At six years of age, I became fascinated with collecting gems, rocks and fossils. Then at 14 years old, I had seen a jeweller crafting some pieces, and went to do work experience with him, which is what started my career in this field. I still remember the first piece I created. It was a brooch I made for my grandmother. It was crafted with silver and gold, and diamonds. It was very 1990s, but she loved it and still wears it today. This has really resonated into my work today. The articles we create at Grew & Co are emotional keystones in our clients’ lives. They will be passed down from generation to generation, and will gather new sentiments and emotions as the years go by. When we custom-make a piece, we start off with an initial discussion of elements and influences that a client is drawn to, for example, metal colours, textures, stones and design style. This may come from what they do each day in their life, a hobby or a passion. A design brief is created from this and concept sketched and 3D designed if needed. Once finalised, it then goes into production on the bench which may be worked on by a jeweller to form the metal components. The inspiration behind our designs changes all the time. At the moment, it is replicating surface textures drawn from nature. I am also drawn to coloured golds, bringing back antique golds in peach and apricot. My days begin with a morning group meeting on what is on the bench, and a timeline of what is going to go out for the week. Then we dedicate time to designing and meeting clients, and spend the remaining time on the bench. When it comes to wedding rings, every client is after something different. I predict the next trend for grooms will be super alloy rings such as tantalum (dark grey/black metal) and customised alloys, while for brides it will be stacking two bands at a time with a mix of colours either in stones or metal choices, such as rose gold and antique golds.
