A chance trip to an art shop in Charlotte Smith’s teens resulted in coming home with wire, beads and a burgeoning passion for making jewellery! Since then, she has completed a BA in Metalwork and Jewellery at Sheffield Hallam followed by a PGCE in Secondary Design and Technology. She has taught in secondary schools for the past 14 years alongside developing as an independent jeweller and acting on the committee for the British Society of Enamellers. An MA at the School of Jewellery in Birmingham allowed Charlotte to explore enamel in more depth and she was pleased to return this year as an artist in residence. Working from her 200-year-old nail-makers cottage in the West Midlands, she carries on a long-standing local tradition of women making from home, except rather than forging iron. Charlotte transforms precious metal into her tactile, award-winning, enamelled jewels. 

The inspiration for Charlotte Smith’s intricate enamelled Bloom Collection of jewellery was initially sparked by the sequins on her daughter’s T-shirt, which caught her eye in an otherwise mundane moment when doing laundry. In replicating the tiny moving parts in silver and enamel, Charlotte has created a collection for Shine which is feminine, tactile and reminiscent of the heavily petalled dahlias in her garden. Each silver petal has been enamelled on both sides in a soft blue or white enamel and sewn into place to allow a subtle playful movement when touched. The edges of each petal have been painstakingly polished so the silver will catch the light, while embellishments of cultured freshwater pearls and recycled 9ct gold add lustre, texture and visual interest to each piece.