Cracker
9th November - 29th Jan 2006
Lively collections of new and old favorites from Britain and abroad
Poster from the exhibition
CRACKER
'Cracker' pulls together the work of 19 designers and artists from the UK and overseas in an exciting festive exhibition of jewellery and gifts.
You don’t normally find old china, hand crocheting, knitted wire, jumper sleeves or saris in your Christmas cracker, but in KLJ’s ‘Cracker’ they are all used to create collectable quirky brooches, rings and neckpieces!
Rebecca Barnes’ work is one of a number of collections chosen from this year’s hottest talents at the ‘New Designers’ graduate showcase in London; fascinated by old china and the etiquette of tea drinking, Rebecca reworks porcelain and ceramic into delicate rings and necklaces - the pale blue and white ‘Tag’ necklace and ring is even presented inside a teabag! Another new talent, Tanvi Kant, creates versatile neckpieces from a string-like material made from thin strips of sari fabric wrapped with fine coloured threads, whilst Natalie Ryde draws her inspiration from the garden – textiles, silver, glass and plastics are combined in her necklaces which all come with their own containers and have names such as No Shrinking Violet, Greenfinger and Three Green Finches.
By contrast, ‘Cracker’ also showcases elegant collections of gold and precious stone brooches and rings from Barcelona jeweller Silvia Piva, Naomi Sheppard’s silver and gold brooches that twist into your clothes and don’t need fastening – perfect on winter coats and woollies – and the strong, simple lines of Gill Newton’s rings, bangles and earrings in gorgeous brushed silver and gold.
Collections by local designers include Dionne Swift’s framed textile wallpieces, Sarah Lawrence’s sparkly hammered silver earring and pendant sets, Chris Phillipson’s silver textured cufflinks and Deb Price’s bright and funky brooches, bags and purses made from woollen blankets and jumper sleeves! International highlights are provided by Blanka Šperková’s hand knitted wire jewellery and her unique, large-scale sculptural pieces along with Markéta Sumannová’s delicate hand crocheted fine filament neckpieces decorated with tiny stones or sequins.
Designed to work with the season’s favourite fashion colours of teal, grey, dark greens and hints of purple, are Leom Heath and Katie Clarke’s must-have earrings, chokers and bracelets using silver, glass beads and feathers., whilst a new flock of irreverent, bird-inspired wall pieces by Cathy Miles flies in for the exhibition, following a sell-out success during the summer.
But perhaps the ultimate original present is one of Sarah Chilton’s neckpieces or huge ‘multi-finger’ rings – made from resin, they portray delightful scenes based on life and characters from her remote Lake District village – but she can make customised pieces featuring your own family, pets or friends!
Kath Libbert comments: “It has been great fun selecting the work for ‘Cracker’, both revisiting Gallery favourites to discuss new collections and discovering amazing new talents that I can’t wait to showcase in the exhibition. It really does make for a cracking combination!”.
