Essence is over and I’m shattered, but really excited. As the first ever exclusive show of ethical jewellery it was a jewel in a great London Jewellery week and helped give a full picture of all that is going on in the jewellery world. It was particularly satisfying for me to see and exhibit alongside the other designers that have taken up the ethical cause and joined us. Seven years on and it feels like we are just getting started.
The show was a great chance to meet people and share the story of
CRED jewellery. It was a surprise that many people I spoke to had not considered the ethics of gold. Diamonds yes; but not gold. Having said that the response was overwhelmingly positive with many words of encouragement and appreciation for the work we are doing. Where we used to get blank looks we now find people understand and appreciate the journey we are on and want to come with us.
The interior of the show was fantastic - the result of a cross discipline live project we ran with the MA students of The Cass. (The Sir John Cass department of Art and Design, at the London Metropolitan university). The Tree of life grew up around the Essence space with the most amazing recycled newspaper flowers blooming from it. The designs the jewellery students produced were a truly beautiful response and we are planning to make our favourites available to buy. So watch this space.
The Treasure show in general was a fantastic representation of the vibrancy of design in UK jewellery; you could not fail to be impressed by the number of designers and quality pieces adorning each display. It highlighted the creative strength and talent we have and should encourage us all. If we can harness that creativity in a positive way we can change the world for good.
