The seventh annual Elements Festival – Scotland’s biggest celebration of jewellery, silver and gold – is underway.
The event has begun with the launch of an online gallery and shop featuring 350 pieces ranging from earrings, rings, brooches and cufflinks to Christmas decorations and silver beakers made by 37 highly skilled designers from Scotland and across the UK.
Next will be pop up showcases, where people can meet the makers and see their work, at:
- Lyon & Turnbull, Broughton Place, Edinburgh (11-13 September)
- Hamilton & Inches, George St, Edinburgh (14-17 October)
- MODERN MADE at the Mall Galleries, The Mall London (27-29 October)
- Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums, Schoolhill, Aberdeen (30-31 October)
Ebba Goring, Chief Executive of festival organisers The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust, said: “Elements has a well-deserved reputation for being the place to find some truly extraordinary work by some of the very finest emerging and established makers and designers.
“This year’s event blends the on-line and the in-person so that people can browse the gold, silver and jewellery at their leisure and in the way that suits them.
“And for the first time we will be taking Elements outside Edinburgh, showcasing superb handcrafted, designer work from Scotland and the rest of the UK at pop ups in Aberdeen and London as well as Edinburgh.”
Organised by the Scottish Goldsmiths Trust in partnership with Lyon and Turnbull auctioneers, Elements brings together work from some of the finest established and emerging makers from Scotland and across the UK. Among them are:
- Caiyang Yin (also known as Curtis Yin): A contemporary jewellery artist currently working as an artist in residence in School of Jewellery, Birmingham City University. Most of his work has a sense of sculptural aesthetics. He regards contemporary jewellery as the physical projection of people’s ideas, emotions or attitudes, and he believes that contemporary jewellery should not be limited by any specific craft, format or material. Caiyang will feature at this year’s Lyon & Turnbull Elements pop up.
- Jessica Jue: who is seeking to reinvent traditional silversmithing techniques. She usually begins with a flat sheet of silver which she forms into hollow shapes using hammers and tools. Jessica will feature at the MODERN MADE Elements pop up in London.
- Sheng Zhang: An award-winning contemporary jeweller and silversmithing designer/maker whose designs are usually influenced and inspired by minimalist art, contemporary architecture and geometrical form. Sheng is currently working on a commission with Rolls Royce. Sheng will feature at this year’s Lyon & Turnbull Elements pop up.
- Emma Louise Wilson: Taking inspiration from the landscapes and weather of Scotland, Aberdeen-based Emma Louise Wilson creates fine silver and enamel jewellery as well as hand raised bowls in either fine silver with enamel decoration. Her work begins in the landscape taking photos of the hills and the sea and collecting pebbles from the beach which are all referenced when working in the silver and enamel. Emma will feature at the Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums Elements pop up.
- Corrinne Eira Evans: A creator of handcrafted contemporary chainmail jewellery – works of wearable art that are soft to the touch and move with the body. Corrinne’s work mixes recycled silver and gold with matt grey titanium. Her new Thunderbolt collection is inspired by the legendary Thunder Bird of north west America.Corrine is doing the Elements pop up at Lyon & Turnbull, Edinburgh.
Other Elements participants include designer-makers Julia Thompson, Orme-Brown, Ellie Air Jewellery, Michelle Currie and Catherine Hartley who will all show pieces made with Fairmined and Fairtrade gold.
Prices in the online gallery and shop range from £58 to £16,000
Due to COVID-19 the usual Elements exhibitions, talks, gatherings and large-scale sales event at Lyon & Turnbull’s Edinburgh showroom cannot be held this year.
- For full details watch https://elementsfestival.co.uk or follow Elements on social media.
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Notes for editors
- Twitter: @scotgoldsmiths @lyonandturnbull
- Instagram: @scottishgoldsmithstrust @lyonandturnbull
- Facebook: @scottishgoldsmithstrust @lyonandturnbull
- Hashtag: #elementsedinburgh #scottishgoldsmithstrust #lyonandturnbull
- Website: www.elementsfestival.co.uk
About the Elements 2021 partners
- The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust (SGT) was founded by The Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh in 2000.
- The SGT has a dynamic programme of opportunities, exhibitions and educational resources.
- The SGT curates the Millennium Silver Collection, Silver of the Stars and the historical archives of The Incorporation.
- It aims to promote and support the education, art and craft of Scotland’s gold and silversmithing heritage and trade.
- In recent years, their work has expanded with the creation of the Ethical Making Programme to support the adoption of responsible and sustainable practices in Jewellery and Silversmithing.
- Established in Edinburgh in 1826, Lyon & Turnbull are Scotland’s oldest firm of auctioneers. In recent years Lyon & Turnbull has become one of the fastest growing independent auction houses in the UK. They have achieved this through innovative marketing, flexibility and dedication to personal service delivered by a team of specialists. It has offices and representatives throughout the U.K. in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
- Together with Samuel T. Freeman & Co, Philadelphia’s leading appraisers and auctioneers, they make a powerful transatlantic force in today’s auction world. Both Freeman’s and Lyon & Turnbull are now becoming identified on an international stage, setting world record prices for Scottish paintings and Asian works of art, along with outstanding results in other areas, such as jewellery, silver, furniture, ceramics, books and decorative arts. See http://www.lyonandturnbull.com
For information about SGT contact Ebba Goring Chief Executive on 0131 557 6938 or 07881 623 826 or [email protected]. For media information contact Matthew Shelley at SFPR on 07786704299 or [email protected].
The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust, Clockwise Offices, FAO The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust, Commercial Quay, 84 Commercial St, Leith, Edinburgh, EH6 6LX. The trust is a Registered Scottish Charity no. SC028384