Gill Bridgestock

I am a jewellery designer based in the South East of England in the Cinque Port  of Tenterden, Kent, I have exhibited both nationally & internationally & open my studio twice a year to the public.

The intersection of physical process and the final product involves a leap of faith, a willing surrender to the mysteries of the creative process. The outcome is planned, but I love the surprises and the bubbling energy that bring focus as I move through the set of techniques that metal smiths have been using for thousands of years. I love making hard metal look like soft fabric.

I use both ancient and contemporary techniques to create the precious metal fabric that later becomes jewellery. Torches, hammers, chasing tools, and a hammering block and looms are the implements that help me form metal sheet and wire into folded, silky material. Seemingly random, this process is very deliberate, as I heat, fold, hammer, sand, file,weave and buff metal into silky textures.

All my designs where possible are hallmarked with London Assay Office stamps & my own registered ‘GB’ stamp. Fine silver weaves cannot be hallmarked owing to their delicate nature.