Buying Handmade Jewellery at Artery Gallery

Handmade jewellery has never been as popular as it is now. We all have our reasons for buying handmade, rather than mass produced jewellery – we want to be seen to be supporting our local producers during a precarious financial situation, or we want to be seen as part of the cool ‘eco-chic’ bunch that we see in magazines, we like to be different and unique in our style, or maybe we just love to follow fashion.

All of these reasons to buy handmade jewellery are explained and discussed in so many women’s glossy magazines just now. We want to look unique, and feel morally satisfied with our purchases, we want to stay ahead of fashion (instead of just keeping up!). Here at Artery, we understand that all of these reasons are important, and we have handmade jewellery to suit every reason behind a purchase.

You want to be at the forefront of fashion…..

So, your buying handmade jewellery because you want to be seen in what’s on the catwalk, rather than what’s in the shops. This is every trend-setter’s hurdle – what we see in magazines and fashion shows, is not yet in the shops – so where do we find it? Handmade jewellery often takes inspiration from international fashions shows, in terms of colour and theme. Jewellery designers are always looking for a direction in which to take their inspiration, and the catwalks give them that. As handmade jewellery is relatively quickly produced (because you’re not making 5000 of the same item) the hottest styles are ready for the public much quicker than mass produced jewellery. Also – why bother chasing fashion, if you’re going to end up wearing something that every third person on the high street is wearing?

Our jeweller designer Angela Learoyd has her finger on the pulse when it comes to trend setting (rather than following!).

Her handmade African Jasper and silver concertina necklace @ £130 is totally unique – and taking the catwalk ‘tribal’ trend to another level. The beautiful green/blue hue of this stone is a key element of the tribal look – seen in African inspired fashion, and ‘Navajo’ themed jewellery. The difference is that with this, you know you have something that nobody else has, as it’s made from natural products, each is unique and can never be reproduced, and because of the quality of materials, although it’s a fashion forward item just now, you know it will become a much loved classic item over the years.


You have your own style…..

So you are the opposite of the dedicated follower of fashion! You have your own style, and you love it. Buy what if your own style is not what’s in the shops just now? Then buy it handmade! This way you can find a jewellery designer who matches your style and commission a piece to your own specifications, or purchase a piece of theirs ‘off the peg’.

Chunky, bold jewellery is in fashion just now, but what if you like something delicate and feminine? One of our designers, Angel Neal, specialises in feminine, pretty, delicate jewellery, so while the high street is awash with chunky wooden beads, you can stand out from the crowd in one of Angel’s delicate crystal bracelets, or pretty pearl necklaces. Or design your own feminine crystal necklace for Angel to make for you.


You want to feel morally satisfied with your purchase….

This is something that just a few years ago didn’t concern, or occur to us. Today’s media has made us painfully aware that our purchase-power has a dramatic effect on the global economy, and it raises all sorts of questions – do we want to be responsible for child labour in Asia, or do we want feel guilty about oppressive diamond mining methods every time we look at our engagement ring?

Fortunately, as we have become aware of this, so have our jewellery designers – and they now strive to provide us with beautiful handmade jewellery, which hasn’t compromised anybody’s integrity or ethics to source and produce it. Our silver designer Patricia Gurgel-Segrillo, based in Brazil, uses only ethically sourced silver, and other materials that support, not degrade her community and country. Patricia’s silver designs are made from Fine silver rather than sterling silver, which has a higher silver content, and lends itself well to her unique, woven designs.


You want to support your local economy……

You want to buy handmade jewellery to support your local economy, rather than the huge ubiquitous mega-stores of the UK.

If you buy a piece of handmade jewellery you could be supporting a small local business by doing this, and in turn, supporting a local designer. Many of our jewellery designers at Artery are from fife and we love to be able to support handmade goods from our own area. There is never any point in complaining that our high streets have become one in the same, and bland, then popping into a chain store to buy something that is made in the thousands.

We have local designer Elizabeth Scott, whose hometown is not ten miles from the gallery. Much of her jewellery is inspired by her local countryside and sea views, using colours in her jewellery to represent that.

So you can see that whatever your reason is for buying handmade jewellery – you will find something to suit you at Artery Gallery.

www.arteryuk.com

The Artery Gallery Guide to Pearls - Testing, Buying and All You Need to Know!

Here at Artery Gallery, we have a huge selection of genuine pearl jewellery with earrings, necklaces, tiaras, bracelets and even pearl hair slides available.

Buying pearls takes careful consideration, as they are a piece of precious jewellery, which will last a lifetime, seeing you through every trend and fashion imaginable. This is why Artery Gallery have decided to give you a helping hand with our pearl buying guide.

You need to learn how to know when a pearl is genuine, or simulated. A genuine pearl – freshwater, cultured, or otherwise, can be identified by rubbing it against one’s tooth. A real pearl will feel rough, gritty or sandy against a tooth, whereas a false, simulated pearl with feel smooth and silky. This will not damage a genuine pearl, but I wouldn’t imagine it would be particularly good for teeth, to do this on a regular basis!

Growing a Pearl

Pearls are formed in different ways, depending on what type of pearl has been developed. Saltwater pearls tend to come from oysters, whereas freshwater pearls tend to come from mussels – however, pearls can occur naturally in any shell, though a naturally produced pearl is very rare.

Cultured saltwater pearls are generally formed by injecting a tiny bead made from shell, along with a piece of oyster tissue, into a live oyster. The soft tissue helps form a ‘pearl sac’ and the bead irritates the inside layer of the oyster. As this occurs, the oyster starts to produce nacre, which is the mother of pearl coating found on the inside of any shell. By coating the tiny bead layer upon layer in nacre, it stops it irritating the inside of the oyster and this produces a pearl.

Cultured freshwater pearls are produced more or less the same way, but instead inserting a small piece of soft mantle tissue into a mussel, rather than a shell bead. This pearl growing technique for cultured freshwater pearls creates a pearl that is formed entirely from nacre without the tiny shell bead centre.

Names and Shapes

‘Potato’, ‘Rice’ and ‘Seed’ named due to their resemblance.
‘Baroque’ pearls are irregular shaped.
‘Button’ pearls are often flat one side and rounded on the other.
‘Coin’ pearls are grown flat like a coin.
‘Stick’ pearls (or ‘Biwa’) are long twig-like irregular shaped pearls.

Modern pearl culturing techniques now allow us to grow pearls in all different shapes, and can be seen in shaped such as stars or diamonds. Of course they would never grow like this naturally, but it makes a great alternative to more traditional styles.

Many people associate pearls with weddings, as pearls are traditionally white, however due to modern pearl growing methods, pearls now come in myriad colours, from emerald green, to deep red. Paler colours on the other hand are generally naturally occurring – pale pinks, peach, lavender, silver, gold, cream and white tend to be naturally coloured. The pearls take on their colour from the inside of the shell they are growing in.

Colours such as turquoise blue and fuchsia pearls tend to be dyed this way. Pearl dying techniques have changed massively over the decades, and now the colours look as real and even, as if it had occurred that way naturally.

Quality and Value

There are five points that measure a pearls quality – size, shape, colour, lustre and surface and the pearls are graded according to these points.

Pearls can vary greatly in size, but needless to say, the larger the pearl, the more rare it is, therefore more valuable, and worth a higher grade. The closer to a perfect round shape, will also improve value of a pearl, though a perfect round pearl is nearly impossible to find.

It really comes down to personal taste though, as many designers now make jewellery specifically from different shaped pearls particularly stick pearls.

The natural colour of a pearl also affects It’s grading or value, but obviously nowadays with new dying techniques, this isn’t as important as it once was. A colour is judged by basic tone, evenness and luminosity. Pearls from certain areas only ever achieve certain colours naturally – Tahitian pearls tend to be varying shades of blacks and greys (and are usually quite large) and South Sea pearls are found in shades of rich cream and gold.

The Lustre of a pearl is one of the most important things to grade a pearl. Lustre is graded from B – AAA. The lustre is the luminous shiny surface created by layer upon layer of nacre forming. Some pearls can appear chalky or cloudy on the surface, which is not as desirable. The best lustre for a pearl is AAA – a tip is to look in the surface of a pearl for your reflection. The clearer you see your reflection, the better the pearl. To reach perfection, the surface of a pearl would need to be flawless – no indentations, ridges or rings. This sort of pearl is extremely rare and valuable, as most pearls have naturally occurring surface indentations and ripples. This only adds to their unique quality though.

The worlds largest pearl was a 14.1lb pearl found in a giant clam in 1934, valued at 60 million dollars, and the most expensive pearls ever sold was in 2004 at Christie’s Auction. Reaching 3.1 million dollars. Although Artery Gallery doesn’t have any pearls worth a million dollars, we have many pieces of pearl jewellery to make you feel that way.

www.arteryuk.com

Handmade Silver Jewellery

(Christine Forsyth - Silver Cuff Bangle)

Most of the jewellery you'll find on the high street has been mass produced, but at Artery Gallery, all the jewellers exhibiting design and create their own jewellery by hand.

Using pure Silver together with Semi-precious stones, pearls or Swarovski crystals, sourced from all over the world, the top quality artists you find at Artery Gallery create truly unique pieces of beautifully handcrafted jewellery.

Buying handmade jewellery means that you have a unique or limited edition item, not to be seen on anyone else. Choose the jewellery you like and make a statement that reflects your personality and style!

We have Scottish artists such as Christine Forsyth creating wonderfully designed contemporary silver jewellery and Angela Learoyd using a vast array of unique stones and beads. Together with Angel Neal, famed for her wedding jewellery and often featured in many high class magazines.

Jewellers from across the UK can also be found at Artery Gallery, with the lampworking style of Rachel Dawes. Lampworking is the process of making glass beads using rods of different coloured glass and an extremely hot specialist torch. Decorations on the individual beads can be added with different coloured glass to create elaborate and complex designs.

Birmingham based Lora Leedham’s jewellery has a very feminine, fresh and romantic style to it and the designs portray an emphasis on texture. Inspiration is taken from a hobby of photographing nature and looking at its textures and forms. The jewellery, as featured in magazines, has also made TV appearances, one of which was worn by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

One of Artery Gallery’s more renowned jewellers is Brazilian Patricia Gurgel-Segrillo. Following on from continued success exhibiting with Artery Gallery, her hand woven silver and gold jewellery has hit the spotlight in recent times thanks to one of her more famous collectors, British actor Orlando Bloom wearing her woven bands in publicity shots. Subsequently, links with the Orlando Bloom Files website have been set up exclusively with www.arteryuk.com to help promote her highly stylish jewellery, with Artery Gallery acting as distributors to Scotland for her work.

Buying and wearing handcrafted jewellery is a personal and special experience. All our jewellers are specifically chosen because of their innovative design, their high quality and real value for money.

Whether you are looking for earrings, necklaces or rings, with the jewellers we have assembled at Artery Gallery, we are sure that you will find the ideal romantic gift or a truly inspirational jewellery piece to enhance your image.

www.arteryuk.com

Christmas Shopping Ideas - Art Gifts

Artery Gallery is a Four Star Arts Venue attraction with VisitScotland and has become a leader amongst Scottish contemporary art galleries.

Here at Artery Gallery we have gathered a wonderfully eclectic range of contemporary art and handmade craft from local, national and international artists.

With galleries in both St Andrews and Crieff, as well as an extensive and secure website, buying original art has never been more accessible and affordable.

Our range of paintings, sculpture, jewellery and useful art has never been stronger. All original, everything unique!

Paintings by popular abstract artist Derek Collins with his 'Flaming Art' and the stunning work by the renowned painter Steve Johnston.

Sculpure from Ronna Elliott, Frank Wilson and Tom Payne

Stunning handmade silver jewellery from Brazil by Patricia Gurgel-Segrillo and from a little closer to home in Scotland, contemporary silver jewellery by Christine Forsyth

The ever popular handmade steel clocks from Tim Fowler and Whittle Design

Beautiful vases by Daniel Kavanagh and useful sculpture and clocks by John McPhail

Click on the links provided to view these selected works or visit our main page at www.arteryuk.com where you can navigate around the Artery Gallery website and shop for your unique Christmas art gifts with confidence.

Or you can visit either of our galleries at;

43 South Street, St Andrews (01334 478221)

and

22 King Street, Crieff (01764 655722)

Perthshire Open Studios - 27th Sept to 5th Oct

Artery Gallery in King Street, Crieff will be taking part in the first Perthshire Open Studios between September 27th and October 5th. During the Open Studios week, there will be three of Artery Gallery’s exhibiting artist performing demonstrations and talking about their ideas and inspirations behind their work.

On the opening day of Saturday 27th September, renowned Scottish artist Derek Collins will be giving a fascinating insight into his unique style of ‘Flaming Art’ paintings. Using various mediums and materials in his paintings, Derek creates wonderful impact paintings full of colour and texture. What really brings his paintings to life though is when he sets them on fire! That will definitely be something worth seeing!

Comrie based artist Peter Davenport will be giving talks and demonstrations on his abstract landscape oil paintings on Tuesday 30 September from 12pm.

And on Saturday 4th October, Christine Forsyth will be demonstrating her techniques in creating beautiful contemporary silver jewellery. She will also be giving talks on her ideas and designs as well as hints and tips on how to look after your silver jewellery. There will also be 5% off all Christine Forsyth jewellery all day.

The Perthshire Open Studios is a great way to see local artists showing their skills first hand and Artery Gallery is proud to be playing a part in promoting artists in Perthshire.

For further information on the demonstrations taking place at Artery Gallery, call 01764 655722.

Gallery opening hours during the event will be;

Saturday 27th Sept 10am - 5pm

Tuesday 30th Sept - Saturday 4th Oct 10 am - 5pm

Bridal Jewellery at Artery Gallery

Artery Gallery has expanded its handmade jewellery collection to include a range of high quality, unique bridal accessories.

Scottish Jeweller Angel Neal specialises in Bridal jewellery, designing and making everything from necklaces and earrings, to tiaras and hair fascinators. Her bridal jewellery designs come in silver, gold, pearl and crystal styles. Her extensive range means there is something to suit every bride, and to match every wedding dress!

Angel started making jewellery at the age of fourteen, following that with her first business creating luxury bridal jewellery, eventually leading her to the position of finalist in the 2007-2008 FMG International jewellery Design Competition in the category of natural pearls. Artery Gallery now stocks a vast range of Angel’s pearl and bridal jewellery, with different designs of tiaras, necklaces, bracelets earrings and hair adornments all available to try on in the gallery. Angel also undertakes bridal consultations and individual commissions.

Lara Baxter specialises in bespoke 18 carat gold and silver wedding jewellery. Her range of designs includes made-to-order kilt pins, necklaces, tiaras and rings. In fact, she designed and made the jewellery for her own wedding in 2007, making her own solid gold and silver tiara, her new husband’s kilt pin, and her bridesmaids jewellery. The simple, organic designs of her pieces are influenced by her surroundings on the west coast of Scotland where she grew up. Lara learned her trade from her mother, a successful jeweller herself, before setting up her own workshop. Lara can undertake commissions to co-ordinate your whole bridal party.

Matching your jewellery to your bridal gown can be difficult, but jeweller Angela Learoyd designs pearl jewellery in rainbow colours to suit all shades of dresses and skin-tones. With beautiful natural pale pinks to baby blues, and gold colours, Angela’s pearls can be used for traditional brides, bridesmaids, or more unusually coloured bridal dresses. Angela is a member of the British Jewellers Association, The Association of Contemporary Jewellers and Visual Arts Scotland.

Check online at Artery Gallery to view the different styles and ranges from our exhibiting jewellers.

Buying Handmade Over The Mass Produced

The rapid rise of the large chain store culture and global manufacturing has left us furnishing and dressing alike. It’s almost like the consumer is being told what to buy because the shelves are full with goods of all the same design and colour as the next shop. Our ties to the local and human sources of our goods have been lost.

Mass production has always been with us, generally speaking as a way of ensuring quality. But this has not always been the case. Taking printing as an example, the earliest printers initially showed perfectionist tendencies, probably because the hand operated press machine and letter stamps were all created by hand to do the job. In the late sixteenth century, printing began to turn into an industry. It was largely considered at the time that these industrial printing practices should never allow commercial considerations to lower the typographical standard of books and printed documents.

But things inevitably went the other way in the nineteenth century after the invention of the steam press. The necessity to produce cheaper books and newspapers meant that standards fell, and mass production began to gain its poor reputation. It was during the nineteenth century that artist and writer William Morris began to worry that mechanised production was taking away opportunities for individual creativity, and to almost dehumanise people's working and social lives. Morris planned to counter these apparent problems with a revival of handicrafts. Numerous craft based associations, guilds and communities were founded, and the idea of something being hand made all of a sudden became rather fashionable. The customers for these hand made products were of course the better off for this change.

A memorial to what became known as the ‘Arts and Crafts Movement’ is now preserved at Standen in Sussex, a grand house decorated by William Morris himself.

It is often considered that buying a handmade gift involves that little bit more consideration and thought. You buy into something that is a unique, one off creation, and in today’s world that is still consumed by mass produced goods, it makes it all the more satisfying.

A handmade craft, whether it’s in the form of a painting, clock, pottery or jewellery, will be chosen for its pure individuality and will instantly reflect the personality of the purchaser.

If it has been purchased for the purpose of a gift, the buyer may well feel the satisfaction of supporting an artist or craftsperson as well as being confident of giving something of quality and uniqueness. Likewise, the recipient of the handmade gift receives something that is one-of-a-kind, and made with care and attention. It is the result of skill and craftsmanship that is clearly absent in the world of large-scale manufacturing.

If you are looking to buy, whether for yourself or someone else, buying handmade can help us reconnect with ourselves and therefore certainly better for both maker and buyer.

Above: Allan Craig Arts and Craft style copper clocks, mirrors and sconces
Top of post: Kerry Whittle, John McPhail and Tim Fowler

www.arteryuk.com

Unique Handmade Jewellery

Most of the jewellery you'll find on the high street has been mass produced, but at Artery Gallery, all the jewellers exhibiting design and create their own jewellery by hand.

Using pure Silver together with Semi-precious stones, pearls or Swarovski crystals, sourced from all over the world, the top quality artists you find at Artery Gallery create truly unique pieces of beautifully handcrafted contemporary jewellery.

Buying handmade jewellery means that you have a unique or limited edition item, not to be seen on anyone else. Choose the jewellery you like and make a statement that reflects your personality and style!

We have Scottish artists such as Christine Forsyth creating wonderfully designed contemporary silver jewellery and Angela Learoyd using a vast array of unique stones and beads. Together with Angel Neal, famed for her wedding jewellery and often featured in many high class magazines.

Jewellers from across the UK can also be found at Artery Gallery, with the lampworking style of Rachel Dawes. Lampworking is the process of making glass beads using rods of different coloured glass and an extremely hot specialist torch. Decorations on the individual beads can be added with different coloured glass to create elaborate and complex designs.

Birmingham based Lora Leedham’s jewellery has a very feminine, fresh and romantic style to it and the designs portray an emphasis on texture. Inspiration is taken from a hobby of photographing nature and looking at its textures and forms. The jewellery, as featured in magazines, has also made TV appearances, one of which was worn by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

One of Artery Gallery’s more renowned jewellers is Brazilian Patricia Gurgel-Segrillo. Following on from continued success exhibiting with Artery Gallery, her hand woven silver and gold jewellery has hit the spotlight in recent times thanks to one of her more famous collectors, British actor Orlando Bloom wearing her woven bands in publicity shots. Subsequently, links with the Orlando Bloom Files website have been set up exclusively with www.arteryuk.com to help promote her highly stylish jewellery, with Artery Gallery acting as distributors to Scotland for her work.

Buying and wearing handcrafted jewellery is a personal and special experience. All our jewellers are specifically chosen because of their innovative design, their high quality and real value for money.

Whether you are looking for earrings, necklaces or rings, with the jewellers we have assembled at Artery Gallery, we are sure that you will find the ideal romantic gift or a truly inspirational jewellery piece to enhance your image.

http://www.arteryuk.com/

Lora Leedham - At The "Venetian Heart" of British Fashion

Lora Leedham’s silver, Venetian glass and gemstone jewellery is capturing the British fashion world!

Lora Leedham is an independent jewellery designer from the Midlands. She had initially intended to be an interior designer, but found her passion for jewellery design while studying design at university.

After setting up ‘Jewellery by Lora Leedham’ in 2006 she has made an impact on the British fashion world, exhibiting in London Fashion week, designing jewellery for stars, celebrities and even royalty – she created jewellery for Camilla Parker Bowles, which Camilla wore on live television. She has worked with different fashion designers, in international fashion houses, created jewellery for charity auctions and was featured in a March issue of ‘Grazia’ magazine.

Her current jewellery designs feature Venetian glass hearts in rainbow colours, captured in handmade silver wire cages. She also creates gemstone studded ‘willow’ rings, using only ethically sourced gems such as tourmaline.

Artery Gallery has a selection of jewellery from different ranges in her collection.

http://www.arteryuk.com/