SH Jewellery

07/10/2026

Visiting Goldsmiths' Fair - fine jewellery & contemporary silver last week, alongside the news about ECA Jewellery & Silversmithing Department, has made me quite reflective about my career.

I looked out some old pictures, and it’s crazy to think that I have so little from my time doing the Fair! I did Goldsmiths Fair for six consecutive years, from 2005–2010 - a time before social media had really taken off, and certainly before smartphones with decent cameras meant we could easily document everything!

This is my stand from around ’07/’08, I think!! I remember doing my first Fair in 2005. I applied after being told by Paul Dyson (the Fair organiser at the time), “You should apply for the Fair,” when I won the The Goldsmiths' Company Award for Silversmithing at New Designers in 2004.

I had never visited the Fair before. I’d never done any direct-selling exhibitions before! I was straight in at the deep end - and so lucky for this to be my starting point.

I was awarded a bursary stand, and what a step into business it was for me. I remember feeling so utterly out of my depth on that first set-up day. My stand was opposite Fred Rich - a young, 23-year-old me, opposite such an industry master craftsman! Fred & Adrian couldn’t have been more welcoming to me.

Goldsmiths Fair gave me so much in terms of opportunities, contacts, clients and friends. It gave me a pathway. And all of that came from the strong education and training I received at Edinburgh College of Art.

It’s now a little over six months until Alchemy: Goldsmiths Scotland comes to the City Art Centre in Edinburgh. I hope that we can create more of those same opportunities and connections here too.

The feeling of community, and what our industry can achieve together, feels really strong right now. I hope everyone is starting to realise just how much . ❤️

**Image 3 - is me with the Princess Michael of Kent on my stand where the Fair bought one of my bowls to gift to the Princess.
**Image 4 - my earrings appearing in the Financial Times after the Fair!

04/10/2026

03/10/2026

✨ A fabulous before and after ✨

Our client had had these diamonds made into a pair of earrings by another jeweller but felt they were too solid and clunky. Step in to make these simple elegant earrings with remove-able details so that the studs can be worn alone and the left details are interchangeable with other studs she has. A beautiful outcome. Collected this week by one happy customer.

30/09/2026

We are BACK! I was only in London for three days for but it’s felt like A LOT has happened in just a few days! I can’t wait to share more from my trip with you over the coming days including my top favourite pieces from week one and week two! In the mean time me and my scruffy assistant (who has had a growth spurt 🥹) are in store 10 - 2pm today! 🐾

24/09/2026

I’m sorry, but for me there is no better combination than green and gold and here are these pieces to prove my point! Are you with me? 🤩

Hannah Bedford
Rachel Jones Jewellery MA RCA
mikala djorup

22/09/2026

This photograph was taken 20 years ago in the ECA Jewellery & Silversmithing Department department at Edinburgh College of Art

Twenty-four-year-old me could never have imagined the career that would grow from this place. Nor could I have imagined that one day, this extraordinary centre of creativity, inspiration, skill and opportunity might cease to exist.

Last week it was announced that the Jewellery & Silversmithing course at ECA - a course renowned in its time for its exceptional results - is to be closed and phased out over the next four years.

I studied under Professor Dorothy Hogg MBE, who has sadly since passed. Being one of “Dorothy’s girls” gave you a foot firmly in the door. The opportunities and contacts she made possible were second to none.

Dorothy put me forward for Retail Jeweller Magazine Student Designer of the Year, arranged for .hope to give me one-to-one metalwork teaching, and helped me access The Goldsmiths' Company silver grants. These weren’t simply wonderful opportunities — they gave me crucial skills, confidence, connections and stepping stones into the industry.

Getting a First under Dorothy was something we all wanted to achieve. I was then given the opportunity to stay on as an Artist in Residence, with a safe space, fully equipped workshop and the chance to teach. That experience ultimately led to my teaching job at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design and Architecture and industry friends including Roger Morris and Eileen Gatt

So much of the career I have built began in those workshops.

At a time when traditional hand skills are increasingly being lost, places that teach and nurture those skills are more important than ever. Routes into jewellery, silversmithing and the creative industries are essential. This is something I feel passionately about through Alchemy: Goldsmiths Scotland - promoting jewellery and metalwork as a skilled and rewarding career.

I stand with the subjects being cut from Edinburgh College of Art, and with the students, staff, technicians, artists and wider creative community affected by these losses.

It was heartbreaking enough to see the fantastic Foundation course disappear. We cannot keep losing vital parts of Edinburgh’s creative community. The loss is too great!

14/09/2026

It’s been three weeks since I started these new hours to coincide with the school term and I have to say I am loving it. Hopefully you aren’t finding the reduced hours too inconvenient! I am sharing them here clearly for anyone who was a little confused and thought we now shut at 2pm every day!

04/09/2026

A lovely article in this months Retail Jeweller Magazine looking at what makes Edinburgh Contemporary Jewellery Gallery at 15. A big part of that is our move towards Preloved Contemporary Jewellery and our Preloved collections which celebrates 3 years this week✨
I am forever grateful to be thriving in a time that is particularly hard for a lot of small businesses and as it says in the article a lot of that I believe is down to our customer service that sets us apart.
The last 15 years have taught me that success isn’t necessarily about doing things bigger — it’s about doing them with purpose, staying curious, adapting when the industry changes, and always putting the customer at the heart of everything.

02/09/2026

Just some of the latest commissions from Justin Duance Jewellery ✨
We love these sand cast rings for their organic appearance, their comfort to wear, and above all the fact that you can add even more meaning to them by choosing to have them made with sand from your own favourite special beach 💛
What beach would you choose?