Ambassadors
Brett Payne
Brett Payne is a leading Contemporary British Silversmith with over twenty-five years experience. He is a Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths’, a Freeman of The Cutlers’ Company of Hallamshire, a former Chairman of The Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council (GC&DC) and a Director of British Silver Week.
Brett Payne designs functional objects made from beautiful materials – individual, hand-made pieces that will spend longer on the dining tables and mantelpieces of the modern home than in display cases. Simplicity is key, enabling an uncomplicated way of making that produces contemporary classics.
In the late 1980s Brett leased a workshop in an abandoned industrial factory building in Sheffield in the North of England. Sheffield is a city famous for its illustrious metal-working tradition, one that Brett has successfully carried forward into the modern market. Today, he continues to operate from a workshop in this old industrial quarter of Sheffield, surrounded by the Victorian factories that once housed the city’s famed cutlers and steel workers. Over the past 35 years, Brett Payne has developed an impressive range of silver pieces from candlesticks to cookware, from flatware to hollowware, all thoughtfully designed and made to combine the best aspects of the material with use and enjoyment.
"My design philosophy encompasses the entire process of creation, from the inception of the idea, through the process of production and right to the point of sale. The public are red in tooth in and claw. They expect you to be good and instinctively know when something is right. Silversmithing is an applied art and at its best should demand and be capable of enduring a direct response. To me, silverware is like music or theatre, it can be recorded in a studio, held captive in a showcase, written about and photographed but is only live performance that reveals whether it has a soul.
The GC&DC provides perhaps the only national forum where craftsmen and designers working at the highest level can come together to celebrate their skills, creativity and enthusiasm for the fundamental importance of quality and expertise in their craft."
Joanna Hardy
Joanna has over 40 years' experience working with jewellery, beginning her career as a goldsmith. She pursued a varied career at De Beers, Philips the Auctioneers, and Sotheby’s, where she was responsible for jewellery auctions worldwide. Joanna is now an independent fine jewellery specialist, who curates and lectures around the world. She is author of the books Collect Contemporary Jewelry, Emerald, Ruby, and Sapphire, and a regular jewellery specialist on BBC’s Antiques Road Show.
Joanna was elected as The Goldsmiths’ Company Trade Warden in 2023 and joined the GC&DC as an ambassador in 2022.
Leo de Vroomen
Following his apprenticeship in The Hague and qualifying as a Master Goldsmith in Switzerland, he came to London in 1965. Leo lectured at the Central School of Art and Design (today Central St. Martins) prior to setting up his own studio/workshop in the early 70's. He constantly pushed boundaries and explored and developed his exclusive style of jewellery, which soon became instantly recognisable and of global appeal. Leo's exquisite work has a sense of liberty and is free from commercial constraints.
After twice winning the De Beers Diamond International Award, De Vroomen was given a retrospective exhibition at the Goldsmiths' Hall in 1991. He currently operates from his gallery/shop in Belgravia's Elizabeth Street.
Rachael Taylor
Rachael Taylor and Joanna Hardy became Council’s first female ambassadors to the GC&DC in 2022. Rachael Taylor is a freelance jewellery journalist and regular contributor to numerous publications including The Financial Times, The Telegraph, Independent, Condé Nast publications, Retail Jeweller and Rapaport. She was the founding editor of Professional Jeweller and WatchPro magazines, launching the titles on behalf of a global publisher in 2010, and was the co-founder of The Jewellery Cut, a platform that showcased independent jewellery designers at a bi-annual jewellery showcase in London.
Rachael is also the author of four books titled The Story Behind the Style on: Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Rolex and Bulgari with a fifth book in the pipeline. These books are published and distributed internationally by Bonnier Books imprint Studio Press. Rachael is also the author of WOLF: A Family History of Boxmaking, and For the Love of Diamonds (published by TeNeues.)
Respected for her in-depth knowledge of the jewellery world, Rachael is a judge for many competitions, including the prestigious UK Jewellery Awards and The Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Awards, the latter of which, she hosted from 2020 to 2022. Rachael is also a regular contributor to the GC&DC’s Awards Annual, a yearly publication showcasing the competition’s winning work.
Shaun Leane
While working as a goldsmith, Leane began a long-standing collaboration with the late Alexander McQueen, creating provocative catwalk jewels that have become iconic milestones in the art of couture jewellery. This collaboration acted as a catalyst to Leane's burgeoning desire to blend technical perfection with creative freedom, and in 1999 he launched the first collections of Shaun Leane Jewellery.
Since then, Leane has been responsible for creating a new genre of jewellery; precious, poetic, with a sense of eternity, yet relevant to today's world. The powerful, emotive and often poignant beauty of Shaun Leane jewellery is underlined with sentiment, stories and meaning, tapping into the history and heritage of jewellery.
Stephen Webster
"The first award I ever won as a jeweller was a Silver Award in the Designer Jeweller Finished Pieces Juniors category. Quite a mouthful. I was seventeen. And already hooked. I never missed a year after that, always preparing a piece for what was going to be my next big win and maybe even the elusive Goldsmiths Award. Alas, that was never to be, but as my business grew I have always encouraged my staff jewellers, designers and in more recent years, CAD team to enter something into the Awards. I am proud to say that over the years all of them have won something including many Golds and Silvers.
Everyone loves a winner."
Theo Fennell
Theo Fennell is one of today´s leading jewellery designers and his handcrafted masterpieces grace serious collections, famous bodies and tables all over the world. His unique jewellery and silverware are both distinctive and inspirational, and his pieces incorporate eclectic, quirky and beautifully detailed design with great craftsmanship. The combination of modernity with the classical, Romantic tradition makes his style instantly recognisable. Theo takes great pride in being involved in every phase with his multi-award winning studio and workshop teams so that the Theo Fennell vision is realised to the last detail.
