Category: Tipp

Contemporary British Silversmiths invites you to join us in celebrating their 25th anniversary at our Celebrating Silver symposium & exhibition event at De Montfort University. This symposium is an opportunity to bring together the contemporary silversmithing sector to discuss ideas around creative ambition and practice through the experiences of makers, curators, critics and supporting organisations.
The two days will include a full day of speakers, discussion panels and breakout sessions, a pop-up exhibition of makers’ current work (Show & Tell), an evening dinner and networking opportunities, the AGM, an insight into Contemporary British Silversmiths’ Skills Training Programme for makers and practical silversmithing demonstrations for families and the general public. Information about the event and how to book is available on the website of Contemporary British Silversmiths.

Booking deadline:
23.08.2021 (in person attendance)
02.09.2021 (virtual attendance)

The Silver Society is pleased to announce the launch of its annual Prize of £ 500 for 2021. The Prize is awarded to a silversmith who is either aged under 35 or in the first five years of their career as a practicing silversmith.

Conditions of participation

• The competition will be conducted virtually and submissions should be made by email to editor@thesilversociety.org by 30 September 2021
• The submission should be a piece of silver, either made specially for the competition or pre-existing. The portfolio should include images of the piece, a description of its manufacture and its hallmarks. It may also include any other relevant material, such as design drawings, a video or a commentary on the sources of inspiration
• The entrant should be aged 35 or under by 31 December 2021 or have worked as a practicing silversmith for less than five years
• The submission may not be a piece of jewellery!

The competition will be judged by an expert panel and the winner will be announced on 25 October 2021 and will receive a cash prize of £ 500.
The winning piece and a profile of its maker will be included in the 2022 Silver Society Journal.

Photo: Dreamy dish by Manasi Depala, Silver Society Prize for Silversmithing 2020

We all know spoons. They have existed for centuries in all shapes and sizes and are one of the oldest inventions by man. During this workshop you will learn the basic technique for forging a spoon. You will practice with copper and when you have mastered the basic technique you can get started with silver. And if you want you can add a fork to this.
Forging a spoon is a very intensive process. You start from a bar of silver that is gradually forged into shape using an anvil and a heavy forging hammer. During the workshop you will learn everything step by step about how to shape and finally finish your spoon.
This workshop is suitable for both beginners and advanced. No prior knowledge is required. Once you have been able to practice the basic techniques, you can go a step further as an advanced and forge a fork.
The workshop is guided individually by Max Gielis (°1977). He studied silversmithing at Sint Lucas Antwerp, is a teacher at the RHoK Academy in Brussels and worked as an independent silversmith for Gijs Bakker and Koen Wijngaerden, among others.

Practical info
The workshop takes place in the studio of DIVA, Kaasstraat 7, 2000 Antwerp, from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm, unless otherwise stated.
Participants choose at least one day from the available dates and register for the workshop via DIVA’s online ticket module. Do you want to register for more than one day? Which can, then choose the extra days you wish to come when you register.

The workshop will take place on the following dates:
Wednesday 25 to Sunday 29 August 2021

Cost of the workshop:
€ 165 per day (incl. one bar of silver, lunch not included).

You can request more information or apply via tom.iriks@divaantwerp.be or +32 (0)3 360 52 52.

Mid August the Antwerp based silversmith Patrick Storme organizes workshops in the basics of embossing. The setup is a question-and-answer session with demonstrations of what is being explained. In these sessions, the participants will not practice themselves, but get to know what is really important to understand the embossing and the possibilities, what you want to achieve yourself, which tools are required for this, and so on.
After these introductory sessions, hands-on workshops are possible at the candidate level.

Three days are planned: Saturday 14.8, Wednesday 18.8 and Friday 20.8, each from 9 AM until 1 PM (the times and exact content will be discussed after application). 3 to 4 candidates can participate at a time. Participation fee is 100 euro (+ VAT).
The sessions take place in the studio in Berchem (next to Antwerp, Belgium).

Examples and more information can be found on the website www.patrickstorme.be
Registration or further information by e-mail: p.storme@telenet.be

In an innovative new collaboration, the Silver Society, the Goldsmiths’ Company and the Goldsmiths’ Centre are to present an online course on the history of British silver from the sixteenth century to the present day. A series of talks, held over six weeks, will explore the evolution of forms and styles, illustrated by outstanding objects from collections across the world and enriched by close-up examinations of historic and contemporary masterpieces from the celebrated collection of the Goldsmiths’ Company.
Each session will be in two parts: beginning with a narrative chapter on the history and stylistic development of British silver, followed by a presentation focusing on a particular aspect of the history of the goldsmith’s craft.
Participants will be guided through topics such as silversmithing techniques, hallmarking, and fakes and forgeries.
Each session will be presented by Timothy Schroder and Lucy Morton.

The course will be taught online through the Goldsmiths’ Centre’s Zoom Webinar platform. Each session will last for 120 minutes including a 5 minute break and a Q&A session at the end.

Price for the full course: £90 /£60 (members of the Silver Society, the Goldsmiths’ Company History Group and Link Members and Gold Members of the Goldsmiths’ Centre / £30 (Members of the ECSG of the Silver Society, apprentices and students).

Book this course

The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust publishes a digital monthly review about gold and silversmithing. The Trust curates the Millennium Silver collection, Silver of the Stars and the historical archives of The Incorporation of Goldsmiths. The work of the Trust focuses on promoting and supporting the education, art and craft of Scotland’s gold and silversmithing heritage and trade.

The July review reveals the completed 2019 Outstanding Student Award, designed and made by Ruth Page.This goblet made in Fairmined Silver will remain in the permanent collection of the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh.

The review also contains an interview with esteemed silversmith Rod Kelly from his workshop on Shetland. This in-depth conversation delves into Rod’s nearly forty-year career in silversmithing and his passion to support emerging makers.

Everyone can subscribe to this monthly review free of charge on the Scottish Goldsmiths Trust website (at the end of the page).

HammerClub received an announcement of Klaus-Dieter Eichler, in which he offers the book tanzil fidda – Jewish Metal-craft in Damascus. This catalogue was published in conjunction with a exhibition in the Jüdischen Museum Fürth, the Museum für Frühislamische Kunst Bamberg and the Synagoge of Ermreuth in 1995. The book describes the art of inlaying (silver or copper in bras, or copper in silver) and is based on research performed in 1992 in Damascus.
The Pagma Verlag has taken over the rests of the stock and offers the book for € 5 (+ shipping).

Ioni Laibarös, Gilla Wöllmer & Klaus-Dieter Eichler, tanzil fidda – Jüdisches Metallhandwerk in Damaskus (1995), 15 x 21 cm, 36 pages, 18 illustrations, b/w.

Order at Pagma Verlag.

Contemporary British Silversmiths were immensely proud to hold an exclusive interview with founder member of Contemporary British Silversmiths and former Chair, Richard Fox during London Craft Week.
Richard is one of the UK’s leading silversmiths and Prime Warden of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths in 2020, one of the most prestigious positions in the precious metals industry, as well as being an active member of Contemporary British Silversmiths, serving as Chair from 1999 to 2002.
As managing director of Fox Silver, he has created work for a huge variety of corporate, public sector, private and motorsports clients, including Downing Street, Lambeth Palace, Bulgari, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Pernod Ricard and F1, to name a very select few.
In this up close and personal interview, silversmith and former Chair of Contemporary British Silversmiths, Angela Cork talks to him about his career from graduating from the Royal College of Art, to establishing his business and how he helped to found Contemporary British Silversmiths in 1995.