New for 2015

I have been busy working on new designs for my SS15 collection. Here are some of my favourites below:

Pretty in Pink Sterling Silver Ring, available here

Pink Sapphire Cherry Blossom Necklace, available here

Green Amethyst Drop Earrings, available here

Moon Bunnies in Love Necklace, available here

How to Make Sterling Silver Stud Earrings

Sometimes it's fun to know how the jewellery you wear is actually made. I thought I would share how I recycle the scrap silver left when I cut out my designs by making it into sterling silver studs.

For this, you need a charcoal block, which encourages the sterling silver to collect into a molten ball when it is heated. 

This scrap of silver is the middle between two cut out squirrels! 

When heated with a torch, the silver starts to melt and draws together, you can see the ball shape starting to form.

Suddenly the ball shape is formed.

It takes quite some time for the metal to cool.

Here is the finished pair of earrings available from my etsy shop.

This Is Halloween

I had a tiny length of cast silver twig left from a previous project and I was wondering what on earth I could do with it. It occurred to me that it might make a good broom handle. 

 I inherited some embroidery threads that were owned by my great grandmother (she had a seriously impressive array of colours in an old biscuit tin) so I soldered a small jump ring to one end of the twig and created a mulberry coloured silk tassel, tying it with a contrasting amber brown colour. 

I've added an earring post so that it can be worn as an earring. It is long enough so that it just brushes your shoulder (please forgive the pun!)

I've placed it next to a doll's house sized broom for comparison.

AW14 Designs

 These photos showcase my new bracelet designs for AW14:

The idea of combining distinctive fabric ribbons with precious charms was in part inspired by the tradition of foundling tokens, which form part of The Foundling Museum Collection in London. Parents that were unable to care for their children and had to place them at the Foundling Hospital would leave swatches of fabric from their clothing or a silver charm or even a coin for the child to remember them by. It's a very moving place to visit and indicates how precious simple items such as a ribbon can be. 

The sari ribbon used for the bracelets is Fair trade and made in India from silk waste (sari material offcuts), which would otherwise be sent to landfill sites. The ribbons are purchased from women's co-operatives in India allowing the women to work from home and earn their own income from their craft.

The bracelet can be worn in different ways making a feature bow worn on the wrist or a double knot tucked underneath the rest of the fabric. I will be making several variations over the next few weeks.

Jewellery Designs by Sarah Birt Now For Sale in the National Portrait Gallery, London

I had some very exciting news last Friday!

A range of my jewellery inspired by the Tudor and Jacobean portraits in the National Portrait Gallery, London will be on sale from Monday in their new pop-up shop on the second floor.

You can see the build of the shop in progress below:

The shop accompanies an exciting new exhibition entitled The Real Tudors: Kings and Queens Rediscovered, which opens tomorrow (Friday, 12th September).

The paintings on display juxtapose portraits of famous Tudor Kings and Queens alongside some of the objects that they most treasured in life. Examples of such objects include Henry VIII's rosary, a page from Edward VI's diary in which he reports his father's death and Elizabeth I's locket ring, which contains a miniature portrait traditionally thought to depict her mother, Anne Boleyn.

Best of all, this display is completely free!

Taking note of the highly decorative detailing on the historic costumes depicted in the portraits of Elizabeth I, I designed an entirely new range of jewellery to celebrate the fascinating styles of dress in sixteenth-century Britain.

The Lace Point Earrings above evoke the lace cuffs depicted in The Ditchley Portrait of Elizabeth I.

This Tudor Hand Pendant (above) with the Tudor Hand Earrings (below) were directly inspired by another Portrait of Elizabeth I that features Queen Elizabeth I holding a feather fan.

Finally, this Tudor Ruff Ring encapsulates the stiff, starched decorative ruffs worn by monarchs and courtiers alike giving a modern, wearable twist to a striking, historic design.

The National Portrait Gallery is situated in central London, with Leicester Square and Charing Cross as the tube nearest stations. The address is 2 St Martin's Place, London, WC2H 0HE.

I really hope that you like these new designs and also enjoy the display!

Ceramics for Beginners - Part Three

Well, I finished my vase! It came out with a blue green interior and a white speckled exterior.

The bunny survived too!

All in all, I don't think it's bad for a first attempt. I'm contemplating a further course in the autumn. It would be nice to see how much I can improve!

Ceramics for Beginners - How to Make a Vase Part Two

This week I attended the second part of my ceramics course.

Happily my vase did not crack in the kiln! It has been fired to 1000°C. This is called biscuit firing and is a two part process, leaving the clay porous and ready to accept the glaze.

I tested the process of dipping clay into glaze using my test piece. The green glaze will have a pink hue when it is fired. The white patch will have a natural clay colour with white speckles.

For the inside of my vase, I poured a blue green glaze into the vase and swirled it around inside quickly. It is essential not to let the glaze get too thick.

I then dipped the vase upside down (bunny first) into a white glaze, which was pretty thick. This was just one dip.

I tried sponging on the blue green glaze near the base of the vase for extra detail. It is ready to be fired again. I get to collect it on Monday. Hopefully it will survive the second firing process!!!