About Rachel 

Rachel Llewellyn was born in Wales and graduated from Staffordshire University in 2008 with a First Class Honours Degree in 3D Design: Crafts. She has won a prestigious Goldsmiths Precious Metal Bursary Award, and has been a jeweller-in-residence at Bilston Craft Gallery in the West Midlands and is a fellow of the Bishopsland Educational Trust for Jewellers and Silversmiths.

The majority of her work is made in sterling silver, also sometimes using gold, wood and mixed materials. Rachel loves doing commission work, so please get in touch if you already have a special something in mind or would like something made just for you. . . To have something truly handmade is to possess something special; an exquisite piece like no other that will be treasured forever.                                                                    

 

Artist Statement

A little bit about me… I'm a narrative jeweller now also venturing into silversmithing. I make work that is inspired by the memories, secrets and stories held within everyday objects. I'm particularly inspired by vessels, tools and utensils that people have used everyday… all in all, objects touched by people and the stories of their lives. I like objects that can tell tales about their owners, such as, the glasses they wore, or the cooking utensils used day on day. I wonder if an object could speak, what would it say about its owner? What story would it reveal about its past?                                                                                                                                               

 A lot of my inspiration also comes from my Welsh background and childhood memories, such as visiting my Gran's house where I would marvel at the precious objects she kept stashed away in her sideboard and old wooden dresser, play with the glass perfume bottles on her dressing table, and listen to the conversations she and my mother would have over a long cup of tea. 

My work explores the notion of 'preciousness'. By miniaturizing ordinary objects and hand fabricating them in precious metals, they become unexpectedly sacred. Each carefully crafted item of jewellery is in essence a contemporary British talisman. Recently I have been exploring scaling up my work to create full size, useable vessels with the same character and charm as my miniature vessels.

In my work I juxtapose the old and new, the familiar and the forgotten. Each piece speaks of nostalgia, cultural identity, memories of work and play, stories of peoples' lives both past and present. My aim is to make objects with a human connection that will be worn or used everyday; timeless objects for people to treasure.