Emily Bedford creates jewellery collections drawing on 20 years of bench experience, the expertise of specialist master craftsmen/women and cutting edge technology. A lifelong passion for music and many years of dance training contribute to a fluid and experimental way of working rather than drawing out each design precisely.
Her career began in 1995 at Sir John Cass with a series of City and Guilds courses in Enamelling, Silversmithing and Jewellery Design/Manufacture. At her first open studio event in 2000 a Japanese department store ordered 50 pairs of solid gold earrings providing her with sufficient capital to embark on a full time venture. She considers herself to be heavily self taught as experimentation and advice from master craftsmen and women past and present has informed much of her technique. My visual language can be described as having a clean, crisp, contemporary style with an historic essence.
Emily Bedford
jewellery
About
“Working mainly in gold and silver I am fascinated by combining traditional techniques with computer-aided design endeavouring to 'touch two ages' to create a modern medieval aesthetic.”
Emily Bedford
Process
Emily Bedford combines computer aided design with traditional bench techniques, soldering and polishing everything in house. When a design is complete, it is sent to CAD designers who help transform the design into a 3d printable item. This is particularly suited to the geometric rings for example. For other pieces such as earrings, metal is used to create 'masters' for the casting process and then multiples casts are made. Sometimes wax is used to carve the master. Stone setting round stones is done increasingly more and more by Emily and an expert stone setter is used currently for other shapes. Coloured resin is added by Emily although now things moving towards using enamelling as an alternative and more sustainable practice. Everything is designed, produced, made and finished either in her studio or in Hatton garden ( a distance of 1 square mile ).
