We are really delighted to be joined for this instalment of Meet the Creatives by Lewes-based jeweller Abby Mosseri. Abby’s distinctive, exquisite beautiful jewellery is the culmination of years of training and a great eye for the unusual.
From where she gets her inspiration to the joys of hunting for just the right gemstones, we think you’re going to love this one!
Welcome, Abby, we’re so glad to have you with us.
1.Can you tell us what you do, and how you came to be doing it?
I am a jeweller and goldsmith. My career started in Hatton Garden where I worked under a Master Jeweller as a trainee. This traditional training was followed up with a Jewellery Design Degree at Central St Martins. After graduation I worked alongside other genius jewellers in London and Brighton, until I felt I had the experience, knowledge and customer base to set up my own workshop and go it alone.
2.Where do you draw inspiration from, and what do you do if you ever feel creatively stuck?
I am interested human creativity and imagination, particularly how cultures adorn themselves through history to the present day. First hand contact with different cultures through travel and anthropological collections such as the Pitt Rivers Museum fuel my creativity.
A trip to London usually sorts me out if I get stuck. Absorbing the urban environment can be reviving and the British Museum is a constant inspiration to me.
3.What are the most exciting design developments, particularly in your field, that you see coming up in the future?
There are developments in technology within the jewellery trade, particularly CAD, which enable some incredible designs to be achieved that may not be achievable otherwise. Sarah Herriot‘s exceptional jewellery comes to mind. The flip side of new technologies is that traditional hand skills are being lost in Britain’s jewellery industry.
4.What do you love most about your job?
I am a maker with a passion for natural gemstones. I am happiest when I am at my bench, listening to music and losing myself in technique and process. Sourcing and selecting gemstones is always exciting – I mostly use one-off gems, so I never know what I am going to find.
5.What are your most treasured household objects?
Started by my parents, I have a growing collection of antique African Art. My husband Jason is a Windsor chair maker and he made a Birdcage Windsor chair last year in Tennessee. It’s outstanding.
6.What are the main challenges you face in your professional life, and how do you try to overcome them?
The jewellery I design is often very time consuming to create, and I am mostly a one-woman band so all the other aspects of running a business can get a bit squeezed. I pass on tasks that I am not so good at to freelancers.
7. If you could visit any house/ building in the world, where would you go?
I do have a list so Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater would be a good start.
Thanks so much for joining us Abby. You can find out more about Abby via her Instagram page here.
Product images courtesy of Jonnie Basset.