Holiday!!

With the Edinburgh Fringe Festival upon us, for the last few months my Edinburgh suppliers have been asking for more and more of my work. Not that I am complaining but I also have a full time job at Borders Books so spring and summer this year have been really, really busy! I've loved it but I also was in desperate need of a holiday! So I went to Nice, Cannes and Monaco for a week.

Nice is full of very inspriational images from mosaics, gravestones, windows, lamp-posts, parisols...the list goes on. Just walking around the old town in Nice is amazing with the brightly coloured buildings and beautiful shuttered windows.

Some images from the old town

Auer Chocolatier and Tea shop and the Negresco Hotel.

Beautiful skies.

Fort Royal on Ile Sainte Marguerite and the Cathedrale Saint Nicolas in Nice

This holiday was amaxing, I saw some amazing sights such as the Baie des Anges from Parc du Chateau, the red carpet at Cannes and the bright lights of Monte Carlo! High points included having dinner at La Retonde, a carousel themed reataurant in the Negresco Hotel, winning on the slot machines at Casino MonteCarlo and walking around the Ile Sainte Marguerite, an island just off the coast of Cannes.

All in all a great, inspirational, sun filled hoilday!

Busy times!

I have been making new pieces for some lovely new galleries and outlets as well as some existing ones (details available on my website). I am really enjoying working on my new pieces and just having fun in my workshop at WASPS and at my mini workshop in the spare room. I have started working with semi precious beads and making larger, bolder pieces which have proved to be really popular. The neckpieces are a LOT of work but the more i make them, the more i am prefecting the technique! The best part about these pieces is when combine the beads and the silver together and i can see how the different the various stones make the piece look.

My nylon pieces with silver frames are still as popular as ever and i still love making them especially since i had the frames cast! They are my best sellers and i'm working on a couple of commissions based on these pieces right now. Customers that want a subtler piece of fun, quirky jewellery seem to be drawn to this work.

I am planning to post more work in progress type images as i find these very interesting on other jewellers and craftspeoples blogs. Keep an eye out...

Welcome to the Blog of Ruth Gordon Jewellery

Welcome to my Blog!

I will try to update this blog as much as possible but you can also check out my website www.ruthgordonjewellery.co.uk

Ruth Gordon Jewellery 2004 - Present

The story so far.....Shortly after setting up my studio/workshop in the Meadowmill Building owned by WASPS (Workshop and Artists' Studio Provision Scotland Ltd), I graduated from Duncan of Jordanstone in 2004 with a BDes (HONS) in Jewellery and Metal Design. I then exhibitted at New Designers in London which was great not only for the excellent exposure and experience but also to see so many other talented artists work.

In January 2005 i attended 'Getting Started' at Goldmsiths Hall in London which is a week-long course for recent UK graduates of precious metal courses. A series of seminars and workshops held by such proffessionals in the trade as Martyn Pugh, Jane Adam, Theo Fennell and Shaun Leane, the course focusses on the 'Next Steps' for those wishing to pursue a career in the industry. I would recommend it to EVERYONE in the Jewellery business!

Since then i have exhibited all over Britain and in Japan. Notable exhibitions include BraveArt Exhibition in London, 'gifted' at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, The Bluecoat Display Centre in Liverpool, Showcases at the Crawford Arts Centre in St. Andrews and the Architecture Centre in Bristol, ‘flux’ at Brilliantly Birmingham and Contemporary Art Jarfo (CAJ) in Kyoto, Japan.

Ruth Gordon Jewellery has also been featured in the press several times since setting up in business. Articles in the The Courier and Advertiser in both September 2004 and October 2007, The Press and Post in March 2005 and Findings Magazine in September 2006 described Ruth Gordon Jewellery and had photos of my jewellery and myself and studio partner, Genna Delaney, working in our studio. Details of my practice along with images have also appeared in The Jewellers Directory by Association for Contemporary Jewellery (November 2007) and Second Steps Portfolio 2 (BCF Books 2004).

I sell my work online through Velvet Boutique with whom i have also participated in many fairs in Edinburgh. I exhibit regulary with Angela Mellor Gallery in Cambridge, The Dick Institute in Kilmarnock, McGill Duncan Gallery in Castle Douglas and The Queens Gallery in Dundee.

Every year myself and Genna Delaney participate in the WASPS open studios weekend where the public are invited into artists studio to learn more about their practices and hopefully purchase some work! This happens every year in October.

A full CV is available on my website