Commissioned Jewellery

Silver Swan Earrings

This was commissioned by a young lady who lives on a farm, and wanted these earrings for her Mother who was a big fan of swans and other birds.

I supplier her with various sketches - and we worked together to create something approaching the vision she had for her gift.

Her Mother was delighted with the earrings!

Enamelled Solid Silver Cross With Iron Meteorite

Solid Silver Mardi Gras Medallion

A silver Mardi Gras Medallion I made recently on commission. It is set with meteorite, enamel and a variety of fascinating symbols, precious to the customer. We worked together over several months to come up with the ideal design. This is the full story of the Genesis of the piece - in the words of the commissioner.

I wanted Ian to give the piece a look of antiquity or something an archaeologist would find in a dig! He did a wonderful job of accomplishing this. I love history/anthropology/art and felt this look would tie in all three.

The medallion is round (circle) which signifies completeness. Something I think every person is searching for. The top sign is the Pisces my sign, and the bottom one is Aquarius my daughters sign. The Chi Rho is an ancient symbol but very significant to early Christianity. Neptune is my favorite planet and Triton is Neptune's moon.

The numbers signify the distance between Meridian Mississippi (my place of birth) and Cambridge England. My ancestry is such that my mother is Welsh and English, and my father is Scottish and Irish. I wanted to bring my ancestry to the piece, but had to choose one location to do it. For several reasons, Cambridge is special to me so I decided to use it as my point of reference. The distance between Meridian Mississippi and Cambridge England is 4442 miles and it is 47 NE. Give or take a few miles.

On my maternal side I have American Indian. Since the Choctaw Indians are part of the ancient Mississippian group, I felt choosing Meridian Mississippi also tied them into the piece. The old and new world combined.

Three is my favorite number so three pieces of meteorite was added. This is to signify my love of astronomy. Science has proven humans and stars are made of the same material.

Solid Silver Pig Necklace

This is what the recipient had to say about the commission

“I’d been admiring Ian’s work on his site and was especially fond of (and impressed by) a necklace featuring a silver sheep inlaid with fossil coral for a previous client. Since I have a bit of an obsession with pigs, I emailed Ian to inquire about a similar necklace, only fashioned into a more porcine shape. Ian was very happy to take on the project and quickly worked out a sketch for a piece, as well as offered his own artistic suggestions. He even found a pink fossil cabochon for the pig “body”!

The piece is absolutely exquisite! It is both very beautiful and unique, and something I love to wear. Ian was an absolute pleasure to work with through the whole process—very friendly and professional. I have a feeling I will be a repeat customer.”

Thank you again so much for the necklace. I absolutely love it---in fact, I have a hard time taking it off!

Anna

Silver Annulus With Martian Meteorite

This came about when a customer contacted me with an idea for a piece as a gift.
I sent him a sketch, and came up with ideas for him.

This is the result.

He was inspired by the phrase ' Yet, across the gulf of space' from the classic HG Wells book ' War Of The Worlds and I have included this around the edge of the Annulus.
I sourced some Martian meteorite fragments for the vial.

I sent it to him to give as a gift at the time of the Perseid meteor shower!
A nice touch!

Silver And Fordite Engagement Ring

This ring came about from a phonecall from a lady. She had been looking to have a ring created as an engagement ring for some years, but hadnt been able to find one.

She was really pleased that I could give her what she wanted!

I sent her images of various Fordite cabochons I had sourced and she chose the one she liked.
I always do it this way, then customers get EXACTLY the ring they want.

Silver Claddagh Earrings

These were commissioned by a girl for her Mother.
She was pretty specific about what she wanted, and was happy with what I created.
This isn't my usual style of jewellery, but I will do what I can to meet a brief.
These are a traditional Irish style so it was important that they fitted in with the tradition.

Silver 'Hare Over The Moon' Brooch

This piece followed on from the Sheep pieces.
The customer wanted a piece based on the idea of a hare jumping over the moon as it had great resonance for her.

I came up with various sketches ( visible on the more images tab) and she chose the style and shape she liked best.

I am really pleased with this piece and so is she!

Enamelled Silver Toucan Brooch

I made this for my Son, Max

He was doing a school project on the rainforests recently, and I knew he was really keen on Toucans.
He really likes it ( but is NOT allowed to wear it at school!)
It is solid silver, with various glass enamels, and a silver brooch pin on the back.

Silver Sheep Cufflinks And Earrings

This commission came about after a customer had seen the sheep necklace.
She wanted something special for her and her husband on an anniversary.
They are solid silver with nice bright glass enamel round the outside, giving them a lively, fun look!
( click the more images button to see the earrings.)

Solid Silver Sheep Necklace

I made this as a special commission for a customer whose partner was training to be a sheep farmer at Agricultural College and he wanted a piece of sheep jewellery for her Birthday.
I had an idea that some Fossil coral cabochons look quite like wool - and it grew from there!
This is what he had to say after she received it...

Hi Ian,

The sheep arrived at nine this morning, and he looks grand!! Baaaaah-rilliant, in fact. I wanted to email you sooner, but our main computer still doesn't work so I wasn't able to until now. Thanks for giving us the tracking number!!

I ripped open the package and took a peek at it, it looked wonderful!! By the time I presented it to Lizzie, at 12:30, I had shown everyone else behind her back!!

It really is a great achievement, clever design and an excellent finished article. He's a great little fella and has been welcomed as part of the family!! He's a very likable little character. You were absolutely right about the coral, it does look woolly!! Lizzie has always taken an interest in fossils, so that was an added bonus! Simple, but delicate with lovely materials and a charming design. He isn't at all bling, he looks like he's come down off the fells, but in extremely good condition!

Congratulations!

Plus, Lizzie likes it as much as I do and was very grateful.

Thank you very much for the photos as well; you've gone to a lot of trouble with this little chap!
It's Lizzie's party this evening and the sheep will be attending!

All the baaah-est,

Philip

Silver And Fordite Sheep Necklace

This piece follows on from the previous sheep pieces.
The commissioner already had some sheep jewellery and saw some of the Fordite jewellery and wanted to combine the two.

The hardest thing with this pieces was finding a Fordite cabochon that had the appearance of wool.