Twisted Jewellery

Since it’s founding in 1998, Mint has been proud to showcase the latest emerging talent. This year’s Twisting Tradition exhibition has featured jewellery designers, each pushing the boundaries of the craft in their own way.

Please continue reading to find out a little more about the designers and their work.

Linnea Nilsson-Gray

Linnea has created unique rings from cows bone, highlighting the beauty of these often disposed of waste. By boiling the bones, a stronger white hue was created. Linnea designed the pieces for her graduate collection at Central Saint Martins.

Bone, resin

Kota Okuda

Kota’s work explores the boundary between fine art and jewellery design, investigating the juxtaposition of cultures and cultural integration. Kota’s aim is to sabotage them and create a quixotic collection which reflects the secularization of a Western stereotypical icon, such as Tartan check, the Balmoral bonnet, Glengarry hat, feather accessory and checkered pattern.

Pioneer Days Headpiece

Fiona Chong

A recent Jewellery Design graduate from Central Saint Martins, Fiona draws inspiration from tribal practices and the elaborate hairstyles of Ancient Rome. Though seemingly composed of natural materials, the intricate hairpieces are rendered in an artificial porcelain shell, a deception only visible on close inspection. Juxtaposing references to classic Roman busts as well as tribal body adornment, the headpieces play on the idea of ornament as a way to represent societal status in a modern context.

Muse, 2015. Porcelain, brass, nylon, cotton, base metal and freshwater pearl

Maria, 2015. Porcelain, leather, epoxy and cotton

Studio Gutedort

Studio gutedort was founded in 2014 by the two German textile designers Eva Schlechte and Jennifer Hier. The concept of their work is based on rediscovering rudimental matters and shows a particular way to handle materials: An intersection of craftsmanship and design combined with an experimental position represents their design approach. The resulting objects hold a subtle beauty which try to conciliate between culture and nature.

Hidden Beauty – Inner Skins takes entrails, such as bladders and intestines, from sheep, pigs and cows to create beautiful and delicate objects. A complex tanning process transforms the inner skins into soft leather-like forms that preserve the original shape of the organs. An inspiring project which aims to overcome our prejudices and instead appreciate beauty for its appearance even in the least regarded objects.

Studio Gutedort Photography © Philip Kottlorz

Mark Sturkenboom

Mark Sturkenboom is an artist who graduated in 2012 from Artez Academy for the Arts in Arnhem, Netherlands. Mark’s work balances between art and design, stretching the boundaries between rusted manners and new ideas. Since 2012, he has worked as a conceptual product designer and artist in his atelier in Utrecht.

His focus lies not on the appearance of things, but on what he calls; ‘The deeper layers in the relation between an object and its owner.’ His products are an attempt to challenge a myriad of associations and stimulate our thinking about what counts to us in our lives. He examines new meanings in relation to products and sets them free from their conventional use.

Brooches; 14 kt goldplated, Dom Perignon Champagne cork wire cases.

If you have any questions about any of the pieces featured above please email us at sales@mintshop.co.uk.