Stories


Irish jewellery

Stories


Irish jewellery

Names Jewellery

Names Jewellery

  Posted by Clare Grennan in: Irish jewellery, jewellery, names jewellery

Frequent visitors to our website may have noticed the stunning new photography on our jewellery pages online. We are slowly updating all our jewellery photography with new product shots to come in the Spring along with new additions to our collection. You can also find customer favourites; Naneen, Margaret and Peggy now  available in 9ct gold. 

Photographer: Seán Jackson 
Art Director: Keelin Coyle
Names Jewellery

Names Jewellery

  Posted by Clare Grennan in: Irish jewellery, jewellery, names jewellery

Frequent visitors to our website may have noticed the stunning new photography on our jewellery pages online. We are slowly updating all our jewellery photography with new product shots to come in the Spring along with new additions to our collection. You can also find customer favourites; Naneen, Margaret and Peggy now  available in 9ct gold. 

Photographer: Seán Jackson 
Art Director: Keelin Coyle
Laura Caffrey - Names Dublin

Laura Caffrey - Names Dublin

  Posted by Clare Grennan in: Drury Street, Dublin, Dublin workshop, Irish design shop

  • What do you make?

I make jewellery. For the past two years, along with my partner in crime Clare, I have been producing a range of jewellery, Names, that we believe reflects both of our skills and personalities in equal measures. We have designed two collections so far, with another micro collection in the pipelines at the moment.

  • Could you tell us a little bit about your studio? Favourite thing about the space and how do you get into the mindset of making?

Our studio is just above Irish Design Shop, so we share our time between the shop and the studio. Sometimes it can be difficult to change over from shop mindset to studio mindset, tidying up the workbench is always a good starting point, and we always have a to-do list on the go to refer to. It’s a great space with really good light and a great view of all of the comings and goings on a bustling Drury Street. We share the space with six other jewellers so there’s always someone around to chat to.

  • What is your favourite tool and why?

I have quite a few favourite go-to tools, one file that I prefer to all of the others, a nice new calipers that’s great for measuring and marking, but my mini rawhide mallet is probably my favourite. It’s made of rolled up animal hide, so you can use it to shape metal without marking it like you would with a metal hammer, but this one has a little weight inside it, so it gives an extra bit of power behind it, it’s small but mighty!

  • Can you describe the making process and inspiration behind your Muriel bangle?

The Muriel bangle is one of my favourite pieces from our second collection ‘Homespun’. It kind of brings together a lot of the ideas in the two collections. The combination of the solid and hollow forms sit really nicely side by side or apart, and move freely around the solid round bangle.

The two moving components were originally formed in wax on the lathe and then cast in solid silver, the casts are cleaned up before being threaded onto the round wire which has been shaped into a round bangle. The bangle is then soldered closed and the whole piece sanded and polished to show off our trademark contrasting matte and polished finishes. The work is all very hands on and the designs are heavily influenced by traditional jewellery skills, used in a way to produce modern, contemporary shapes.

  • What led you to choosing this craft as a profession? What do you love most about it?

I started in art college full sure that I would be studying either painting or possibly textiles. In first year we had to try out a few courses and for some reason, I tried out metalwork, that one week trial totally changed my mind. I was fascinated by the things you could do with metal, how something so solid can be so malleable. I love that with metal, most things are repairable. With ceramics and glass, if it breaks you cannot really fix it, with metal you can almost always fix whatever goes wrong.

For a better look at Laura and Clare's stunning jewellery collection "Names" you can shop or simply have a browse here.

Laura Caffrey - Names Dublin

Laura Caffrey - Names Dublin

  Posted by Clare Grennan in: Drury Street, Dublin, Dublin workshop, Irish design shop

  • What do you make?

I make jewellery. For the past two years, along with my partner in crime Clare, I have been producing a range of jewellery, Names, that we believe reflects both of our skills and personalities in equal measures. We have designed two collections so far, with another micro collection in the pipelines at the moment.

  • Could you tell us a little bit about your studio? Favourite thing about the space and how do you get into the mindset of making?

Our studio is just above Irish Design Shop, so we share our time between the shop and the studio. Sometimes it can be difficult to change over from shop mindset to studio mindset, tidying up the workbench is always a good starting point, and we always have a to-do list on the go to refer to. It’s a great space with really good light and a great view of all of the comings and goings on a bustling Drury Street. We share the space with six other jewellers so there’s always someone around to chat to.

  • What is your favourite tool and why?

I have quite a few favourite go-to tools, one file that I prefer to all of the others, a nice new calipers that’s great for measuring and marking, but my mini rawhide mallet is probably my favourite. It’s made of rolled up animal hide, so you can use it to shape metal without marking it like you would with a metal hammer, but this one has a little weight inside it, so it gives an extra bit of power behind it, it’s small but mighty!

  • Can you describe the making process and inspiration behind your Muriel bangle?

The Muriel bangle is one of my favourite pieces from our second collection ‘Homespun’. It kind of brings together a lot of the ideas in the two collections. The combination of the solid and hollow forms sit really nicely side by side or apart, and move freely around the solid round bangle.

The two moving components were originally formed in wax on the lathe and then cast in solid silver, the casts are cleaned up before being threaded onto the round wire which has been shaped into a round bangle. The bangle is then soldered closed and the whole piece sanded and polished to show off our trademark contrasting matte and polished finishes. The work is all very hands on and the designs are heavily influenced by traditional jewellery skills, used in a way to produce modern, contemporary shapes.

  • What led you to choosing this craft as a profession? What do you love most about it?

I started in art college full sure that I would be studying either painting or possibly textiles. In first year we had to try out a few courses and for some reason, I tried out metalwork, that one week trial totally changed my mind. I was fascinated by the things you could do with metal, how something so solid can be so malleable. I love that with metal, most things are repairable. With ceramics and glass, if it breaks you cannot really fix it, with metal you can almost always fix whatever goes wrong.

For a better look at Laura and Clare's stunning jewellery collection "Names" you can shop or simply have a browse here.

A Range of Cufflinks

A Range of Cufflinks

  Posted by Clare Grennan in: contemporary jewellery, cufflinks, geometric jewellery, handmade

Our very own jewellery line Names Dublin was launched last Autumn. Even after months of brainstorming and experimenting in the studio, we could not have predicted how popular it would prove to be. Over the months leading up to Christmas, we noticed how much our male customers seemed to really love the jewellery, the appeal being the bold geometric shapes, the matte and polished surfaces, the satisfying weight of the brass.

The idea of producing a range of cufflinks seemed like a natural progression for Names, and so in January we began prototyping. What has always bothered myself and Laura about cufflinks are the backs, how flimsy they tend to be, an afterthought to the design of the front. Our focus was to produce each cufflink as one complete shape, giving equal importance to the front and back, ensuring both complimented each other perfectly. Constructed in three parts, each cufflink has been formed by cold connection, as in there was no soldering involved. By using this process, the end result is much cleaner and a strong geometric design is achieved. 

The overall process, from initial drawings to finished pieces has been a challenge, but we are really pleased with the end result. The four designs in the range are named after our fathers and grandfathers, John, George, Martin and Mick. Each set of cufflinks is available in either rose or yellow 18carat gold plated brass and packaged in our custom made jewellery boxes. 

  

A Range of Cufflinks

A Range of Cufflinks

  Posted by Clare Grennan in: contemporary jewellery, cufflinks, geometric jewellery, handmade

Our very own jewellery line Names Dublin was launched last Autumn. Even after months of brainstorming and experimenting in the studio, we could not have predicted how popular it would prove to be. Over the months leading up to Christmas, we noticed how much our male customers seemed to really love the jewellery, the appeal being the bold geometric shapes, the matte and polished surfaces, the satisfying weight of the brass.

The idea of producing a range of cufflinks seemed like a natural progression for Names, and so in January we began prototyping. What has always bothered myself and Laura about cufflinks are the backs, how flimsy they tend to be, an afterthought to the design of the front. Our focus was to produce each cufflink as one complete shape, giving equal importance to the front and back, ensuring both complimented each other perfectly. Constructed in three parts, each cufflink has been formed by cold connection, as in there was no soldering involved. By using this process, the end result is much cleaner and a strong geometric design is achieved. 

The overall process, from initial drawings to finished pieces has been a challenge, but we are really pleased with the end result. The four designs in the range are named after our fathers and grandfathers, John, George, Martin and Mick. Each set of cufflinks is available in either rose or yellow 18carat gold plated brass and packaged in our custom made jewellery boxes. 

  

Kathleen

Kathleen

  Posted by Laura Caffrey in: Dublin stories, Geometric jewellery, granny, Irish design

In choosing to name our first collection of jewellery after the women in our families we were set the task of finding out more about these women's lives. I spent many Sunday afternoons last year questioning my parents about their childhoods, trying to tease out of them what they remembered about growing up, and the family stories they could recall.

Kay Halley (née Clarke) was born in Dublin in 1914. She was brought up in a Stoneybatter cottage by her oldest sister Nellie, as her mother passed away when she was just two years old. Her father worked as a cooper for Guinness', making the barrels and casks to store the stout in.

After working as a seamstress for a couple of tailors around Thomas Street and the South Circular Road, she married in 1939 and had four children. Living on a terraced road in Kilmainham, she was always enterprising, finding alternative ways to make a few bob. She organised a furniture club with the neighbours, a way to save up to buy a new sofa or kitchen table, as well as a coal club to budget for the cold months of winter, and used her sewing skills to run up curtains and clothes for anyone who needed them.

My clearest memory of my Nana Halley was spending an afternoon in her kitchen baking apple tarts (she made the the best apple tarts ever!) The radio was on in the kitchen, and Stevie Wonder was singing "I just called to say I love you" and we were singing along while we rolled out pastry. From then on that was our song. But the song I will always remember her by is "I'll take you home again Kathleen" which my Granda would regularly sing to her after a few pints of the black stuff.

Part of our inaugural Names collection, the Kathleen necklace is cut from a thick bar of round brass, then filed and sanded into shape by hand leaving contrasting matte and high polished finishes. It hangs on a long 32" ball chain and is available in either rose or yellow gold.

Kathleen

Kathleen

  Posted by Laura Caffrey in: Dublin stories, Geometric jewellery, granny, Irish design

In choosing to name our first collection of jewellery after the women in our families we were set the task of finding out more about these women's lives. I spent many Sunday afternoons last year questioning my parents about their childhoods, trying to tease out of them what they remembered about growing up, and the family stories they could recall.

Kay Halley (née Clarke) was born in Dublin in 1914. She was brought up in a Stoneybatter cottage by her oldest sister Nellie, as her mother passed away when she was just two years old. Her father worked as a cooper for Guinness', making the barrels and casks to store the stout in.

After working as a seamstress for a couple of tailors around Thomas Street and the South Circular Road, she married in 1939 and had four children. Living on a terraced road in Kilmainham, she was always enterprising, finding alternative ways to make a few bob. She organised a furniture club with the neighbours, a way to save up to buy a new sofa or kitchen table, as well as a coal club to budget for the cold months of winter, and used her sewing skills to run up curtains and clothes for anyone who needed them.

My clearest memory of my Nana Halley was spending an afternoon in her kitchen baking apple tarts (she made the the best apple tarts ever!) The radio was on in the kitchen, and Stevie Wonder was singing "I just called to say I love you" and we were singing along while we rolled out pastry. From then on that was our song. But the song I will always remember her by is "I'll take you home again Kathleen" which my Granda would regularly sing to her after a few pints of the black stuff.

Part of our inaugural Names collection, the Kathleen necklace is cut from a thick bar of round brass, then filed and sanded into shape by hand leaving contrasting matte and high polished finishes. It hangs on a long 32" ball chain and is available in either rose or yellow gold.