Meet the Jewellery Maker: John
Meet the Jewellery Makers
In the Central London studio of Simon Harrison, you’ll find a team of experienced and passionate creatives, all who share Simon’s desire to create jewellery that is both thought-provoking and unique. Each person brings their own specific expertise to the bench when creating the intricate and complex pieces that make up the brand’s five collections. Today, we sit down to chat with John.
John – Senior Model Maker
Model maker, John was drawn to the craftsmanship of jewellery from an early age. ‘As a child, I was always picking up shiny things from the floor, and in metalwork at school, I was making jewellery from 12 or 13, so I think I had that built into me from day one.’ His desire to learn and create led to John leaving school aged 16 to pursue a career at the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham. He honed his model making skills as a diamond mounter at Allegro, before moving to fashion jewellery 10 years later, taking on roles at Swarovski and Dior before joining Simon Harrison in 1997.
His vast experience means John has an instinctive feeling on whether a design is going to work or not. ‘There are three parts to it - commercial, technical and aesthetic If you come up with an idea, it has to tick all of these boxes, else it’s not going to perform.’
John’s passion for jewellery really comes to life when he talks about fixing things - ‘that’s what gives me a buzz’ - and the problem-solving element of creating something that is makeable whilst maintaining the design aesthetic. It’s probably why his favourite piece to create was the intricate Lady Bird pendant, which features a complex mechanism, allowing the wings to spring open. ‘It was one of the more complicated pieces that we’ve created but I like nothing better than if someone says to me ‘I’m not sure if this can be made’. It’s this hunger for making the impossible possible that keeps John excited about his work at Simon Harrison, two decades on - ‘I’m a sucker for a challenge, it’s rarely easy, but where would be the fun in that?’
