The keeper of guillochage
- Calina is a jewellery maker, guillocheur and enameller
- She loves teaching and sharing her passion
- She wrote the reference book about guillochage
Although she unexpectedly stumbled upon jewellery making while she was studying music at Northern Arizona University, Calina Shevlin instantly knew that she wanted to pursue the craft. In 2007, at the University of North Texas, where she was pursuing her master’s degree in Metals and Jewellery, Calina was introduced to guilloché and promptly decided to redirect her path towards this niche craft. In 2011, years later, she relocated to Le Brassus – Switzerland's highly regarded watch and jewellery making valley. Calina has become an expert on guillochage. As well as mastering the rare craft that only a handful of people practise professionally, her passion extends to teaching and preserving. She hosts workshops in her atelier as well as guest workshops in various other ateliers around the world, welcoming various types of students, from very beginners to professionals looking for new techniques. She also spent quite some time researching the history of guilloché engraving and published a definitive book about it, making her the ultimate reference on the matter.
Interview
- How did you find your craft?
- I have some ties to the material, as my great-grandfather was a gold miner in California and my grandfather was a metallurgical engineer. My mother is also artistic, she is a paper maker. But it was while I was at university studying music that I stumbled upon jewellery making.
- It is a specific craft, how did you make it professionally?
- I started working in Switzerland because I went to an atelier wanting to look at their archives on guilloché, and they offered me a job. That was in 2011. I have been here ever since, developing my own workshop with its machinery, and allowing me to teach.
- Could you tell us about the book you wrote on guillochage?
- I am passionate about preserving the craft. I wrote it so that people would have a history. I interviewed people around the world and did a lot of research in archives. I also wrote a sort of beginner's guide so that people would know how to make the basic eight patterns.
- Is teaching an important part of your work?
- I love sharing my passion, guilloché, enamelling, and jewellery making. I get a fair few watchmakers and ornamental turners looking for new techniques, but it could also be beginners or people wanting to make something very special, like their own wedding rings.
Calina Shevlin is a master artisan: she began her career in 2007 and she started teaching in 2013
Where
Calina Shevlin
