Luke Shimell & Emma Madden
A fascination with geometric creation
- Emma and Luke refer to their style as ancient modernism
- Mathematics and science underpin their creative vision
- They were selected for the 2015 British Fashion Council Rock Vault initiative
Emma Madden and Luke Shimell co-founded Shimell & Madden in 2010, after meeting at a small jewellery business in Devon. Emma studied 3D design, metalwork and jewellery at university before training at Bishopsland. Luke studied product design, then pursued practical goldsmithing courses. Their complementary skills are rooted in traditional handcrafting techniques, particularly hand drawn wire, in which the metal is pulled through progressively smaller holes to achieve specific gauges, a technique dating to the 6th century. Emma and Luke are members of The Worshipful Company of Gold and Silver Wyre Drawers in the City of London and work from their East London studio. "Our pieces are characterised by their hand making, along with geometric forms that reflect our shared fascination with mathematics," the duo says.
Interview
- What does your making process look like?
- We start by making metal sketches rather than a drawing. The structure comes through the process, which then gets refined into a precious metal piece. The journey is quite high pressure, but we are used to it.
- Why do you work with hand drawn wire?
- There is crispness and a round quality to the wire that we cannot really get from a moulded piece. There is a strength to it as well, which is quite fundamental. It allows us to create finer pieces with more detail.
- What qualities do you look for in a stone?
- We like to work with well cut stones that have a lot of life to them, with interesting and subtle colours. They must have a unique quality that either celebrates natural inclusions or feature special faceting that evoke some feeling.
- Do you have a defining moment in your journey?
- When we launched our first collection in 2013 at The Goldsmiths’ Fair, people attributed qualities to our work that we had not fully recognised ourselves. The reception was incredible: we won Best New Design, and fellow jewellers responded warmly. This confirmed we were on the right path.
Luke Shimell & Emma Madden are expert artisans: they began their career in 2010
Works
Where
Luke Shimell & Emma Madden
