15/10/2026
I’ve had a flurry of new followers recently so I thought I would show my face and say hello 👋 or rather show you where my jewellery journey began. The announcement that Edinburgh College of Art is closing its undergraduate Jewellery and Silversmithing course has weighed heavily on me for the last few weeks.
When I walked into the jewellery department for my interview with and - having flown all the way up from London with my massive portfolio at a ridiculously early hour - I felt like I had to be there. This was the place I wanted to be and this was what I wanted to learn.
For so many of us, this course was so much more than a degree. It was a place to learn how to make, to experiment, to fail, to try again, and to discover a love for working with our hands. The excitement of getting my first tool box, colour coding all of my tools; 24 hour access to the studios with a giant forge and their amazing views of the quad below and the beautiful city skyline.
Jewellery and silversmithing are crafts built on generations of knowledge. Techniques that have been developed and refined over hundreds of years don’t simply exist on their own — they survive because people are given the opportunity to learn them, practise them and pass them on.
I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to study at ECA and to have learned skills that have stayed with me long after graduating (not forgetting silversmithing lessons from Grant McCaig ). The education I received continues to shape the way I work, create and make a living today.
What makes this decision particularly heartbreaking is thinking about the students who will now never get that same opportunity. The person who walks into the workshop for the first time, picks up a tool, learns how to saw pierce and suddenly thinks, this is what I want to do.
Scotland has such a rich history of craft and making. At a time when traditional skills need to be protected, taught and carried forward, losing a specialist course like this feels incredibly short-sighted. 💛 If you are able to, please write to your MSP to petition this decision.
