Elizabeth Anne Norris Now Stocking Jewellers in Lewes

Elizabeth Anne Norris handmade enamel jewellery can now be found in Jonathan Swan’s jewellery shop, The Workshop, in the historic town of Lewes, East Sussex. Not only is The Workshop the first stockist of my unique handmade jewellery but it is the only enamel jewellery in the gallery collection.

Jonathan Swan’s establishment, The Workshop, is located in the shadow of Lewes Castle and has a long and interesting history. The original building dates back to 800 – 900 AD (Alfred the Great came to the throne in 856 AD, before written English history). The Workshop is 300 years older than the Norman Castle next door.  The small alley dividing the workshop from next door was originally the main road into Lewes. Pottery excavated from inside the building has been dated 12th century. In recent history The Workshop had been occupied by London and Provincial Butchers, a plumber’s merchant and a charity shop. When Jonathan Swan acquired The Workshop, in 1981, it was in need of much restoration.

Jonathan had totally transformed the place into 4 functional spaces. At the front is the shop on the high street which houses a handpicked range of daring and different handmade contemporary jewellery by selected UK jewellery designers. Behind are 3 rooms, converted into jewellery workshop space. Upstairs, Jonathan’s jeweller’s bench is made from Rock Maple that used to belong to Winston Churchill. (The tree originally stood on the grounds of his house at Chartwell but was blown down in the 1987 gale). The downstairs back workshop has an upwards view of the Castle, and nine bench spaces made from old telegraph poles. The downstairs front workshop is the oldest part, and is now full of exciting jewellery equipment.

If you’d like to visit The Workshop, to browse the handmade designer jewellery or to take a jewellery course, all the information you need is below. I can also highly recommend a day trip to Lewes. If not then click here to take a look at the wonderful workshop photos 

Click image to take you to The Workshop Website

 

 http://theworkshoplewes.com

The Workshop
164 The High Street
Lewes
East Sussex
BN7 1XU

01273 474207

 

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 Elizabeth Anne Norris   Designer / Maker / Teacher 

 info@eanjewellery.com   0777 339 4413

Gem of The Day – Jen from Prox

Jen of Prox is a mum, wife and artist and very busy with that! She’s forever busy with many creative projects at once in her home town of Cleveland, Ohio.

I spotted Jen in her guise as an enamel artist and was immediately taken by her powerful eye grabbing enamel jewellery. Each piece of her handmade enamel jewelry is one of a kind which makes it all the more special.

Jen’s cloisonné enamel pendant, that I’ve chosen for my ‘Gem of The Day’ today, features the moon in two of its phases with arrow shapes in subtle natural colours. You can read more about the artist’s inspiration in her blog here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/prox/about/

Jen describes the process involved in cloisonné enamelling below. Enamel artists love their work and they must as it takes time. I think the results of Jen’s enamelling are wonderful.

“A layer of clear glass enamel is applied to a domed copper circle. Then I apply tiny fine silver wires to the dome. Each wire has to follow the curve of the dome, and lie perfectly on the glass before I fire it and fuse the wires to the copper. I apply 24kt and fine silver foil to certain parts of the design. I fill each part of the design with different colours of enamel. Before I fire it, the enamel looks like sand. It is glass that has been ground very fine. I have to apply several layers of glass (at least 7) firing each one. This allows the glass to be as clear as possible, and it prevents impurities and cracking. After I’ve applied all the layers of glass I grind all the high spots of the enamel down so it is smooth. Then I have to fire it again. Next I hand sand the enamel. This is how it gets the final matte and smooth finish. I start with an 80 grit sanding block and go all the way down to a 1500 grit sanding block. This process usually takes many hours to complete. “

Click here to see who’s been my ‘Gem of The Day’ before? Which has been your favourite so far? Please leave a comment below. I’d love your feedback.

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 Elizabeth Anne Norris   Designer / Maker / Teacher 

 info@eanjewellery.com   0777 339 4413

Vitreous Enamel Colours

I am feeling a bit under the weather today so thought, while I am staying at home trying to rest and recuperate, I’d re-do my enamel colour boards. This morning I have rearranged and revitalised my opaque vitreous enamel samples onto a new board. Having this board arranged in a colour wheel is important to show customers when I am discussing enamel jewellery commissions or if I am trying to combine good colours for a new jewellery design.

The photo doesn’t really do the vibrant enamel colours justice but you get the idea.  Enamels have such wonderful names like ‘buttermilk’ , ‘coral’,  ’peppermint’ and ‘duck egg green’.

I can now see the holes in my colour collection. I think I need to get more purples and greens. What do you think?

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 Elizabeth Anne Norris   Designer / Maker / Teacher 

 info@eanjewellery.com   0777 339 4413

Diamond Geeza Cufflinks

A recent addition to my cufflink designs are the Diamond Geeza Cufflinks pictured below. I love these handmade sterling silver and enamel cufflinks inspired by the diamond jubilee. My particular choice of enamels for this design is turquoise grey and deep smoke for neutral colouring.

You may or may not know that all my handmade jewellery and cufflinks are designed and made by me at my studio in Brighton. Mostly I produce limited edition designs. The handmade process is what I love most so I can not and will not mass produce my work. For the finer details click on the photos below or click here: Diamond Geeza Cufflinks 

This has been a ‘My Designs’ post. Click here for my previous post ‘Engagement Rings’ or select ‘My Designs’ from the Category drop down menu on the right. Do you have a particular favourite design? Please let me know by adding your comments below. I’m always happy to hear your feedback.

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 Elizabeth Anne Norris   Designer / Maker / Teacher 

 info@eanjewellery.com   0777 339 4413

Hold The Phone ! Guess who’s in Tatler this month ?

I can’t tell you how excited I am that me, Elizabeth Anne Norris is featured in the August 2012 edition of Tatler Magazine. Tatler magazine is one of the oldest magazine publications in Britain and has been running since 1709.

The new edition doesn’t come out until 5 July but I can give you a sneak preview here…

Did you know how Tatler got its name? The idea behind Steele’s original Tatler magazine was to create a publication in which to publish the news and gossip heard in London coffeehouses, hence the name Tatler magazine.

The name Tatler obviously comes from the word Tattle meaning ‘idle talk’, ‘chatter’, ‘gossip’. Well, I hope you think my jewellery is worth a bit of gossip.

I am delighted to have my handmade silver Circles and Pearls Ring featured amongst so many amazing Summertime Jewels that Tatler have selected. It’s a privilege to have my work next to the likes of Julia Burness and Catherine Beckett.

Now for my close up !

If you are excited as me about this article please do leave your feedback below. I’d love to receive your comments. Equally so I’d appreciate it so much if you spread the word of this article. It’s not often I can shout about something like this. Many thanks for reading.

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Elizabeth Anne Norris

Designer / Maker / Teacher / Enamels / Jewellery / Cufflinks

www.eanjewellery.com

info@eanjewellery.com

0777 339 4413

A Busy Week…

This week has been full of different and exciting things so I thought I’d share them with you.

Monday – I made this yellow gold wedding ring to fit match the engagement ring

Tuesday –  I was teaching jewellery classes all day at my studio. Both students were very different so it made for an interesting and enjoyable day.

Wednesday – I am the captain of the Brighton Etsy Team, the members of whom all have shops on Etsy. The Brighton Etsy Team met up to discuss how we can support and promote our creative team.

Thursday – Three days a week I work at King’s College London and Thursday was our Summer outing. We went to Greenwich Park, the Royal Naval College and had a picnic. Here is a panoramic view of London from the Greenwich Observatory  courtesy of Daniel J Marsh.

Friday – I met with the Chairman of The British Society of Enamellers to discuss some exciting developments for the society.

Saturday – I ran a competition during my recent Artists Open Houses exhibition. The winner was Caroline who’s prize was my 3 hour introduction to jewellery course. It was a thoroughly enjoyable morning and Caroline was very happy to take home the silver ring she had made herself.

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Elizabeth Anne Norris

Designer / Maker / Teacher / Enamels / Jewellery / Cufflinks

www.eanjewellery.com

info@eanjewellery.com

0777 339 4413

Engagement Rings

Engagement Rings, a set on Flickr.

I recently went on a stone setting course which was absolutely amazing. I learnt so much. Here are the photos of the engagement rings / eternity rings I made on the course. I’m keen to put my new skills into practise.

Good Jewellery Photography

A good photograph of your jewellery is one of the most important things you can have. The photos in this post are images of some of my enamel jewellery designs taken by photographer Daffyd Owen. I think you’ll agree they look fantastic and I’m very pleased with them. If you’d like to find out more about Daffyd Owen then read on as he’s written a special blog post for me today. You can also follow what he’s up to on his own blog too. Thanks Daf !

Ameoba Cufflinks - Silver and Enamel

“My interest in photography started when my compact camera was stolen from my tent at Glastonbury Festival 1999 – this prompted me to buy my first SLR – a Minolta film SLR. At that point it was just a side hobby and I’d take mostly Landscape and Architecture photos, only from time to time when out for other reasons – like holidays etc. At that point my skill and passion were only progressing slowly. Around 2004 I was starting to see the limits of that camera and was looking to get a new film SLR, but then did some calculations on film cost Vs digital and ended up buying my first DSLR – this opened up a new world.

Back then I was doing a fair bit of clubbing and started taking photos when out – mostly of friends and DJs to begin with. But as I progressed and got better a few promoters offered to pay me for my services (not many people had DSLRs then). Over a couple of years this continued until I was relatively known in the scene covering many hard dance and trance events for promoters in and around London. Eventually it led to me working for DJmag on a regular basis – again covering London events but also several UK festivals and travel to Paris, Dublin and Ibiza. I would also get shoot requests from DJs and music producers and that’s how I started doing more studio like shoots.

Petal Earrings - Silver and Enamel

These days I don’t really go clubbing so much and so don’t cover many such nightlife events – I have a day job and so don’t “need” the income from what can be quite demanding work, but it’s now a true passion – could be said I live and breathe photography. I do less DJ portrait shoots but get all sorts of others – from portrait and fashion to product shoots – such as Elizabeth’s jewellery.

Retro Green Earrings - Silver and Enamel

Photography is still a free time thing and so I do what time allows. At this point in time I don’t think being a full-time freelance photographer would suit me and so a few years ago I managed to get a day job (IT) in a photography business. It gives me the opportunity to discover different sides and aspects of photography business as a whole. Although I work mostly on the IT side of things – I do get to play with cameras from time to time – mostly setting up and running time-lapse projects. These have mostly been construction related – building the 2012 site, refitting a fashion retailer’s head office and some bridge replacement work – all with very different but interesting scenarios.

Moving on – I’d like to develop my studio photography and editing skills a bit more. Being quite a technical person my setups have been fairly technical so far (i own 4 studio lights) – but I now want to take a bit more time to develop projects or shoots with strong themes to them.

By Daffyd Owen”

Meander Necklace Blue - Silver and enamel

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Elizabeth Anne Norris

Designer / Maker / Teacher / Enamels / Jewellery / Cufflinks

www.eanjewellery.com

info@eanjewellery.com

0777 339 4413

The Sky at Night Enamel Jewellery

Here are a couple of new designs for you plus something for the techies. Below are some recent sterling silver and enamel jewellery pieces I’ve added to my collection. Click on the photos for more information.

I spend a lot of time gazing at the stars so it seemed only natural that this activity spawned the sky at night pendant.

This handmade pendant is a sterling silver oval domed, then enamelled with black and white vitreous enamel. I’ve achieved the effect I wanted on the enamel which is to give the impression of a star speckled sky at night.  I have set the enamelled pendant in a  sterling silver rub over setting which hangs on a slender snake chain.

And below are my sky at night earrings handmade in Brighton, again in sterling silver, black and white vitreous enamel.

And if jewellery is not your thing but star-gazing is I thought you might find this fun: THE IPHONE STAR GAZING APP called ‘Star Walk – 5 Stars Astronomy Guide‘. You have to have the technology first but I like the sound of it. Please tell me what you learn and see and leave your comments below. Thanks.

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Elizabeth Anne Norris

Designer / Maker / Teacher / Enamels / Jewellery / Cufflinks

www.eanjewellery.com

info@eanjewellery.com

0777 339 4413

Gem of the Day – Valentin Arte

I’ve chosen these handmade enamelled buttons by Valentin Arte as my ‘gem of the day’ today for many reasons:

Firstly, these colourful enamel buttons are a bit different and I wanted to appeal to those who perhaps wanted a change from enamel jewellery.

Secondly, I am amazed at the detailed design on these buttons. Each button pictures flowers, leaves and gum-nuts of the Australian eucalyptus where Valentin lives.  I discovered eucalyptus flowers in India and think they are fascinating.

Valentin has used different enamel techniques, powder and painted enamels to create every button. Each is a work of art in itself. I love the vibrant mix of colours she has used.

Finally I thought these unique handmade buttons or any of the other handmade buttons Valentin has on offer would be a perfect finish to any handmade, vintage or upcycled clothing.  Wouldn’t you agree?

Who’s been my ‘gem of the day’ before? Which has been your favourite so far? Please leave a comment below. I’d love your feedback.

If  you’ve liked this and don’t want to miss out in future you can…

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Elizabeth Anne Norris

Designer / Maker / Teacher / Enamels / Jewellery / Cufflinks

info@eanjewellery.com

0777 339 4413