Summer has flown by and even though it hasn't been the sunniest or warmest, lots of new things have been happening here at Heather McDermott Jewellery. With regular trips back to the Skye to check in with the extension progress, drop off work to one of my favourite stockists OR and, of course, seeing the dog, I have also been working hard on some new designs in the city!

'drifted'

Here is a wee snapshot into what you can expect in the new collection - 'Drifted'

Short Drifted necklace

Long Drifted necklace

Long drifted earrings & Cascade earrings

This capsule collection is a contemporary interpretation of clusters of driftwood found on the beach. Fish boxes, planks of wood and old bits of boat are only a taste of what you can find washed ashore along the Scottish coastline. Lengths of stainless steel and a new angled steel shape are the backbone of this new collection with old signature shapes being blended into new designs.

residency

GSA silversmithing and jewellery workshop

I have officially started my residency at The Glasgow School of Art. This entails a mixture of teaching/overseeing students and using the extensive range of facilities in the workshop. I have a very exciting event in 2018 that I am working towards so stay tuned...there is also an annual Christmas sale within the department where we have to make a piece for £35 so keep your eyes peeled for a limited edition bargain!

learning

You may have seen a couple of months ago that I was sharing a kickstarter campaign by an organisation called Vanilla Ink. Kate Pickering (now Clifford) is the brainchild behind Vanilla ink and after securing £30,000 to open a jewellery school in Glasgow's Hidden Lane I thought it was a great idea to go and learn some new skills. I have been on one of Vanilla Ink's courses before and this time I decided Wax Carving was a something I needed to learn. The main thing I took away from this course is that wax is tricky and like any technique, takes a lot of patience and skill to achieve a clean finish.

See the images below of what I made over the 2 days