International Women’s Day

In honour of International Women’s Day 2022, we spoke to Lisa Arnott and Jess Howarth of the Flourish Jewellery Project. As two jewellers, Lisa and Jess have successfully worked together as artists and educators. They have a shared interest in empowering communities and individuals through the act of making which they have documented in their own academic studies. Based in Edinburgh, Flourish aims to not only empower women through the act of making, but also to examine the role of craft making - in particular, contemporary jewellery design - and how it engages with disadvantaged, underrepresented and hard-to-reach communities.

Flourish Jewellery Project

Can you tell us a bit about how the idea for Flourish began? How did you become involved with the project?

Prior to Covid-19 we had done a variety of community-based workshops and held workshops in the studio for Women's Aid & Womenzone. Building on our experience of community development The Flourish Jewellery Project was a creative response to the Covid 19 pandemic, more specifically it’s shadow pandemic which saw violence and danger against women increase due to rising cases in domestic violence, homeless and addiction exacerbated further because of the pandemic. So, building on our previous work Lisa and Jessica partnered with North Edinburgh Arts and Womanzone of Foursquare Scotland to develop the funding application. In 2020, as jewellery artists we secured funding from Creative Scotland to deliver a yearlong socially engaged jewellery making project for women experiencing trauma as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

What are the key aims of Flourish?

To provide high quality jewellery training and education for women who have previously experienced barriers to access, due to social/economic/health reasons.
For women to gain access to education and employment as a result of participating in The Flourish Jewellery Project training.
To create a safe and nurturing space to support women from marginalised communities to engage in creative jewellery design and making.
For women participating in Flourish to have increased levels of confidence and wellbeing by the end of their time on the project.

Empowering women is at the heart of what the Flourish Jewellery Project does. Are there any key moments or experiences you’ve had during this project that underscore this?

Through engaging and participating on the Flourish jewellery project women have developed a sense of agency and self-determination which is evident in the skills they have built and the work they have produced. The women spoke of their pride of seeing their work on display at the project’s exhibition. The majority of the women had never been to a craft exhibition so to be featured in one was a real moment of elation for them. Some spoke of not just their huge sense of accomplishment they felt by producing their silver jeweller but also by engaging in the project it allowed them to build up support networks and friendships that had mitigated the isolation they felt before taking part in Flourish.

What are the barriers to accessing the craft of jewellery making that Flourish addresses?

Flourish has provided women experiencing trauma as a result of poverty, disability, mental health challenges and domestic violence with the opportunity to access jewellery design and making who previously would never have been able to due to these circumstances. Life for these women has been about surviving day to day. By enabling access to creative learning in the form of jewellery design and making these women have dared to dream creatively and make first steps in developing their creative identity.

As part of the funding for The Flourish Jewellery Project women received financial support for childcare and travel which is one of the huge barrier’s individuals from marginalised communities face when trying to access educational opportunities.

Women on The Flourish Jewellery Project were referred from various organisations who support women.

What is the next step for Flourish?

Due to the success of the project, The Flourish Jewellery project has now been turned into a community interest company. We are delighted to announce that The Goldsmiths’ Centre has funded a second year of training called Glow for the first cohort of women of the Flourish project. The Glow programme has also received sponsorship of from Hamilton & Inches and a private donor. The Flourish Jewellery CIC is presently developing a project to be delivered in partnership with Community Renewal for residents of Bingham in the southeast of the city.

I am learning and having an experience of something I never knew about. I like that you focus, you have to concentrate. This is relaxing… it’s not looking here, there and everywhere, like in a busy environment. When I need something explained it done slowly, step by step. When I finish, I feel so happy!

Flourish Participant

*I never knew there were jewellers’ studios, never thought that people made jewellery, but now I know, now I know that I can work with silver. I’d never even imagined something like that before.*

Flourish Participant

*This is a big deal for me. Even on the bus here I was drawing designs. It started putting me into a space I really enjoy and that didn’t get or wasn’t allowed to do.*

Flourish Participant

Lisa Arnott is an artist and jeweller based in Edinburgh. A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art in Fine Art, she also has a Postgraduate in Community Education (community development, youthwork and adult education). Lisa is passionate about access to art and design and how the power of making supports individuals and the communities self-determination and resilience. Lisa has over 25 years’ experience managing arts projects /organisations and socially engaged projects within Edinburgh (North Edinburgh Arts, OOTB, Whale Arts) and was Cultural Planner whilst living in Melbourne Australia.

In 2019 she gained a Masters with outstanding distinction from Sheffield Hallam University in metalwork and jewellery. In 2008 she set up SilverHub Studios a teaching studio providing jewellery design education in Edinburgh. She has exhibited locally (Visual Arts Scotland, Craft Scotland, Open Eye Gallery) and internationally (Hong Kong Design Centre, Buda Contemporary Jewellery Exhibition Melbourne). She is the recipient of the Creative Scotland sustaining professional practice award 2020 which lead to the development of the Flourish Jewellery CIC. Lisa balances her portfolio of practice as a jeweller alongside being a Mum!

Jessica Howarth is an artist jeweller based in Edinburgh. After graduating with a 1st Class Hons in Jewellery & Metal Design from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in 2011, She then went onto establish her creative practise. Jessica believes the process of making can provide a transformative experience for a person, this led her to undertake a Masters with distinction in Adult Education, Community Development and Youth Work the University of Glasgow. Out with her own artistic practise and jewellery teaching at SilverHub Studios, Jessica has facilitated and collaborated on creative workshops and projects with various educational and community organisations such as Arts in Healthcare, Children Forces Scotland, Dundee University, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh City Council and North Edinburgh Arts. Jessica is the recipient of the Creative Scotland sustaining professional practice award 2020 which lead to the development of the Flourish Jewellery CIC.

International Women's Day