Janet and I met on a warm sunny spring morning for coffee on the terrace of The Golden Tulip Hotel in Paterswolde. A relaxed and easy person to talk with, we were soon deep in conversation.
Janet was not always a jewellery designer and started by studying commercial business followed by computer programming. Although practical she decided that designing jewellery was more the direction that she wanted to go in and, influenced by a cousin who had a jewellery store, she decided to take a jewellery course. Interest in her work grew and as a result of this she began to get commissions, followed by invitations to exhibit her work in galleries and take part in fairs and markets. At that time she combined this with work in a bank, which helped to get her business on track and Sparkle* was born.
When asked about her style she describes it as ‘nonchalant’. The trademark of her designs are clean, sharp lines in silver, gold and titanium often with natural materials incorporated into the design. She uses precious and semi-precious stones, mother-of-pearl, pearls, coral, lava, lapis lazuli, and crystal to name but a few. These are either used in combination with other stones or in the case of the lapis lazuli necklace shown here, in bold chunks with small balls of gold in between each stone.
Janet draws her inspiration from art, and magazines as a starting point for an idea and then sees where it takes her as she progresses. What starts out as a necklace can invariably end up as a ring or bracelet, she never knows the outcome beforehand. She also likes to experiment away from what is typically her style and embraces a new idea or influence in search of a new style, which as always results in a totally original piece of jewellery.
Breathing new life into ‘old gold’ is something she likes to offer to people who have inherited gold jewellery from their families and loved ones. Often the item is not worn because it is either not really the person’s style or they are too worried they may lose it. Janet melts the gold down and throws the molten gold into cold water, which makes something completely new. The resulting shape is unique and can then be further decorated if asked for. In her experience this gives more pleasure to the wearer as it then becomes personalized but also retains its sentimental value being a reminder of the original owner.
These days Janet combines Sparkle* with part-time work as a project manager for Q-Group, a company who offer business and job solutions for entrepreneurs.
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