Karen Thomas

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Karen Thomas is a jewellery designer and maker, originally from the Midlands, who has been living and working in York for over ten years. She graduated from the Birmingham School of Jewellery (UCE) in 1998 with a BA(hons) degree in Jewellery and Silversmithing. She has worked in a busy trade workshop and taught jewellery making at a local college and school, while also producing her own designs. She now concentrates solely on creating her beautiful, wearable ranges of jewellery, limited editions, one off pieces and commissions. She uses traditional jewellery making techniques;  mainly working in silver, sometimes in gold. She sells her work through galleries across the country.

“I love the process of creating functional, wearable pieces of jewellery, be it constructing a mount for an unusual stone or handcrafting a master, making a mould and running off waxes in order to generate cast units so I can produce ranges of silver jewellery that are affordable.”

“My designs are inspired by the world around me. Whilst studying in Birmingham many of my pieces echoed the cities industrial past. Now in North Yorkshire I take inspiration from the landscape and its colours. I am particularly drawn to the natural forms of the dramatic North East coastline. This is clearly evident in my Silver Shell Collection which comprises four ranges created with solid silver castings made using moulds of actual shells. In contrast, living in the beautiful, historic city of York has also had an impact on my work, some of my designs reflecting the shapes and forms seen in the magnificent architecture.”