All items by Claire Bentley Creative

Artisan treasures - Sterling Silver Jewellery

It all started many years ago with a tin of beads, buttons and old jewellery given to me by my grandmother and jewellery become a passion ever since. Luckily for me, my childhood hobby turned into my profession, and I have been in the jewellery industry for over 30 years since graduating from the prestigious Central St Martins college of Art in London, with a BA Hons in Jewellery Design.

Learning my trade in commercial retail environments, I have designed for most of the UK high street fine jewellery retailers and, also with my love of colour, texture and pattern have worked alongside the buying and design teams of most of the UK’s clothing stores too. In recent years, I have been working as a freelance designer in Jewellery, designing collections for brands all over the world and also as a graphic designer, focusing on branding and social media for Jewellery brands.

In July 2023, a creative itch to be back at the bench after so many years of designing on screen became a reality when I discovered Benchspace - a local jewellery workspace. From the 1st time I walked into the workshop I knew I was back home, back at the bench creating jewellery with my hands. There is something really special about designing something from scratch and taking it through many processes to become a physical piece of Jewellery. Being part of Benchspace has also given me the opportunity to share my design skills and experience and I have run a design course for some of the students, an ambition I have wanted to do for some time.

I have been in a lucky position that designing and making jewellery has never seemed like a job. I have designed for many people and brands over the years, but I felt the need to express my own creativity and to design and make my own collections. Still creating many of my designs on screen, I am now able to translate my patterns into real pieces, seeing them evolve from screen, paper and then into sterling silver.

I live and work from my studio in a small village in North Essex. Normally, I share my work space with my dogs, Billy (a westie) and Molly (a Miniature Schnauzer) and on occasion my husband Paul and 2 beautiful daughters, Emily and Alice. Outside of the world of jewellery, dancing is my other passion - being physical and getting out of the studio seems to enhance my creativity and of course, gives me the social interaction I need!

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