Joanna Wakefield Jewellery
Designer jeweller based in York
"My work combine my two passions, jewellery and textiles, with the third essential element of my memories, observations and personality"
I am a jewellery designer maker based in York.
My original training
culminated in a Degree in Design, specialising in Textiles, which was no surprise having grown up in a family environment of 3 generations of needlewomen.
My degree took me into work as a Fair Trade designer, travelling extensively around the world developing traditional handicrafts with producer groups and their artisans.
After more than 10 years I could no longer ignore my personal desire to extend and develop further creatively and so I retrained at York School of Jewellery as a designer jeweller.
A huge part of my jewellery designs are influenced by textiles and haberdashery, stemming from a fascination that grew from admiring my Grandma's talents and fond memories of sorting through her button stash.
I continue to expand my haberdashery collection. From
cotton reels, thimbles and various button inspired pieces including the use of vintage buttons, to more recently designs which include the seamstresses tape measure and a needle.
My work is also inspired by my vintage collections. I am drawn to the thought of reloving and reviving
something and bringing an old or found object back to life through my jewellery. I've a penchant for collecting such finds and try and incorporate them and their symbolism into my designs where I can.
"My jewellery reflects my memories, my observations and my musings, thereby allowing me to tell the story and the journey behind each range"
I've had successful exhibiting shows at Art&, LNCCF & GNCCF, Crafted by Hand, Saltaire Makers' Fair and The Hepworth Wakefield Markets. As well as The Knitting & Stitching Shows.
Being accepted as an artist for York Open Studios has been a dream come true in my jewellery journey. I always aspired to one day take part. 2019 was my fourth outing at York's Annual Arts Festival exhibiting from my own studio.
Find out more here:
See my Events page for my upcoming A/W 2019 Shows, and also my Exhibitions page where you can find details of my work in galleries and shops. And please drop me an email I would love to hear from you.
