Jewellery couple put their work on display

Artists across Rutland will soon be opening their studios for the 2008 Open Studios event.

Along with painters and ceramacists there are a few unusual art forms that will be highlighted around the county.

Neil Harding and Margaret Shepherd from Morcott both make jewellery at their studio and met at De Montfort University where Neil was head of the silversmith and design centre. They were instrumental in making the 2007 Open Studios a success. Neil said: "It's going very well and the quality of the work has gone up a lot this year.

"Last year was rather last minute but this year we have had more time to plan what we are going to do."

Both Neil and Margaret have made a living out of making jewellery, but now they tend to create only one-off, bespoke pieces for private customers. Margaret, who studied at the Royal College of Art in London before lecturing and teaching said: "I do it more for the enjoyment now. We are both artists and designers and the thought of making the same thing again and again is not appealing."

As a silversmith Neil has had to make the same thing several times, but one particular design stood out. He said: "I was working for the company that was commissioned to make the cutlery for Concorde when it first flew and my design was chosen. It must be collectable now."

Through her teaching, Margaret has become one of the leading goldsmiths in the country and her work has been featured in many books on technique. She said: "A lot of people give me old pieces of family jewellery which they want remaking or adjusting. Sometimes one piece can take up to three weeks to make.

"The point of the Open Studios is to make people realise how easy it is to approach artists to ask them to make something unique or special."
Neil and Margaret will open their studios at 17 Church Lane, Morcott on June 21, 22, 28 and 29 and July 5, 6, 12 and 13 from 11am-5pm.
For more information on Margaret's work visit www.whoswho ingoldandsilver.com