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A little history of how I came to make jewellery for figure skaters

As an accomplished artisan in the world of jewellery, I have spent more than 25 years honing my craft, crafting exquisite pieces by hand. Over a decade of that time, I have also embraced the pre-dawn hours, accompanying my daughters to the ice rink for their early morning figure skating sessions.

Much like the graceful art of figure skating itself, the journey unfolds gradually. You start slowly, by visiting the ice rink once or twice each week, only to find yourself rising before dawn five days a week as your skater delves into rigorous training.

The ice rink is a bustling hub, brimming with an array of personalities. As a parent of a skater, you naturally find yourself engaged in conversations, establishing connections with fellow ice-goers who share the mutual passion of nurturing a budding skater or pursuing the sport themselves.

Within the rink's realm, various clubs thrive, catering to ice dancers, speed skaters, hockey enthusiasts, and a Figures Club. By pure chance, I found myself present on a day when the figures club's president happened to show me a brooch she had commissioned a jeweller to create, as an accolade bestowed upon the best 'figures' skater annually.

However, the stock of these brooches was depleted and the brooch she showed me was the last one they had to give out. Being a jeweller by trade, my curiosity was piqued, and the quality of the brooch before me left me both intrigued and motivated. Instinctively, I knew I could elevate this brooch into something much more special and I eagerly conveyed my thoughts.

The result?

A bespoke collection of 30 silver skating brooches, commissioned for the esteemed Royal Skating Club. Crafting these pieces took an arduous eight months, with myself finding the time to create and finish them in between my other ongoing jewellery creations.
As I unveiled a handful of completed brooches to fellow enthusiasts at the ice rink, their immediate adoration was palpable. Their fervent appeals transformed into earnest requests for these brooches to be fashioned into necklaces.