My changing perspective on jewellery design

Diploma in Creative Jewellery student Tracy Stressing explains how learning about design and mood boards has changed her perspective on the jewellery she creates.

I have always had a passion for making jewellery and from the first week, I knew I was going to enjoy the diploma. But it is also challenging.

In the first term, the most challenging day was the jewellery design day.  I am used to making jewellery by feeling materials and this was about taking influence by things around us.  We went out around the school and looked at different  textures, buildings, design and drew things in a sketch book.

This felt very alien at first but when we got back to class we used these sketches as the basis for drawing drew pieces of jewellery. Soon we had rough sketches and although no finished pieces my thinking was beginning to change.

We then did some mood boards, choosing colours that we liked and imagining the person who we would make something for. The idea was to tell a story about the customer and the jewellery.

My head at the end of the day was a sea of ideas and on a recent visit at the to the Victoria and Albert museum which the school arranged I put these techniques into practise and sketched and sketched.

I look at things very differently now and see beyond things. I see lines, texture and on a recent visit home on the beach I was influenced by shells, seaweed, glass, stones, driftwood and put this into a design for a ring in the lost wax carving class.

I never knew from that one class how it would change my ideas and way of designing jewellery.

I am in the process of planning a piece of jewellery for my final collection that has been influenced by the jewellery design and the techniques and inspiration.

Now I’m in my second term and have also had a fashion jewellery class.  This was another chance to step right out of my comfort zone .

I made a mood board that had lots of reds and lips.

Lips were my inspiration and I made three pieces which I can honestly say were so new to me but I loved making them.

I would never have thought of using leather or suede or eyelets but this is exactly what I did to make my luscious lip jewellery. My collection is called KISS.

I have definitely grown as jewellery maker since starting the diploma and can’t wait to see what  I can make.

Related articles

• Channel your inspirations and ideas – mood boards and Pinterest (londonjewelleryschool.co.uk)
• Take a look at our diploma students’ work (londonjewelleryschool.co.uk)
• Making it as a jewellery designer (londonjewelleryschool.co.uk)