Meet The Maker: QuayStones Jewellery.
Timeless jewellery inspired by the northern border town of Berwick Upon Tweed
Hello and happy weekend 🎉
This is the first in a series of spotlight articles featuring our paid members. It has been such a brilliant experience opening up my inbox to creatives working across Northumberland and beyond! I have already met some wonderful people and it has been a pleasure hearing their stories and learning more about the work they are doing here in our small corner of the world. We hope you enjoy reading them too.
Jewellery inspired by coastal landscapes, nature and the history of Northumberland.
As I was reading more about Vanessa Priest and her work for her brand QuayStones, I found out that her love for jewellery design started from a very young age. She got the jewellery making bug when she was a child, helping her mother to make and sell beaded jewellery at craft and trade fairs. Vanessa then made her first item of jewellery aged 10 and announced she was going to be a silversmith …“because jewellery is fiddly”. I love hearing stories like this, where that interest and ambition has been there all along, with childhood memories impacting todays work. Vanessa’s passion and dedication for jewellery design is evident and I can’t wait to show you more…
After graduating with a degree in jewellery and silversmithing from Loughborough College of Art, in 1985, Vanessa spent almost forty years in the jewellery industry; designing, making and teaching, before deciding to start her own brand QuayStones in 2021.
QuayStones is so named because Vanessa’s workshop and home in the Northern Border town of BerwickUpon-Tweed. It is situated above the old quayside of the river Tweed where she can watch the swans, salmon fishermen, seabirds, seals and otters.
QuayStones jewellery designs are inspired by coastal landscapes, nature and the history of Northumberland. The old mooring rings and boat shackles that tied the fishing boats and grain ships to the quay in front of the house still survive, and their bent and worn shapes were inspiration for the Quayside collection. The beach designs come from shells found on a beach opposite the holy island of Lindisfarne, which is famed for its oysters.
Vanessa loves the way oyster shells, when cast, are reminiscent of reticulated metal and of course one cannot have pearls without oysters. The new Strata collection was inspired by the standing stones at Duddo and layered rocks exposed by coastal erosion.
QuayStones jewellery is cast and fabricated from recycled silver from certified sources. Where possible recycled materials, like the sea glass found whilst dog walking, are used. All items are hand crafted and have a full hallmark from the Edinburgh assay office to reassure customers of the quality of the items they are buying. The jewellery is presented in branded eco-friendly packaging that includes care instructions.
The first time I showed my jewellery designs was on my mother’s stand at BCTF more than 40 years ago, for which I had to get permission for time off school to attend. I have very fond memories of this exhibition. The friends and contacts I made at BCTF over the years helped shape my career in the jewellery industry.
Vanessa will be showing the new collections at NEC Spring Fair this month.
Ways to support Vanessa and her work:
Visit the QuayStones Jewellery website
Follow QuayStones on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Thanks so much to our recent supporters here at Culture Northumberland;
Esmé Weijun Wang,Vanessa Priest, Lindsey Mclaren, Louise Mabbs,
Hilary Elder, Republic Gallery, Dex Hanlon, Dispel Develop, Alison EdwardsA Recumbent Prattler, Lyn Campbell - you’ll learn more about their work soon.