<![CDATA[Penny Akester Jewellery - Jewellery Blog]]>Sat, 10 Oct 2026 22:52:34 +0000Weebly<![CDATA[Craft Fair Season!]]>Tue, 29 Jul 2025 23:21:45 GMThttps://www.pennyakester.co.uk/jewellery-blog/craft-fair-seasonAs the days get cooler and darker, it comes up to craft fair season again...

​Of course there are craft fairs and events all year round, but this time of year is always particularly busy if you love looking at handmade jewellery and other crafts. Goldsmiths Fair (on at the moment) is always the start of the season for me - and a great event to visit if you have the time, not least, to see the ornate insides of the Goldsmiths Hall!
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Here are some of my favourites to visit - around London, as that is where i am - if you know of others - do message or add a comment so they can add to the list! Picture
Goldsmiths Fair - until 4 Oct  at Goldsmiths Hall, near St Pauls
  • On now - until 4 October
  • A leading event for high end jewellers, goldsmiths and silversmiths - individual makers offering their work direct to the public. Head over for inspiration and to see the amazing levels of skill of some of the very best makers in the UK and internationally. 
  • Two weeks - with different makers exhibiting each week. Tickets are expensive, but it is well worth a visit if you have the time! There is also a range of breakfast talks spread over the weeks
Knit & Stitch (textiles exhibition, and huge shopping event for textiles based crafts, also including beads and related crafts, and workshops) Solo Craft Fair - Leadenhall Market Make and Mend Festival - Hornsey Town Hall 
  • Saturday 17 October, 11am - 5pm
  • https://www.muswellhillcreatives.com/make-and-mend.html 
  • Lots of different short craft workshops throughout the day to try something new - including two workshops that I am offering - book in advance if possible
  • A selection of local makers from north London selling their wares
Rock, Gem & Bead Show (shopping for beads and gems supplies) Handmade Chelsea, Chelsea Old Town Hall  Handmade in Highgate - Highgate Literary Institute Cockpit Open Studios - in Holborn and Deptford
  • 26-29 November and 4-6 December
  • Cockpit Arts is a community of lots of different makers studios at two locations - they have open studios twice a year where the makers open up their studio spaces to show their work
Angel Christmas Fair - Candid Arts in Angel Islington
]]><![CDATA[Jewellery Making on YouTube]]>Wed, 21 Jun 2023 09:18:35 GMThttps://www.pennyakester.co.uk/jewellery-blog/jewellery-making-on-youtubeAre you a jewellery maker looking for tips, new ideas, or to learn new techniques?

​My personal view is that - if you can - take in person classes - you can ask questions, get advice and support and work in real time, with a tutor that can watch you work and give you tips to improve, and really explore the techniques.
Of course however, we don't all get that opportunity, or if we do, we can't necessarily join a regular class for ongoing support and advice, but luckily there are other options. There are some really great jewellery making books available, and there are also many many video tutorials and information streams
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If you've been thinking about learning to make your own jewellery - then you've almost certainly been on YouTube or Pinterest or other sites watching videos and tutorials of jewellers making different projects, or watched jewellers live streaming from their workbenches on a platform like Twitch...

These are great places to research ideas and techniques, there are huge amounts of information out there, and some fantastic teachers and makers share their skills in this way. The downside of course is that a lot of the content is edited and skips sections, not all of it is very well filmed, so it can sometimes be hard to see the key details, and as anyone / everyone can post on the internet, it can be hard to work out which channels or creators actually know much about their subject and to search out the really great ones from the rest....
My favourite YouTube channels for really good, informative and helpful jewellery making tutorials are these ones below - in no particular order...

​Do you have any you love, to add to the list?? Do add more in the comments!
  • Craft Cast - https://www.youtube.com/@CraftcastwithAlisonLee
  • Tracey Spurgin - https://www.youtube.com/@TraceySpurgin
  • Ronda Coryell = https://www.youtube.com/@rondacoryell
  • Adrienne Gaskell - https://www.youtube.com/@agkumihimo 
  • Lucy Walker Jewellery - https://www.youtube.com/@LucyWalkerJewelry 
  • Online Jewellery Academy - https://www.youtube.com/@OnlineJewelryAcademy 
  • Off the Beaded Path - https://www.youtube.com/@offthebeadedpath
  • Soham Harrison - https://www.youtube.com/@1soham1 
  • Charles Lewton-Brain - https://www.youtube.com/@lewtonbrain 
  • Cool Tools - https://www.youtube.com/@cooltoolsvideos 
  • Rio Grande - https://www.youtube.com/@RioGrande1944 
  • Interweave - https://www.youtube.com/@Interweavecraft 

Of course - I also have my own YouTube channel and I hope to be adding some more videos there soon - head to this link to have a look - https://www.youtube.com/@pitstopx 
]]><![CDATA[Silver Jewellery Making Retreat]]>Sat, 07 May 2022 13:38:40 GMThttps://www.pennyakester.co.uk/jewellery-blog/silver-jewellery-making-retreatHow would you like a luxury holiday in the Devon countryside?
 
Would you like 2+ days focussed entirely on relaxing and making your own beautiful silver jewellery, working with silver clay?
 
How about both of these together??
 
I’ve joined up with the beautiful, peaceful Stoodleigh Court Coach House – a B&B in Tiverton, Devon, right on the edge of the wilds of Exmoor (but also super close to Tiverton Parkway train station, that has a direct connection to London Paddington), to organise 3 night silver clay jewellery making break.
 
This is a luxury break – with everything included – all your meals, a lovely ensuite bedroom for 3 nights, 2 full days of jewellery making tuition (plus extra optional mini sessions all 3 evenings, and on the final morning), and all the materials you’ll need (including silver and gemstones) to create at least 3 different silver jewellery projects. 
​The details; -
Where?         – Stoodleigh Court Coach House – in Tiverton, Devon
– an easy taxi ride from Tiverton Parkway station which has a direct connection to London Paddington (and plenty of other places)
– also easy reach from many major roads in the area including the M5 …
When?          – 30 Sept - 3 October 2022 or 27-30 January 2023
How much?   – from £530 per person (sharing a room) or from £635 for single occupancy – price varies by room
What will happen?
Over the course of this long weekend, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to unplug from your regular life, wind down, enjoy the countryside (or the private hot tub), read and relax…. But you’ll also have two full days of jewellery making tuition, as well as optional extra sessions in the evenings after dinner, a welcome session on the first evening, as well as a short ‘finishing up’ session on the final morning before you depart back for home
 
What will I make?
As we’ll be located in the Devon countryside, we’ll be using nature as our inspiration – creating designs based on leaves and natural objects. Each student will be able to design and make their own earrings, bracelet and necklace / pendant. More experienced students can tackle a ring project.
Click Here for More Retreat Info
]]><![CDATA[Design Inspiration.....]]>Thu, 18 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.pennyakester.co.uk/jewellery-blog/design-inspirationI thought I'd share a little 'behind the scenes' on my new jewellery collection with you...

My new Tactile Talismans collection is a series of individually made pieces, formed in porcelain clay, and then combined with silver highlights.  

All of my recent jewellery design, works around the general theme of tactility and the idea of worry beads and creating focusses for mindful contemplation, as tools for self care - and this new collection continues this - with the combination of the hand modelled clay, and silver, as well as the chains or cords involved bringing different textures into the mix and creating a mix of surfaces and tactile experiences to explore.
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Some of my clay modelling experiments and tests
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Work in progress - porcelain elements before adding silver
My specific inspiration for this collection is the innate human instinct to decorate - to carve and work objects and to carry them with us - from the very first beads, to carving decorations on early tools, as humans we have always wanted to decorate, and to add meaning and symbolism to our lives and possessions...

​I've been fascinated with this topic for many years, and for this collection, i went back to some of my books and resources, and was looking back at these early creations...

This has lead me to experimenting with clay, as a particularly tactile material, it is entirely hands on to work with - each item bears the impressions and energy from hand modelling, ensuring that as a maker i am completely connected with the process of creation, and the material. The forms of these talismans have developed from tests and experiments i made, and each is unique, having its own individual form, and personalised silver highlights.

​Each item is unique, and finished with different choices of cord, chain, bangles etc, as the piece itself determines, and these pieces will not be repeated, so if you choose your personal talisman, that particularly appeals to you - no other person will have one the same.
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One of my inspiration mood boards
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Modelling experiment with wire
]]><![CDATA[Craft Show Season!]]>Fri, 05 Nov 2021 12:17:58 GMThttps://www.pennyakester.co.uk/jewellery-blog/craft-show-seasonSo, with Christmas heading towards us - we are well into shopping season and there are lots of fabulous shows coming up...

Craft shows are fabulous to visit - for shopping for treats for yourself, or your loved ones, but also for inspiration - to see what other artists are doing, how they approach their designs and making - to chat with them, if they have the time to spare, to see how they arrange and present their products (if you are thinking about also having a stand at a show one day) and to see how the customers and visitors enjoy and interact with the work...

Just some of the upcoming shows that I'm looking forward to - online and around London include; -
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Handmade in Highgate - 5-7 November
The Highgate Literary and Scientific Institute, 11 South Grove, Highgate, N6 6BS
https://hand-made-in-highgate.com/ 

Made Makers - Online - 5-7 November
https://mademakers.co.uk/exhibitors/ 

Dazzle 2021 - London Pop Up - 11-14 November
The Oxo Tower, Southbank, London and www.dazzleinvites.com

Handmade Chelsea - 12-15 November
www.handmadeinbritain.co.uk/event/handmade-chelsea-the-contemporary-craft-and-design-fair/ 

Digital Craft Festival - 13-14 November
https://www.digitalcraftfestival.co.uk/ 

Handmade Chelsea - Online - 18-21 November
www.handmadeinbritain.co.uk

Do add others in the comments if you know of some exciting shows near you!
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