Jewellery designer and maker Melanie Lucas has been working in the crafts industry for sometime now; as part of a collaborative to establish a pottery school, teaching marketing and design through storytelling at the UCA in Farnham and Rochester and working with the Crafts Study Centre and other crafts organisations and makers.

A chance encounter a few years ago led her to pick up her silversmithing tools again and what started out as a hobby, making one off pieces for gifts and commissions, turned into something more. Melanie has been selling her jewellery at the Crafts Study Centre since 2017 and remains a favourite amongst visitors and staff.

Here she tells us about her craft and what inspires her.

I have never been a big jewellery wearer - really never loving highly polished and finely made jewellery on me. I never thought it looked right and I’m not a ‘polished’ person, so I think that is why I have always been drawn to more artisanal pieces. I am a romantic and love the notion of giving jewellery as a symbol of love, but I also believe that jewellery should be something that we want to gift to ourselves too. And that is what I really want from those who buy my pieces - that they are something affordable and something we want to wear every day, not tucked away in a jewellery box for special occasions.

In March 2019 I moved into a small ‘shedio’ - a small but beautifully lit space that is part of a small artists garden at ‘Little Acres’ just outside of Farnham. Its a very calm environment and I feel safe and able to switch off and become absorbed in what I am making. Whilst being small, I don’t need much space. I don’t have any fancy equipment and could pretty much survive with a really basic kit; a saw for piercing - thats cutting out - the metal, my trusty collection of hefty beach pebbles I use for texturising the metal, files and paper and my soldering equipment being the key items. I also love my bow-drill that my parents bought me. They were a bit baffled that I was turning down the opportunity of a swanky pillar drill, but I love the slow process of using more traditional tools. I might change in the future, but thats where I am right now. I blame my tutor for that - she taught me to use what you have around you.

No two pieces I make are identical. Each having been cut and textured by hand. I like the organic, earthy feel - I like it that some of my pieces look like they’ve been found in an often ploughed field. I know some people don’t like my work, and when I say I am really ok with that, I often get confused looks. I remember the first time I sold a pair of earrings to a lady who looked exactly like my ideal customer - she really was the person I made those for, I just cant explain that feeling, but it spurred me on to make more and have confidence in my work.

I really am in the infancy of my jewellery making journey, and every time I pick up a tool or a piece of metal, I know I am going to learn something new. Always an admirer of Guy Royle, I have always wanted to learn chasing and repousse - an ancient technique of manipulating the metal with hammers on a pitch base to essentially to create reliefs and embossing on the metal - I love the stories that can be made into the metal and again, the really simple tools required. That is next on my list to learn. I would love to go back to the Roman and medieval times to see the tools and techniques used in those days.

Images by Melanie Lucas

Silver Reticulated Necklace with Moss Aquamarine Beads

Meet the Makers

Here are some of the Makers and Artists we feature in our shop. Check back on our website or on Instagram @craftsstudycentre for future updates.

MELANIE LUCAS

HOW TO FIND US:

The Crafts Study Centre is open from 10am - 5pm Tuesday to Friday and 10am - 4pm on Saturday. The centre is closed on Sunday and Monday. Research visits by appointment only.