Theo
first gave a captivating presentation to 150 of our students sharing his
knowledge of the design industry, how he gets inspired to design his beautiful
pieces as well as the skills you need to succeed in the creative industries and
a few stories about his celebrity clients.
Then 30 lucky students were selected after submitting their own designs
inspired by Theo’s work to have a smaller master class where Theo showed them
his sketch books and how the design process is implemented.
The
experience does not stop there on the day Theo was so impressed with 9 students
that he has offered them the amazing opportunity to visit his workshop and
flagship store in February. Two of these students will then be given work
experience with him at the end of the summer term.
Ms
Blackman
Deputy Subject Leader for
Technology
Here is an article written by Freddie Fisk and Tino Mungoshi
sharing the students’ perspective of the day:
For a long time we had never really expressed
any interest in jewellery or its design and it was something that had never
notably entered our thoughts, as a pair of Graphics & Resistant Materials
students, prior to being given the opportunity to enter a competition for the
opportunity to join a master class with “Theo Fennell” (the acclaimed jeweller)
which totally morphed our perception- or rather a lack of a perception - for the
art of Jewellery into a small obsession. We began to view some of his work and
it struck us the: attention to detail; care for material and art; relentless
passion and strive for perfection which was evident in his work. Triggered by
this, We and many other students began to form a few sketches trying as best we
could to emulate some of Fennell’s rare theatrically bold and magical styles. We
were very fortunate to be able to be part of this master class as a result of
the sketches we had drawn up and we also had the opportunity to listen to a
speech he was giving to gifted and talented and Technology students.
Per contra to the possibility
inspiring may be a rather prevailing term, We do find the presentation was truly
inspiring and we were animated. In his
talk on the 21st Fennell said that to him “the fact that you dig a
person up 200 or even 2,000 years later and they are still wearing a piece of jewellery
shows that it is a very permanent thing” he also emphasised the importance of
the art behind designing such striking work which really gave us the
opportunity to see a section of design we had previously been almost oblivious
to. The workshop was very helpful in developing and approaching our designs from
a different angle; Fennell helped encourage and motivated the group in that
respect. It was an honour to have him help us with our work and we feel we all
learnt a great deal from the workshop. We have also been given an opportunity to
visit, along with another 8 students, his workshop and flagship store on Fulham
Road in Knightsbridge and we think it is fair to say we are all exited.
“the fact that you dig a person up 200 or even 2,000 years later
and they are still wearing a piece of jewellery shows that it is a very
permanent thing” - Theo Fennell
It will be a great opportunity
to see how such exquisite jewellery is designed, made and crafted in such a
well renowned and unique jewellers. It will be giving us a glimpse of the
rarity to craft such jewellery on the premises and into the world of Theo
Fennell.
It has been a
different and exciting experience; we have been inspired and encouraged and our
personal awareness, knowledge and attitude for this form of design have been
enhanced a great deal. The group and everyone at the talk on Monday were very
grateful and appreciated Theo Fennell’s great work and thanked him for taking
the time out from his busy schedule to come and visit the school.
Freddie
Fisk & Tino Mungoshi
Year 10 Students
