contemporary jewellery crushes - Jo Pond

Today I want to talk to you about one of my all time favorite contemporary jewellery designers; Jo Pond!
-> http://jopond.com/

Why is she one of my favorites? Because of her wonderful use of old, discarded objects and materials and how she gives these things a beautiful second life as jewellery. But most of all; because some of these objects are often TINS, and me being a bit of a tin-addict this probably explains my fascination with her work.

"I come from a family of 'Ponds' who appear to have a genetic necessity for hoarding; digging up metal detector finds was the foundation of a passion for objects which others might not quite appreciate. This fashioned the beginnings of a lifetime of habitual collecting.

Utilising this drive to accumulate the unconventional and unwanted, coupled with an aesthetic appreciation of the details of decomposition and change, I choose to incorporate items potentially paradoxical within jewellery, to create beautiful and on occasion, confusing objects.

Employing symbolic references of form, material and technique, I dabble in the potential for wearable items to become vehicles for communication; whether through sense, nostalgia, or knowledge.

Made in England-series: 

Created from steel, iron and a repurposed Elastoplast tin, this collection of five pieces entitled ‘Made in England’ (and each labelled as such) were created to celebrate and illuminate British craft, whilst on exhibition in Munich.

Brooch; 'Breast pocket'

Diamond Jubilee - 2012:

Brooch; 'Long lasting' front & back

Donning Oxford - series:
The materials used within this collection are predominantly sourced from The Oxford Set of Mathematical Instruments. Marketed in over 100 countries by Helix, a company based in Stourbridge, West Midlands, this set of instruments has been used in mathematics and geometry lessons by generations of school children in the UK and around the world.
 Responding to an exhibition brief Donning Oxford the grammatical debate surrounding the 'Oxford Comma' and the city famous for education provided an interesting starting point for a collection of brooches, utilising a re-purposed local tin which was appropriately named.

I just adore all of them!

grts, J.