B
ritish
jewellery
designer,
Eleanor
Bolton’s
unique
craft technique of
coiling and hand-stitching
cotton rope to create
large-scale
lightweight
tactile structures has
enabled her to explore
and manipulate the
boundaries of form and
function. The designer,
based in London, who
started her label two
years ago, graduated
with a BA in jewellery
at The Cass (London
M e t r o p o l i t a n
University) and MA
at the Royal College
of Art. “Both were great
experiences and I learnt
a lot about design and
craft skills. At the RCA I
was really given a chance
to develop my practice
and experiment both with
making processes and new
materials.While at the RCA,
I developed the technique of
coiling and stitching the cotton
braid, which has become the
basis for the collections I make
now.”
Eleanor, who has always been
passionate about art,was interested
in objects and materials as well as
fashion throughout her school and
design education. Her first article
of jewellery was a large sculptural
neckpiece made from molded
acrylic and wire during her Art &
Design Foundation (pre-degree)
course. “Jewellery just seemed
to incorporate all my
interests. It enabled me
to create sculpture for
the body.”
With the use
of
coiled (cotton
braid) rope jewellery,
Eleanor
developed
her design signature.
Now, an established
self-employed jeweller,
Eleanor hopes her label
will continue to prosper.
Eleanor
described
being her own boss
as “a great perk but
also, sometimes, a
downside
when
working all hours.”
Smiling, she added,
“
Getting the opportunity
to travel with work both
to tradeshows and
gallery shows is a great
bonus and, of course,
being able to spend every
day doing what I love!”
Eleanor’s
greatest
accomplishments
as
a
designer are having pieces from
her MA graduate collection
featured in
Paris Vogue
,
which she
described as “pretty incredible”,
and exhibiting her jewellery at
prestigious institutions such as
the V&A and Saatchi Gallery in
London and the Museum of Arts
&
Design in New York. She was
selected for the ‘Talente’ prize in
2011,
which is the annual review
of the best new designs in Europe,
and was commissioned to design
WITH JEWELLERY DESIGNS
LIKE NO OTHER, ELEANOR
BOLTON HAS REVOLUTIONISED
THE ART OF JEWELLERY
PRODUCTION,TRANSFORMING
COILED COTTON ROPE
INTO LIGHTWEIGHTTACTILE
STRUCTURESWHICH ARE
INTERESTING AND EXCITING.
JADA BROOKES
FINDS
OUT MORE ABOUT ELEANOR
BOLTON AND HER
STUNNING STATEMENT
JEWELLERY.
Eleanor
Bolton
bite
jewellery