More and more I feel people are valuing hand-crafted items that have been made with imagination, skill, heart and soul.
Liz Hutchinson is a jeweller based in the creative Yorkshire hub of Hebden Bridge. Inspired by the Japanese aesthetic sensibility of wabi sabi, she finds beauty in imperfections, rustic simplicity and irregularity, and combines this with the ancient Korean technique of keum boo to create simple jewellery with delicate contrasts, tones and textures. Although she uses basic tools and methods that have been used for centuries, her jewellery is modern and minimal. We caught up with Liz to discover more about her work and hear why she thinks today is an exciting time for craft…
Can you introduce yourself and describe what you do?
Hello, I’m Liz and I make contemporary silver jewellery in the small Yorkshire Pennine town of Hebden Bridge. My jewellery is minimal and plays with the combination of silver and gold using simple shapes and texture.
I believe these are exciting times for craft because as a society we are getting increasingly sick of mass-produced disposable items, where everything looks the same.
Where did your making journey start?
I’ve always been a maker and I’m happiest when I’m busy creating something. As a child I loved sewing soft toys, knitting a jumper or trying to make my own earrings. After leaving school I studied photography at art college for three years, but then I took a bit of a different career path and trained and worked as a psychiatric nurse in central London.
However, I really missed having a creative outlet and after moving back to Yorkshire, having my daughter and being an ‘at home mum’, I had time to return to art college and did fine art with a special interest in textiles. I had always wanted to make silver jewellery and four years ago I was lucky enough to find a silversmithing class nearby taught by a contemporary jeweller. Gradually as I began to make work that had my own identity to it, I turned my existing studio into a jewellery workshop, then began to actively sell my work and haven’t looked back since…
I had always wanted to make silver jewellery and four years ago I was lucky enough to find a silversmithing class nearby taught by a contemporary jeweller. Gradually I began to make work that had my own identity to it, started selling my work and haven’t looked back since…
What or who inspires your work?
I’m inspired by so many things! Apart from the landscape, I have a real love of simple ceramics, Japanese Tea ceremony, ancient gold artefacts, memorial jewellery, the seasons and solar cycles… I could go on but the list is endless! In terms of jewellery designers, I love Chris Boland’s respect for stones and imperfections, Lindsay Hill‘s innovative, unusual designs and Celie Fago for her enthusiasm for keum boo (an ancient Korean gilding technique).
The sense of being surrounded by water, rocky steep-sided valleys and open moorland is impossible to ignore – it’s these natural textures, subtle hues and rugged lines that emerge in my jewellery.
Does where you live influence your work?
Yes, the landscape has a really big influence on my work. My workshop is squeezed in between a river and a canal, and the sense of being surrounded by water, rocky steep-sided valleys and open moorland is impossible to ignore – it’s these natural textures, subtle hues and rugged lines that emerge in my jewellery. Whenever I’m out walking, I constantly gather up or photograph natural textures and colours that appeal to me. This is a standing joke with friends and family who are always having to stop while I fill pockets with stones, bits of bark, abandoned bird’s nests, bits of rusty metal… theirs as well as mine! Hebden Bridge is a great place to live and work, not only because of the countryside but also because the town has a thriving artist community and is a quirky, alternative place to live where there is always something interesting going on.
Wabi sabi means aspiring to simplicity and a certain imperfect ‘rawness’, which is difficult to describe but is a constant theme in my jewellery.
Your jewellery is inspired by wabi sabi. Can you explain what that is?
Wabi sabi is a Japanese aesthetic sensibility that values the transient and impermanent – it’s an appreciation of beautiful rustic simplicity, roughness and irregularity, of delicate natural objects and subtle processes, for example a weathered wooden bowl or a pile of Autumn leaves. In design terms, it means aspiring to simplicity and a certain imperfect ‘rawness’, which is difficult to describe but is a constant theme in my jewellery.
I open half my workshop to the public, so existing customers and passers-by can come in, see what I do and have a chat. The relationship and dialogue I have with people interested in buying or commissioning my jewellery is incredibly important to me.
Can you describe your workspace?
My workshop is in a little group of maker/artist workspaces in an old mill directly on the canal tow path. It’s great having other creative people around to share encouragement and coffee breaks with, and it’s a really peaceful place to work – just the sounds of passing bicycles, the ducks and geese. My actual workspace is fairly big, a little bit dark, slightly chaotic and, being in a mill, very cold in winter! I have a large wood burner, which is really essential.
Hebden Bridge has become a bit of a magnet for tourists due to its picturesque little centre, the countryside and its bohemian feel, and the fact it’s often profiled in the media and used by TV and film makers. As a result, I now open half my workshop to the public, which enables existing customers and passers-by to come in, see what I do and have a chat. The relationship and dialogue I have with people interested in buying or commissioning my jewellery is incredibly important to me, as I want them to have jewellery that’s comfortable to wear and that they really love.
My design process starts with a lot of looking and feeling of the found objects I have brought back to the workshop.
Can you talk us through your making process? How do you start a design?
My design process begins long before the actual hands-on making stage. It starts with a lot of looking and feeling of the found objects I have brought back to the workshop. Then I’ll photograph or draw whatever aspect I find particularly interesting – the lines on a pebble, the way a stone has eroded or a layer has chipped away. Sometimes I sketch a few ideas for individual pieces and then start the actual making. I often take a simple shape or symbol and use it repeatedly over a long period. For example, I’m fascinated by the symbolism of a golden bowl, which I use a lot in my jewellery. I work fairly loosely and things often form and reform as I go along, it’s quite a fluid process that sometimes works out and sometimes my scrap jar gets a little fuller.
I get a lot of satisfaction from honing a piece of silver to the exact shape and feel I want using basic methods that have been used for centuries.
What’s your favourite part of the making process?
One of the things I love about making jewellery is still using traditional techniques and tools that are so simple and hands on. I get a lot of satisfaction from honing a piece of silver to the exact shape and feel I want using basic methods that have been used for centuries. I use the ancient Korean technique of keum boo a lot in my work, which fuses 24 carat gold to silver, allowing me to create rich gold accents and beautiful contrasts.
What sets your work apart from other jewellery?
That’s difficult to answer as there are so many people out there making gorgeous things. My jewellery has an organic feel to it and is never fussy. I prefer well-made, simple forms that allow the tones of the mixed metals and the natural textures to speak for themselves.
I often take a simple shape or symbol and use it repeatedly over a long period… I’m fascinated by the symbolism of a golden bowl, which I use a lot in my jewellery.
What’s the best thing about being creative for a living?
I never get bored, I’m my own boss and, because my jewellery is very personal to me, it’s the best feeling when I see someone wearing something I’ve made.
What would you say to someone thinking about selling their work?
Be prepared for a steep learning curve. You have to quickly acquire a new set of skills and it takes a lot of commitment and belief in your product, but if you’re doing what you really love, there’s nothing better.
What does craft mean to you?
Craft to me is both ancient and contemporary – the creation of something satisfyingly beautiful by a skilled hand.
How does it feel to be part of the craft scene today?
I believe these are exciting times for craft because as a society we are getting increasingly sick of mass-produced disposable items, where everything looks the same. More and more I feel people are valuing hand-crafted items that have been made with imagination, skill, heart and soul. To be a part of this returning to something more authentic and seeing traditional skills used in new and innovative ways is very satisfying.
My perfect day? Pretty much how I spend most days: a cup of coffee in the garden, then time to play around with new ideas in the workshop.
How would you spend your perfect day?
Pretty much how I spend most days… a cup of coffee in the garden, then time to play around with new ideas in the workshop, followed by an evening with my daughter having girly chats and being silly.
Explore Liz Hutchinson’s collection of wabi sabi jewellery
