Romilly Saumarez Smith

Jewellery maker

©Romilly Saumarez

©Rachel Jones

Natural muses

Romilly's first love was book binding
Her sources of inspiration are objects from history, nature and sea
She buys metal detected finds as well as some precious stones on eBay

The word Newfoundland has become a metaphor for all Romilly Saumarez Smith’s work, along with the making of it. “It seems to be an uplifting word, three words, each one with its distinct meaning. The actual island is an extraordinary place, remote but abundant in the small wilderness landscapes that inspire me”. At the beginning, London born and based Romilly Saumarez Smith was fascinated by book-binding, then, almost by accident, she discovered “the power and beauty of metal” and swapped book-binding for jewellery making. As her hands don’t work anymore, she works through her “translators”, assistants that translate her vision into beautiful objects. Beautiful, but that might not be perfect, because “it must feel absolutely right which is hard to describe but is dependent on the eye of the maker”.

Interview

©Romilly Saumarez

©Romilly Saumarez

What does jewellery have that book binding didn’t have?: Obviously, the materials are very different and I found an immediate response to metal. The other important aspect is that books are always a rectangle but jewellery can be much more sculptural.
When did you start using metal detecting finds?: When my sons were little I enjoyed making Christmas stockings for them and, I now cannot remember why but I looked on eBay for Roman metal detected finds. There was a huge amount of bronze artefacts and I bought a couple of Roman rings very cheaply.
Why were they so fascinating?: I was captivated by their beauty and the extraordinary sense that they had been buried for so long and now had come to me. I immediately started to get ideas of how I could incorporate them into my work and my boys never got them.
Do the places where you live influence your work?: The places that have influenced me most are often the smallest patches of vegetation, maybe growing from between paving stones, or perhaps barnacles on the rocks by the sea. We also went to Newfoundland some years ago and the week I spent there has stayed in me with a great intensity.

Romilly Saumarez Smith is a master artisan: she began her career in 2002 and she started teaching in 2011