate in design and finished immaculately, with exceptional attention to detail. She also stood out to us because of how she has grown in skills creating work that has a beautiful concept yet commercial.
- We commended Jacob Morgan for the New Technologies (DFI) Award. We commended Jacob because we were impressed by the level of work he has put in, especially with setting and finishing. Proven skills to take into the industry.
On behalf of everyone at Cooksongold, we want to extend our congratulations on the remarkable achievements to all the winners and graduates at the School of Jewellery Awards 2024.
Natasha Mogul