After seven wonderful years in our Glenelg South studio, the time has come for a new chapter. Our final day in the space will be Friday, August 22. While I won’t have a physical studio for a couple of months, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll still be making bespoke pieces from behind the scenes, and we’ll be popping up now and then with special events.
There’s no set reopening date just yet, but I’m aiming for the end of the year.
There’s something special about creating something with your hands. It’s an opportunity to lose yourself – a meditative form of self-expression that gives you a break from the usual hustle and bustle of life. Jewellery-making classes not only allow you to escape for a couple of hours, but you’ll also get a unique piece you’ll treasure forever.
I wanted to create a gift that is not only completely unique but also plays with light to create a surface that subtly shimmers when worn. I love texture and am fascinated with the way that embossed silver bounces colour from the surrounding environment. My Eclipse earrings are a true reflection of all of these ideas.
Happy First Birthday to Claire Brooks Studio Gallery! To celebrate and thank you for your ongoing support, I am holding a 24 Hour flash sale giving you 10% off all 2020 jewellery classes which are officially available in store and online as of right…. NOW! (terms and conditions below)
To redeem your 10% discount, copy the code and book in now.
Choosing to be a contemporary jeweller is certainly the road less travelled as far as career paths go. The journey is long, thoroughly rewarding and cannot be travelled alone. I am extremely lucky to have a great group of family and friends who have helped me along the way and if there’s one person who’s always had faith in my ability to turn my passion into a self-sustaining career, it is my lovely Mother.
Collecting micro plastic for my exhibition pieces always leaves me with contradicting emotions. On the one hand, the process of searching through the sand in front of the beautiful ocean is peaceful and meditative. It is like a never ending treasure hunt where there is always something new to discover and I am absolutely elated when I find my next precious plastic jewel. I love the way the ocean wears the pieces of plastic beyond recognition, leaving only a trace of the original item. On the other hand, I am horrified that these tiny fragments of plastic are being ingested by beautiful sea creatures and destroying the ocean with toxic chemicals as they break down.
When it comes to custom orders, you never know who might call or what project a customer might have in mind. I was recently thrown one of these exciting jewellery […]
Given the increasing popularity of ‘Fast Fashion,’ a phenomenon where trends are in one day and out (or thrown out) the next, it is no surprise that I regularly have customers coming to me with jewellery that they love but have not lasted the test of time. To keep up with fashion at such a speed, items are made quickly and cheaply to last a season rather than a lifetime. Not only is the throw away mentality terrible for the environment, but the premature death of a beloved piece of jewellery is often upsetting for the client.
I have been making wearable Plastic Soup pieces for some time now to explore and engage people with the issue of excess plastics circulating our oceans. The response has been really positive, however, I have observed people struggling with the tiny scale of the work. Given their intimate location on the body, some people have been too shy to approach the pieces whilst others miss them altogether. In response to this, I wanted to experiment by removing the pieces from the body and increasing their size to see whether larger sculptural works would be more successful in engaging my audience.
Since working for a jeweller I have seen many old and sometimes neglected wedding rings come through the door to be repaired. Years of everyday wear tend to reduce protruding details of the pieces such as claws and delicate filigree.
