Tiffany Budd Goldsmith
One-off jewellery designs
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I was born in England in 1979 and grew up on Hayling Island, a small island connected to the mainland by a road bridge in Hampshire, on the south coast of England. Our house was just across the road from the beach, so I was lucky enough to have the sea right on my doorstep. Dad keeping hens and ducks, along with our dog and several cats, meant I spent countless hours outdoors keeping myself entertained. When I wasn’t playing in the garden, I could often be found at the kitchen table, immersed in painting, drawing, or playing with clay. I still love messing around in the garden and making art today so nothing has really changed there. Art was always an integral part of family life for me growing up; my granddad was a painter and my mum and sisters were always engaged in something creative. At school I found academic work hard to focus on and was known as a daydreamer, but thankfully I was lucky enough -at primary school at least- to have great teachers who spent a lot of time on arts and crafts. By 10 I had decided I would like to either work for Nick Park, the creator of the animation Wallace and Grommet, or become a marine biologist, which at the time I thought entailed swimming with dolphins all day.
After finishing school, I studied art at college but didn’t really know what to do next. I knew I wanted to pursue a career as an artist but didn’t know in which direction. I later enrolled in a night course for jewellery making and silversmithing because I had enjoyed the little bit of metalwork I had done at school. Although that class ended after a year, the joy of making small shiny metal objects has never left me. I continued to teach myself various jewellery-making skills while working as a stained glass overlay artist for double glazing companies and later training and working as a chef while attending catering college.
Skip forward a couple of years to 2000, my not-quite-yet husband Mike and I moved to Ireland after our first child Molly was born. Neither of us really knew what we would do when we got here, but we knew that we didn’t want to live and work in a busy city any more. With my family already settled in Ireland, we sought our own slice of paradise, which we found in County Sligo. For the first few years we lived in a caravan in a field with plenty of room to play and not much more.
Mike initially worked as a phone salesman before realizing and pursuing his dream of becoming a blacksmith. I had always thought that once the kids (we now had two) were old enough, I would find work in kitchens again. While I did briefly find myself in a kitchen, my love for making jewellery persisted and it worked around family life so much easier than cheffing. So in 2007 when our youngest, George, started school, I began working at the bench that Mike had built for me in our very tiny shed. I started small with little in the way of tools and was constantly tripping over the lawnmower. But I was making and, every now and then, selling a piece of jewellery.
Without formal training, I have amassed many skills over the past 28 years and developed my own style as an artist. I was lucky enough to become friends with, and be mentored by, the late master goldsmith and lapidarist Erwin Springbrunn who, with his fantastic wife Doris, also chose the north-west of Ireland to call home. I would call Erwin up with questions and he would say, “Come here, I’ll show you.” Over the years, my learning has been a patchwork of books, videos, a lot of trial and error, and the generosity of other craftspeople who have shared their knowledge with me.
I’ve always made my own designs but now more than ever follow my instincts. Sometimes, ideas take time to crystallise, and I’ve learned not to rush the process and to trust my own feelings on my creations. I might be weeding a veggie bed or walking the dogs when an idea finally comes to me. Quite often, it’s when I’m in the midst of creating something already that the finished piece or another piece entirely shows itself to me.
I’m not driven by trends or fashions; instead, I create art out of passion. My clients appreciate this approach, choosing to work with me for my artistry rather than just to buy a nice design.
Throughout my career, I’ve utilized many different areas of the craft including different styles of gem setting, chasing and repoussé, mokume gane, hollow form construction, and keum-boo to name a few. The endless ways in which precious and non-precious metals can be moved and exploited for design is fascinating. I have been able to achieve something not unlike marquetry in woodwork through mokume gane or metal fusing techniques, most notably with copper and silver. This technique has really captured my imagination and allowed me to explore the unique textures and patterns that can emerge, enriching my work in ways I never anticipated.
My journey has opened unexpected doors, including invitations to teach, speak, and exhibit in the US. I’ve also welcomed interns and enjoy sharing my knowledge with a new generation of craftspeople, collaborating with community groups in Ireland, including the National Museum of Ireland where I’ve created replica pieces for the handling collection. My work is collected by people from all around the world, and I’ve forged friendships along the way.
More recently, I have been exploring hollow forms on a slightly larger scale. This is often influenced by Mike’s work as a blacksmith and other blacksmiths we’ve met on our travels. My work style means I straddle a balance between commissioned pieces, which usually require me to work within a brief, and my own designs, within which I can really explore and play. This style of working affords me the ability to grow as an artist, which is ultimately the fundamental driver of what I do.
Tiffany Budd Goldsmith
One-off jewellery designs
