A photobook could tell the story of your jewellery

When Diploma in Creative Jewellery student Hannah Colvin came to present her final collection for the diploma graduation exhibition she decide to present some of her ideas, inspirations and work in a book. Here she explains how the innovative idea came about.

Hannah’s book with some of her jewellery

When I was thinking about how to present my work for the exhibition in September, I realised that what I was doing was telling a story. And what better way to tell a story than in the form of a book.

I searched online for a reliable service and found a site called PhotoBox, which I decided to use. It is a reasonably priced service onto which you upload photos and have them sent back to you (in the form of a hardback book should you wish). Of course, there are many other similar websites to choose from so do your research and find one which suits both your style as well as your pocket.

Once I had registered with the site, I uploaded my favourite photos which I had taken to demonstrate the types of jewellery I had been making over the past year. What I wanted, given that my collection was entitled Linear Nature, was to tell a story with a beginning, middle and an end.

This led me to firstly set out the images and ideas that had helped to inspire me when my course began. I also included scans of the original drawings I had sketched out, to show how the ideas had evolved.

The core of the book I produced then featured a range of pictures of the actual pieces I displayed at the exhibition, many of which I took on a late summer’s day in the local woods.

An image from Hannah’s book

At the end of the book, I included pictures of current and future commissions to show the momentum which has since been created.

I found that presenting my ideas in this glossy book format acted as an additional aid at a time when I was trying to communicate my ideas to my tutors. It also means that I now have a professional portfolio to show to prospective clients. I hope to do similar books in the future as I embark on new projects and collections.

Find out more about jewellery diploma courses at www.jewellery-diploma.co.uk