Bespoke or Commission

Hello, me again!

I thought this week, I'd look at an aspect of my work which you might be less familiar with - bespoke creations.

What does bespoke actually mean?  Traditionally it's a term used to describe clothing which has been tailored to fit a particular customer ie a made to measure suit, however, it is a term often used to describe other items which have been made in line with a customer's requirements. It is often also known as a commission. 

Bespoke seems to suit my jewellery better than commission does as my end product is specifically to match clothing.  I work with bride's mums who also want to their outfit to look special, often want to compliment colour schemes and who don't really want to come face to face with a guest wearing the same! My journey starts with ideas from the customer on shape, style and design and will then include colour swatches supplied by them and if possible a snippet of material, but if not then some good photographs of the outfit in question.  I dye several samples of aluminium until I'm happy that I've got a good match and then work on a selection of pieces for the customer to choose from. I'm also happy to work with customers who are not mums of brides but do have a special occasion to dress for though!!

Of course, I'm also happy to work on commissions! I recently had a customer ask for a blood red cuff via one of my stockists and the customer was very happy with it, but that highlights the difference for me - yes I was making specifically for a customer, but as a commission, not bespoke to match a particular item.

Anyway, I shall be starting to work on the new website soon and hopefully that will be live from the end of June and I plan to launch with a whole load of new work so make sure you take a look.

This week I've been cutting up a sheet of blue aluminium which is covered in writing - a bit different to my normal work but I'm quite happy with it so far, but I might keep you in suspence until the new site is launched!

This gorgeous pendant will feature on my website soon

See you all next week!

Wall Art and Selected

Hi all, it's that time again!

Well today is a fast day (I'm following the 5:2 diet) so I thought I'd write my blog to distract me from wanting to eat as the bowl of melon did not even begin to cut it this morning! So now I'll have a nice cup of green tea and talk to all of you instead.

I had a lovely girlie day out with my daughter on Friday and she said she really liked my aluminium wall art so I had a go at another one over the weekend, very colourful result! What do you all think?

I'm slowly getting back into work mode but find that I have to rest my hand for a few days after making anything.  Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on a bespoke selection of jewellery for a bride's mum, a commission which came to me through Nicola Hurst Designer Jewellery, a lovely gallery and one of my main stockists. A customer had been into the shop and liked my work but really wanted something to match her hat.  She left a tiny piece of straw taken from the hat for me to work to and she was really pleased with the results.  I made two necklaces, a bracelet and two pairs of earrings for her to choose from and she chose a set and was very happy.  I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of dyeing and mixing and painting until i'd got a good colour match! So if you, or anyone else you know, can't find the exact shade of jewellery to match your outfit or compliment it then let me know, I might just be able to help you there!

Can I ask you all to vote for me in the Craft and Design Selected Awards? Thank you so much! Just follow this link. Val Williams - SlickSilver Jewellery




It would be amazing to get at least a few votes as this is the first time I've been nominated!

There will also be a completely new range of upcycled jewellery coming soon made from old book covers that will knock your socks off. Quirky and original! I can't wait for you to see them!

I'm also looking to find artists, artisans, musicians, ceramicists, celebrities, indeed anyone interesting or with an interest in the arts for a new type of blog collaboration called Three Beautiful Things.  Let me know if you are interested or if you could suggest someone who might like to take part

Until next week!