Meet the Maker 2022 miniblogs
I took part in the annual ‘Meet the Maker’ challenge - a series of daily topics that craft makers are invited to respond to… and here are some of my contributions.
you & your work
It’s ‘March Meet the Maker’ time again, and today’s topic is ‘you & your work’. I’ve posted plenty of my work… so I thought I’d share the love of my #motorbike instead!
I was born and bred on a farm in Shetland and started my jewellery making career on the islands before moving to Glasgow as a teenager to train in Jewellery Design and Manufacture. Glasgow is a great place and I spend 8 wonderful years there working as a jeweller and experiencing city life.
I then headed south to London to work for coloured diamond specialist Wint & Kidd, where I created pieces using amazing gems for interesting people like Kate Moss and Claudia Schiffer, before starting my own business in 2008.
In 2019 I returned to Shetland to be near my family, enjoy the wild nature and expand my business. The video is of me leaving London on my beloved #TriumphStreetTwin (who I named ‘Silver’) to start the 783-mile drive home.
Brand values
People are at the heart of everything I do. I love to create jewellery that my clients will love! And I want each person to enjoy the experience of choosing or designing their pieces.
Jewellery can be a reminder of who we are and evoke a strong sense of identity, and it can signify promises, special occasions and memories.
The journey of owning jewellery is deeply personal - whether it has been bought new, remodelled or passed down, there is always a story. Your story. I am passionate about taking care of your story in the best way I possibly can.
And I am committed to running my business in a fair, ethical and sustainable way > www.karlinanderson.com/ethics
The piece being created in the pictures was for a client who wanted a pendant made from her Mum’s jewellery. It also included her birthstone. We brought them together in a piece she could wear and treasure.
Planning
it takes quite a bit of planning to make jewellery - it’s actually a full-time job!
Making a piece requires client communications, consultation meetings, design work, quotes and pricing, sourcing gems from all over the world, ordering materials… and that’s before I start making… then comes the various metalwork stages, hallmarking, stone setting, finishing and polishing. And all that across multiple projects each at a different stage
When I stop to think about it - this is what I look like!
Favourite
My favourite collection piece is this beaut, my Black Diamond Flight necklace, and I’ve just finished making one today! The wings were hand carved in wax then cast in sterling silver and set with over 200 black diamonds. Look at that sparkle!! There are more photos at karlinanderson.com/wings
There's a commentary on the video if you want to hear my dulcet tones!
Best Decision
One of the best decisions I ever made was to start my own business. And today is International Women’s Day so I’m giving a shout out to some of the Shetland businesswomen whose work in jewellery, design and making that I admire - Anne Marie aka Peerie Oorick, Nielanell and Katie, Sophie and the Shetland Jewellery team, Lisa's Leatherworks, Amy Paul Jewellery, Joanna and the Ninian girls, Helen Robertson, Colleen at Yala, and Donna Smith. You go girls!
Hands at work
These hands have been making jewellery for 28 years, and they take a bit of a battering I’ll never be a hand model but I could perhaps be a burglar as my fingerprints are usually worn off!
Storage
I made this underbench wire rail for my trusty pliers from a London dry cleaners' coat hanger. It's been attached to 3 different benches so far. Some of my pliers have been with me since 1996 when my parents bought me a box of tools before I set off from Shetland to study in Glasgow.
