Career Path or Trailing Spouse?
A long and winding road!
I’ve never been much of one for ‘Careers’. I never had one single thing I wanted to be or a line I wanted to follow. But, I have always been creative. At Uni, I had this idea that I wanted to study photography, silversmithing or architecture. I opted for photography and spent 3 years at Glasgow Art School immersed in a very intense creative atmosphere. This background in Fine Art rather than formal jewellery training gives my work a slightly different feel, a rawness and a sculptural quality, reflecting light and drawing you closer to the feel of the natural world
My first proper job was at the Press Association in their photographic archives – I was working for them when the planes flew into the twin towers and the photos were flooding into the office; I will never forget that week.
Since then, I have been a PA, a florist, a gardener, an office manager and I had my own business called The Little Yellow House, a small shop selling hand tied bunches of flowers, handmade crafts and home wear and cake and tea. While running my shop, I decided to take night classes at the local college in Truro, where I learnt my first silversmithing skills from Victoria Walker and Rebecca Walklett. This turned out to be the beginning of a long and exciting learning curve!
For a few years, we lived in Trinidad for my husband’s job. The contrast between Cornwall couldn’t have been more pronounced. We were surrounded by bright colours, beautiful jungle, bold design and amazing wildlife that were all new.
I wasn’t granted a work visa in Trinidad - I was what was delightfully termed ‘a trailing spouse’ but I met a lovely couple who turned out to be jewellers and they generously gave me time in their studio and taught me various skills including casting and basic stone setting techniques. Their business is called BR Moutett and I will always remember Bruce and his team for their kindness.
Trinidad had a big impact on my work for a few years but tastes are very different and moving back to Cornwall marked a time to really focus my mind and work on my own style. Here are a few photos from the time we spent there living in Port of Spain and travelling around Trinidad and Tobago.
Since moving back to Cornwall in 2015, I have grown Lucy Spink Jewellery and now stock a number of galleries as well as running my own online shop. Covid has seen a shift in my practice and will continue to influence the way I do business but that is a whole other topic!
All the jobs and experiences I have had have led me to where I am now and the combination of my own jewellery business, doing BnB in a lovely garden cabin and having my first greenhouse makes me feel very happy and incredibly lucky.
Our B n B in my old workshop.