Spotlight on Chloe Valorso

Chloe Valorso is an award-winning graduate from Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art. She is the current Cockpit Clear Awardee and took up her place with us in April 2021.

With the launch of the 2022 Cockpit Clear Bursary – now open for applications – we’d like to celebrate Chloe’s progress.

Using jewellery as a shamanic language, Chloe’s pieces act as amulets, empowering the wearer through their compelling symbolic qualities and deep sense of history. She aims to inspire a reconnection to the self, one another and our environment in the witching hours of the 21st century.

Chloe won the RCA Onno Boekhoudt Travel award in 2018 to complete a Shamanic Breathwork training in Bali permitting her to combine her spiritual practices with craft to offer immersive experiences. She was awarded the International Graduate Prize from Gallery MARZEE. She exhibits internationally with her galleries : Intro MARZEE in the Netherlands, Mint in London, Oh My Blue in Venice, Tereza Seabra in Lisbon and Alice Floriano in Porto Alegre, Brazil. She is part of the collective The Pool in Amsterdam.
Her work has been shown at Collect at Somerset House, the Jewellery Biennale and has curated shows for Munich & New York City Jewellery Weeks.

We asked Chloe how she’s been finding her time with us so far:
“Cockpit has been a great space to anchor my practice in London, I have been able to understand how to establish my practice and what the next steps look like.”

What have the events and workshops you’ve attended been like?
“I have taken part in the Make It Count series, London Creative Network, Open Studios and now Digital Marketing. The workshops are a great source of support, and I can see how it’s pushing me to challenge, explore my practice in new ways. Summer Festival Open Studios in 2021 was my first event at Cockpit and was a success.

What difference has the Award made to your development and the development of your practice and business so far?
“Without the Award, I wouldn’t be here. Thanks to Clear Insurance, I have been able to anchor my artistic practice and make it into a business, a portal, a space for me to grow in. I have been able to successfully produce my first large wholesale order which will make it my first year making profit! I have been able to learn new skills, be in my studio almost full time and work with an intern.”

We’re obviously keen to see what the next 6 months hold for Chloe and her practice and asked what she is most looking forward to.

“I’ll be launching my new digital marketing campaign on community/creativity/spirituality by editing an artist book/zine as an alternative look-book to give to new galleries and shops. I am in the process of developing a new collection of sculptural jewellery both worn on the body and on the walls. I am investing in additional equipment to be more and more sustainable in the atelier.”

All of our makers work with Cockpit’s dedicated team of business coaches, and David Crump – Cockpit’s Head of Business Incubation – tells us:  “Chloe has shown drive and determination to make a success of her business, taking advantage of every opportunity to learn and develop, whether though workshops or one-to-one sessions. I’m looking forward to working with Chloe in the months and years to come and have little doubt that she will be a success. A great example of the opportunity that an Award like this can unlock.”

Applications are now invited for the 2022 Cockpit Clear Bursary, with a deadline of  1 March.

About the Cockpit Clear Bursary
Designed for makers in any discipline who have been in business for less than three years, the Cockpit Clear Bursary includes one year of business support and subsidised studio space at Cockpit, as well as an insurance package from Clear Insurance.