The West Ward Works Brooch and Some Recent Commissions

In May this year I took part in a Craft Scotland Meet Your Maker Event at Scottish Jewellery Week.  The event was hosted by Dundee Design Festival in the old DC Thomson's print works building West Ward Works.  This was where the DC Thomson annuals were printed; the Beano, Dandy, The Broons and Oor Wullie to name a few. I was asked to design and make a piece of jewellery responding to the festival and I choose to make a brooch inspired by the building itself.  I was fascinated with it's history, it's size and being a Beano fan the fact that so many pages of happiness would have been printed and spread all over the world from that building.  I loved the layers of what was left of the building which held the secrets of the things that happened inside. Read the interview here

The brooch will be auctioned online to raise money for ARCHIE Foundation's Tayside Children's Hospital Appeal, the same charity as benefited from the Oor Wullie Bucket Trail. It will be on display at Tea Green's Christmas Pop Up Shop in The Old Flour Mill in Dundee from 26th November where bidding will open until 21st December, bids can be made in a silent auction box or online and will close at 8pm on the 21st.

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I'm now busy helping Santa with some bespoke commissions and making some new Kilt Pins which will be ready to buy in time for Christmas. I'll leave a list of where you'll be able to find my work over the next few weeks at the bottom but meanwhile, feast your eyes on some recently commissioned pieces and if you have an idea yourself for a bespoke piece of jewellery in time for Christmas then now is the time to get your orders in! Read the 'Commission a Kilt Pin' page on my website and send me an email, or see what I have in stock in my online shop...and for more inspiration check out my gallery of bespoke jewellery here 

Kilt Pin and Earrings for Calum and Laura

designed as recognition of their commitment to the MacKenzie Caledonian Pipe Band

Bennachie Kilt Pin

with labrador, sheep and date notches

Bagpipe Kilt Pin

a stylised bagpipe with African Blackwood from an old set of bagpipes and the owners initials BW

Edinburgh Skyline

with music and Roman numerals

Kilt Pins for The Gang

for the groom and his groomsmen made to their own design

Mackintosh Rose and Music Brooch

a 60th birthday present with date notches and sapphire 

Moffat Hills Kilt Pin

view from the wearer's wedding day with date notches and photo-etched map

Sail Kilt Pin with River Thames

with date notches and textured silver

Celtic Cross Pendant

with peridot

JJ Bagpipe Kilt Pin

for a piper with the first letters from his and wife's names

Wren Kilt Pin

blade and plate design with customer's family emblem

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CHRISTMAS STOCKISTS

You can find my work in the following places in the run up to Christmas....there is limited stock in each so please enquire before you visit if you are looking for a specific item. 

DUNDEE

Location - Tea Green Concept Atelier Pop Up, The Old Flour Mill, Exchange Court
Dates - 26th Nov - 24th Dec
What's there? - Special edition Oor Wullie Colour In Jewellery collaborations, Thritty Pings, Men's jewellery (tie slides and kilt pins), pieces from my Oddgon Collection, a collection of silver rings for men and women.... and the West Ward Works Brooch will be on display to bid for.

Location - Pretty Fly Workshop, Broughty Ferry
Dates - all
What's there? - Biocube and Oddgon & Angular Jewelley, Triangulate Kilt Pins and a Dundee Skyline Kilt Pin

Location - Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre (DCA), Perth Road
Dates - all
What's there? - Man Pins

PERTH

Location - Tayberry Gallery, Princes Street
Dates - all
What's there? - Biomorph Jewellery, Kilt Pins, Man Pins, Twist Rings and Thritty Pings

GLASGOW

Location - Tea Green Christmas Market, Kibble Palace, Botanic Gardens
Dates - 10th - 11th Dec
What's there? - Oddgon Jewellery, Thritty Pings, Man Pins, Men's jewellery (tie slides in wood and silver, Kilt Pins and silver rings), Christmas and greetings cards


I am still taking orders for bespoke jewellery and Kilt Pins in time for Christmas, but please get your orders in fast to guarantee delivery under your tree!

I wish everyone a cosy and happy winter, have a jolly time folks!

Cheerio Wullymorph!

Today's the day! Later on tonight all of Dundee's colourful Oor Wullie sculptures will be auctioned off to raise money to build a new operating theatre in Tayside Children's Hospital.

Back in June I spent five days in Tayberry Gallery live drawing all over a 5 foot tall fibreglass Wullie to create Wullymorph!  Artists, local and international, were asked to submit designs for the Wullies and then the chosen designs were sponsored by local businesses and brought to life for the Oor Wullie Bucket Trail.

The proposal drawing for Wullymorph

Progress being made....

If you live in Dundee or have visited over the past couple of months then you will be familiar with the cheeky chappy who's been popping up all over the city, some have been on tour to other cities, and over the weekend there they were all brought together in Slesslor Gardens for a spectacular send off!

I was so excited to find out my Wullie was to be displayed in Broughty Ferry, my home town! Thank you everyone for looking after him so well! And here he is in Slessor Gardens with the rest of my family :)

A visit to the P2s at Grange Primary School, we had fun playing with jewellery and making shape pictures together!  

It has been amazing seeing how these sculptures have affected people in the city, I think many will be sad to see them go, but glad it's all for a good cause and has made, and will continue to make, so many people happy and well. Huge thanks to all the organisers who have done a fantastic job making things run smoothly and making sure all the Oor Wullies have been well looked after, it's been a privilege to be involved, fingers crossed for the auction tonight!! Good luck Wullymorph and all the rest!

Spotlight On Meeeee!

This month I am showcasing my work at Tayberry Gallery in Perth as part of their 'Spotlight On' exhibition series.

I designed three Perthshire Kilt Pins specially for the event. The Perth Skyline design features an abstracted version of the famous skyline including St Matthew's Church and Smeaton's Bridge as seen when crossing the Queen’s bridge. As big fans of all things design and architecture, we are donating 10% of every sale of this Kilt Pin to the St Matthew's Church Refurbishment Fund. The Auld Brig is a stylised representation on Smeaton's Bridge and the River Tay Kilt Pin features an ariel view of the river.

My talented sister Shona spent a couple of days in the workshop with me while I made the Auld Brig Kilt Pin and filmed some of the process. She has produced this brilliant video with sounds from local lad Architeq.

Making the Perth Bridge Kiltpin from Shona Spalding on Vimeo.

There's also three special Biomorphs being exhibited, each pendant strung on different beads complimenting the colour of the resin. The first one, strung on the green chrysoprase, was made specially for the Dundee Design Festival earlier this year and was exhibited in the Scottish Jewellery Week Exhibition 'These Hands'.

The exhibition is on for another couple of weeks so head along to the gallery to see more! Here's some sneaky peeks to tempt you :) and if you are too far away to visit but see something you like then please contact the gallery for enquiries.

Selected Commissions

Oh dear! I have let the blog slip a bit! :/ So to warm things up again here's some commissioned Kilt Pins and other jewellery from the past year.....

Loch Lomond Kilt Pins

designed for a groom and his groomsmen with their names on the back

Brodie Kilt Pin

reworking of the Brodie Clan crest

Whisky Cask Oak Kilt Pin and Cufflinks

made for Dave and Claire's wedding day, a C shape in the the hole in the wood and a long D shape in silver on the right of the Kilt Pin, date notches representing their wedding day on the kilt pin and the day they met on the cufflinks

Edinburgh Skyline and Rugby Ball Kilt Pin

with date notches

Loch Lomond Kilt Pin

the view over Loch Lomond, notched date stick, music score

Oban and Mull Kilt Pin and Belt Buckle

the view from McCaig's Folly over Kerera and Mull, pipe score to 'I See Mull'

Yorkshire Rose Tie Clip

mountains of Montana, turquoise stone and initials

Swimming Salmon Kilt Pin

little salmon move up and down a cut out of the River Dee

Kilt Pin for a Dundee Piper

bass drone with views of the Law, date stick and stag's head

Anchor and Claymore Kilt Pin

The Bang Club Pendant

a present from husband to wife using the logo of the club where they met, the holes round the edge signify the 25 years they've been together with markers for the years when their children were born, the snake represents their first dance - The Snake by Al Wilson

Maple Leaf and Thistle Claymore

Kilt Pin for a Glasgow Pianist

with date stick, keyboard and views of Glasgow

Initial Thistle Kilt Pins

with date notches and birthstones

Biomorph Cufflinks

colours to match the wearers kilt

Flute Brooch

Snowboard Pendants

Husky Kilt Pin

design from the clients illustration with a topaz for the husky's eye

I've been lucky enough to have a couple of awesome friends commission me to make their engagement rings which allowed to experiment with some new ideas and the Cairngorm! My new favourite stone! The Cairngorm is a type of smokey quartz found in the Cairngorm mountain range, it's very rare and these ones in particular are very pretty, a sparkly champagne colour with a hint of grey/purple mist, so very Scottish!

I'm going to leave it there just now....silly of me not to have blogged earlier, so much has happened over the past year.....I'll quickly list some things so I don't forget! My sister's wedding and hen do adventure on Skye, making cap badges for Shotts and Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band, Dundee's Big Wedding Exhibition in the Caird Hall, taking part in Tea Green markets and pop up shops and started 'Colour In Jewellery' with Joanne MacFadyen, a Christmas visit from my Brazilian sister Kira, skiing in the Alps, photographing Man Pins on Skye, pipe band trips to Germany and France, Scottish Jewellery Week and the Jewellery Trail around Dundee, Jeweller in Residence for the Dundee Design Festival and painting a giant Oor Wullie! 

TTFN