A Jewellery Extravaganza: Welcoming Sheana M Stephen DA and Sheena McMaster
We are so excited about the beautiful collections of jewellery that we have in the gallery right now, so much so that we want to shout about them from the rooftops.
We are delighted to welcome lovely collections from two highly regarded jewellery designers, Sheana M Stephen and Sheena McMaster. We have had the pleasure of exhibiting both designers over the years, so it has been lovely to welcome them both back together for our Autumn Exhibition, which opened last Saturday.
SHEANA M STEPHEN DA
Edinburgh based Sheana M Stephen is a Gray’s School of Art graduate, and first exhibited in 1971. She has since exhibited her jewellery far and wide, has won numerous prestigious awards and, among her many accolades, she was commissioned to make a brooch for Her Majesty the Queen. 2021 marks the celebration of 50 years since Sheana’s graduation and the registering of her Hallmark, SMS.
Sheana creates beautiful, one off pieces with silver, gold, pearls and semi-precious stones, from beautiful ear studs and drops, brooches and bangles, to more elaborate necklace sets. What is so lovely is that Sheana likes to make her pieces as multi functional as she can, so that the wearer can create different looks by adding or taking away elements. For example, a necklace which comes with a bracelet will also act as a necklace extension, with pendants which can be detached and, in some cases, also worn as a brooch. They have an almost playful feel about them, and our previous customers have loved this aspect when buying a Sheana M Stephen jewellery set.
Many of Sheana’s larger pieces and brooches can be viewed online, but to see the whole collection, we encourage you to visit the exhibition, which is on until 30th October. We are open Mon-Sat, 10am-4pm.
Here are a few of her stunning pieces below. The whole collection can be viewed here.
SHEENA MCMASTER
Galloway born and bred, Sheena McMaster is a local maker with an international following.
Sheena was born into a creative family, with her mother being one of the foremost cabinet makers in Scotland. Sheena was very good at art growing up, and although she didn’t enjoy working with wood as her mother did, she became increasingly fascinated by jewellery and working with metal.
Sheena graduated from Glasgow School of Art with an honours degree in Design in 1987 and spent a further year studying for a Diploma in Postgraduate Studies in Jewellery and Silversmithing. Thereafter she moved to London to gain valuable working experience with a design and manufacturing jewellery company. Following this with a year in Australia where she worked for commercial jewellers.
These beautifully crafted pieces evolved during a period of seven years when Sheena and her husband Pete lived in France and were inspired by fields of sunflowers and stunning sunsets. In 2014 they decided to move back to the UK where they continue to develop new designs.
‘Creating my own jewellery is a way of expressing my identity, who I am and what inspires me. I remember making daisy chains with my dad or walking past the sunflower fields when I lived in France with their vibrant yellow leaves and dark centres. Now that I live by the sea, I find inspiration in the forms that are left in the sand, pebbles and seaweed fascinate me.’
Some examples can be seen below of Sheena’s classical contemporary jewellery. New jewellery is being added to the website on a regular basis, but you can view what is online here
We hope we can tempt some of you in to view the jewellery, but if you would like any more information or images for any of the jewellery, please contact us and we will be very happy to help.
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