INSPIRATION
“A love of pattern is central to my designs, inspired by the busy Victorian aesthetic but with a modern, balanced approach. The idea of the heirloom fascinates me, sentimental pieces building significance as they’re passed down through generations. It is this emotional value which I aim to imbue into my jewellery.
Alison x.”
THE ATELIER
Alison started her practice in 2003 after graduating from Edinburgh College of Art. Following 10 years in Glasgow she is now back in the Dumfriesshire countryside where she grew up.
The atelier is in the village of Thornhill. It’s a space filled with inspiration, printing trays full of treasures, pavement finds and a pin board covered in magazine cuttings and postcards.
It is important to Alison to have a hand in designing and making every jewellery piece giving it her own unique style and never compromising on quality of craftsmanship.
THE PROCESS
“At my workbench my favourite tools are at hand, piercing saws, tweezers, soldering torches, files, mallets and planishing hammers.
I start each new piece in silver, individually creating every tiny fish scale, building up the design and soldering each one in place. I cut the finished silver pattern to my desired shape then a mould is made and the shape is cast in Fairtrade gold. Then each unique jewellery piece is composed, sometimes the casting is reformed, sometimes I add clusters of stones by making tiny settings to hold each one in place. I work intuitively, responding to the stones I have gathered and the shapes around me while constantly referring to my sketchbook. Ax”
A few of my favourite things...
. A woolly scarf
. Radio 4 in the workshop
. 6 Music at home
. Museum visits
. Al fresco dining
. A rummage at the car boot sale
. Margaritas
. Dancing (often aided by the above)
SPECIAL THANKS
Photography: Laura Sparrow / Caro Weiss / Samuel Sparrow / Stacey Bentley / Shannon Tofts
Words: Emily Tryon / Amy Wilson
Bespoke
As well as making our collections Alison takes great joy in working with customers collaboratively to create unique pieces.
“The ring arrived earlier today and I just wanted to drop you a line to say it’s absolutely beautiful and everything I wanted.
Thank you so much for all your time and patience!
”
“I chose to have my wedding ring made by Alison as I have several other pieces of her Jewellery and adore and cherish each one so I knew having my wedding band made by her I would cherish it even more. The advice Alison gave me in choosing the style of band and metal that would work with my engagement ring was super helpful and made making my decision really easy. I absolutely love my ring and don’t think I could have found a ring that worked better with my engagement ring, it also came in a gorgeous little vintage ring box which I treasure just as much as the ring itself.
”