Striking jewellery pulls an outfit together. It can make a Primark dress look positively Pucci or take you from understated elegance to rock chick in a matter of seconds. Imagine being able to make your own! Beth Squires investigates...
Jewellery designer and creator Claire Aristides knows all the tricks and so much more; this stylish, friendly and laid-back lady not only creates her own beautiful designer jewellery, she also holds regular courses in order to pass her knowledge on to all who are interested. Held in Clerkenwell Workshops, the day-long creative course not only imparts wonderful wisdom but also gives you the chance to take away your first self-designed and created pieces to wow your friends and family with!
Ten learning-hungry ladies sat at the place settings round the table, but instead of plates and cutlery in front of us, there were pliers and booklets full of info and tips for the jewellery making we would be taking part in. In the centre of the table were plates of biscuits and chocolate treats as well as teas, coffees and water to ensure we were all kept going through what Claire and her lovely assistant Skye assured us would be an exhausting day.
We started with the tools; two types of pliers and a wire cutter. Claire explained clearly how we would use these tools and drew diagrams on the board to help those who had never touched a pair of pliers before. Her relaxed manner put any worries I had about my innate clumsiness to rest – that was before I got into a tangle creating the tiny and perfectly rounded wire loops with the long headpins.
Once we had mastered (ish) the tools it was time to move on to joining the beads together and finishing them with beadcaps to add that professional touch. Before we knew it, we had all completed our first pair of earrings!
Just before lunch Claire showed us to the table we had been peering at all morning; A feast for the eyes, full of trinkets, chains, beads, clasps and vintage jewellery just begging to be reworked. That’s another fabulous thing about this day, if you bring your own old forgotten bits of jewellery and hand me downs, Claire will advise you on how to rework them into something you will wear again and again. But if you don’t have anything, there’s a box of delights there that should satisfy the most demanding vintage needs and make your piece more one-of-a-kind.
Claire had to drag us all away from our burgeoning projects to eat yummy sandwiches for lunch and encouraged us to take a breath of fresh air outside. By the time I got back inside half the ladies were already working on their own designs and beginning to add beads to the chains in front of them. There was no time to lose!
First I started work on a long necklace with a cluster of charms at the bottom, working round an anchor charm I found in Claire’s second-hand box. I joined three pearls together to create another charm, and a couple of other beads to finish it off. Measuring the necklace against my body for length, I evened up the sides and added a clasp and voila! My first self-designed and handmade piece was finished. Next I made a pair of earrings with dainty silver butterflies and pearls to match the necklace, and for my final piece I found a silver brooch shaped like an iguana that I decided to work into a funky necklace. Claire helped me work out which chain to use so it wasn’t too flimsy, and how to weight it so it would hang nicely. She was full of ideas, and answered the myriad of questions fired at her from around the room with wisdom, clarity and patience. I added a couple of green beads on either side of the iguana and my third piece was completed, it was so satisfying!
Looking round the room I was amazed at what everyone had created, there were so many different inspirations infused into the designs and all were individual. This is not a course that pushes you into copying a designer’s already-made pieces, Claire is all about encouraging the designer-within-you to the fore, helping to form unique pieces which reflect the creator.
Claire runs these jewellery workshops twice a month, and I would highly recommend them to all marmaLADIES with a creative streak, whether you’re aware you have one or not. If you can’t make it along to a course Claire’s jewellery-making kits are available from www.clairearistides.com – which consists of a box similar to one that we got to take home at the end of the course – and if you want further tuition her book will be out in September and promises to be full of inspiration.
