Gallery
About the Gallery at Silver & Steel
We are passionate about platforming creatives and creating a space that fits a gap in the market in what’s available in Bristol. Silver & Steel showcases Jewellery as an art form. We have an accessible price point but where the designers are paid well. Pieces are selected to fit a variety of budgets and we encourage investing in well made design.
We celebrate self-expression and thoughtful design with the purpose of creativity. Alternative and wearable, our designers work in a variety of styles. Many of the items we stock aren’t available to buy in person anywhere else.
We select brands on ethics, aesthetic, concept, process, and whether designers come from backgrounds under-represented in the industry. We are always looking for innovative and interesting work and are looking for art jewellery.
We aren’t currently accepting new commercial silver pieces.
We also host photographers, exhibitions and clothing pop-ups so if you’re a brand looking for a space please get in touch.
Guest Designers Stocking with Silver & Steel
Claire English is a designer and maker living off-grid in Cornwall on her boat. Her work explores and subverts the folklore and symbolism of Magpies stealing jewellery by making jewellery cast from their talons. She makes magpie’s into the very treasure that they loot. The Dyad Loot collection Claire has created for Silver & Steel showcases stunning gemstones, hand selected in Hatton Garden for their colour and quality. Golden shards sparkle through Rrutilated Quartz and blue flashes in oval and teardrop Moonstone. These treasures are held up by cast magpie claws in sterling silver and gold vermeil.
Claire has a life-long fascination with Magpie’s and shares “Magpie’s have long been symbols of mystery, intelligence and curiosity. To me they remind us to seek the hidden treasures in life and to explore to our darkest depths”Claire offers a complimentary re-plating service with her gold vermeil to maintain these show stopping rings for a life-time. More information on request.
Julia Thompson studied at Wimbledon School of Art in London and completed a BA in 3D Design from Plymouth University before apprenticing under a Silversmith in Hatton Garden. She is a member of the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen, has won awards for her craft and is a registered Fairtrade Jeweller with a Fairtrade Gold License.
Julia is passionate about quality craft and ethics. She works with carefully selected gemstones to create beautifully finished, wearable luxury jewellery. The collection we showcase at Silver & Steel features her love of Magpies, Druzy and interesting quartz formations. Her attention to detail is best shown in the little miniature keys and herkimer diamonds she hangs as extra, secret charms on her chains.
Ruth Laird is a jewellery maker based in Glasgow, Scotland, specialising in scored and folded, angular forms. Exploring the relationship between Maths and Art, Ruth takes inspiration from geometry, architectural structures and abstract perspectives. Working mainly with silver, gold and spray paint, Ruth plays around with angles, shape compositions and different surface finishes to create unique pieces which combine elements of measured precision with artistic expression.
Ruth is a prolific maker with a strong career in jewellery design. She completed a BA from Glasgow School of Art in Silversmithing and Jewellery Design in 2011 and has since exhibited all over the UK. Most recently Ruth’s work is at Goldsmith’s fair for Collect - 100 Rings.
Shirley Nelson is a London born and bred jeweller who won our 2024 annual competition to stock as an emerging designer. She creates statement pieces using hammer forming, granulation and enamel. Her pieces are eye catching, elegant and fun, inspired by sculpture and the sea.
Shirley has recently studied at Morley College and was selected to be a De Beers Intermediate Scholar 2023 - 2024.
Duxford Studios is a Welsh brand created by designer and maker Esme Rogers-Evans. Esme has a background in fine art and sculpture; having studied at Bath School of Fine Art and Design, and Cardiff UWIC. Esme’s passion for jewellery came to life travelling in New Zealand and Vietnam and taking classes before exploring wax carving in her own sculptural style. Her Momento Mori collection was born and since then she has won multiple awards in sculpture, business and jewellery design.
Esme’s pieces are tactile, weighty and beautifully carved and finished. She takes inspiration from human life, death and the body.
SLAB Jewellery is a Bristol based brand run by designer and maker Hannah. Hannah has a background in art direction and design and learnt jewellery making by taking evening classes in Bristol.
She works primarily with wax and focuses on a Momento Mori aesthetic inspired by history, mythology and iconography. Her work has a recognisable raw aesthetic and she plays around with texture, spikes and skulls to create dark designs and statement pieces. Her pieces are cast into recycled silver, fairtrade solid gold or plated in 18ct vermeil.
Sieces Glass From an early age mina collected glass pieces and after a degree in graphic design, she reconnected with the aesthetic. Mina discovered lampworking and Sieces Glass was born. Each piece is meticulously shaped in a high-temperature flame through the art of flame working, where molten glass is carefully sculpted by hand into organic, one-of-a-kind forms.
Mina says “Through my work, I hope to bring new perspectives and value to everyday life while sharing the beauty and the possibilities of glass.”
