{"id":1566,"date":"2018-03-16T11:03:59","date_gmt":"2018-03-16T11:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/?p=1566"},"modified":"2018-05-25T17:23:53","modified_gmt":"2018-05-25T16:23:53","slug":"jewellery-design-stephanie-le-mass-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/jewellery-design-stephanie-le-mass-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"Jewellery Design with Stephelle of MASS GOLD"},"content":{"rendered":"

Can you tell our community a little about yourself to get started?<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m a jeweller\/virtual designer. Originally from Melbourne, Australia. I\u2019ve been in London for about 6 months now. I\u2019ve been making jewellery since 2013, realised uni just wasn\u2019t for me after a while. I got into interior architecture and did that for about 6 months, then transferred to graphic design for a year. After that got a scholarship in Design Advertising and dropped out of that a year later! Not sure, I think I was too stubborn to study anymore. I ended up doing a couple of short courses in lost wax casting and sculpting and took my 3D design elements out of architecture and incorporated that into jewellery design.<\/p>\n

Each piece is quite personal and I work quite closely with each client to make sure it’s what they want but in my style.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I did heaps of experimenting and learnt most of my jewellery skills through books. In the beginning I was only working with sterling silver and doing a lot of organic\/raw stone settings, which was a whole different vibe to what I’m currently making now. On the side I was working with gold for close friends but was never able to afford doing that all that time. I think maybe a year or two later I somehow started making more and more gold pieces through word of mouth and it just blew up ever since then. I took photos of all my pieces which were generally custom made, and created an online folio under the name Mass<\/a>. People usually have to hit me up via email to get things made, I don’t work like a shop or anything. Each piece is quite personal and I work quite closely with each client to make sure it’s what they want but in my style. I blinked and now its been 4\/5 years since I\u2019ve been doing this full time. It’s great!<\/p>\n

\"\"
Awful Records pendant. Source:\u00a0MASS GOLD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How would you describe the aesthetic of your work?<\/h3>\n

Classic yet futuristic? I like classic styles with innovative ideas to them. Whatever comes to my mind that helps me with ideas for jewellery I usually write down, I take quite a lot of photos of what I see and like. I’m obsessed with going to car boot sales, antique markets and whatever charity shops are around. I Also love Art Deco, however theres not much here in the UK! Lots of my shapes and ideas are Art Deco influenced.<\/p>\n

Process is quite important to me also, so I like to show a lot of that. Seeing where it all comes from and how it got there. Lots of jewellery feels a bit soulless and clinical with its boring consistency. I think I’m into showing the mess.<\/p>\n

What does a typical day look like for you?<\/h3>\n

I spend most of my days in my studio in Clerkenwell. I don\u2019t really work on a time schedule as long as I finish what I have to do then I’m good. I run in and out of Hatton Gardens a lot, constantly dropping off and picking up things. Sometimes I spend an entire day on my computer doing designs, emails, mood boards and inspiration print outs.<\/p>\n

\"\"
9ct yellow gold old English rings. Source:\u00a0MASS GOLD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When you\u2019re in need of a hit of inspiration, where do you turn?<\/h3>\n

Print! Magazines, books, architecture, libraries. I hate looking online at things to inspire me. For some reason everything starts to look the same online..I don\u2019t really follow anyone on instagram other than people I know really. Other times if I’m lacking inspiration I just take the day off and not think about things. Or do something I don\u2019t usually do then I’m back up. Walks help.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Gold rings and MASS logo stamp. Source:\u00a0MASS GOLD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What would be your dream project?<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m actually thinking about maybe having a show this year. Sculpture jewellery-wise. So we\u2019ll see how that goes.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s been your favourite piece of work to date?<\/h3>\n

I don\u2019t really have a favourite piece! I have a couple of pieces which definitely are top for me. Like my snake ring, dragon pendant and ring, scorpion ring etc\u2026<\/p>\n\"\"\n

What can we expect to see from you for the rest of the year?<\/h3>\n

Lots of experimenting this year. Working closer with artists, designers and stores. I spent the last couple of years building my folio which I’m pretty happy about now. I’m currently working with a couple of stores in London so this year is already pretty exciting.<\/p>\n

Criticism is sexy! Sexy Criticism. Is criticism sexy?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What has been the hardest part of your journey? How did you overcome it?<\/h3>\n

Working for yourself is pretty tough. Somedays I freak out and wonder if what I’m doing is enough? I think back in Melbourne I had a lot of time on my hands and always felt obliged to be doing more. I think I’m quite hard on myself in that sense which is kind of a good and bad thing. The hardest part is wondering what’s next I guess and what you have to do to get there. Time and being active is crucial\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"
Gold tooth and ruby dragon ring. Source:\u00a0MASS GOLD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3 tips for anyone looking to start their own creative journey?<\/h3>\n

Criticism is sexy! Sexy Criticism. Is criticism sexy?<\/p>\n

Iced out vs plain – which one and why?<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m about the plain! Or iced but tastefully. Tacky iced hurts.<\/p>\n

Biggest challenge facing the creative community in 2018 and beyond?<\/h3>\n

I guess starting up is always the hardest but once you have work to show and break that barrier everything just falls into place from there. I kind of dropped having expectations and kept doing what I do and somehow things just work out in the end and you end up meeting the right people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We caught up Stephelle of MASS GOLD to talk precious metals, sexy criticism, and why studying just wasn’t for her<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":1972,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[89],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1566"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1566"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2025,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1566\/revisions\/2025"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/everpress.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}