Dazzle Contemporary Jewellery Exhibition at The National Theatre

As a regular at the Desire jewellery http://www.desirefair.com/ shows that take place at Parkshot in Richmond, I was excited at the prospect of going along to see Dazzle contemporary jewellery show http://www.dazzle-exhibitions.com/ which starts this week outside The Olivier at The National Theatre on the South Bank.

We travelled into Waterloo and grabbed a coffee while we walked along the river. We had put on our heavy coats as the weather was a bit iffy and wandered around at the National feeling rather warm. There were no signs for Dazzle so we were a bit confused. Up two flights of stairs and we found the exhibition – no more than a dozen or so glass cases in the areas outside the auditorium. There were plenty of folk there but we wondered whether most of them were simply passing time during the interval of the production they had come to see.

We dropped off our coats at the cloakroom and started looking at the jewellery on display in earnest. We had a long list of people for whom we thought we may be able to buy Christmas presents. The first thing that frustrated us was that the glass cases were arranged in a way so that they could only be viewed from one side. So there was much frustrated waiting while others gazed at the wonders within.

Early on we spied one of our favourites – Alan Ardiff. He is an Irish designer who makes “interactive” jewellery. Comic pieces with elements that move. I previously bought a little heart with a key that switches from open to closed. And a necklace pendant where the daisy within rotates. Some of his larger pieces are based on nursery rhymes – we saw a night owl piece and his work appeared in at least two cases that we saw.

Becky Crow was another artist that caught our eye. Not surprising that she had some nice crow items but we loved the cute, scruffy dogs and fox themed items - Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. My companion admired the bright, Mondrian inspired geometric acrylic shapes of Gail Klevan and I really liked Erin Daly’s red polka dot flowers. Katherine Richmond had some interesting items using old book prints and the collar studded with small holes and tiny diamonds (price on application so you know it’s gonna be beyond normal folks’ means) by Kate Smith was breath taking. There were square ear rings to match that one.

Another show stopper for me was the black and white (including polka dot) cheerful designs by Sarah Lindsay. My companion loved the rock crystal slices pieces – really chunky. I’ve seen the work before of Mandana Oskoui – her precious metals in the shape of Chinese characters have featured in Design Week and Retail Jeweller. They are truly unique. Another eye catching design was of sort of star burst dandelion ear rings – really delicate and stunning sparkles – but I couldn’t see which designer was responsible for these.

At other jewellery exhibitions, it’s nice to be able to chat to the people who make the designs – this was not possible here. And I was on a quest for some delicate black diamond pieces (or the more affordable black spinels) – I’d seen a number recently at Craft Central http://craftcentral.org.uk/ in St John’s Square but there were none on display. And even if I had given in to the temptation to buy anything I don’t think I would have been patient enough to queue up at the Dazzle Desk to get someone to unlock the case, obtain the piece of interest and then pay for it and have it wrapped. However, it was nice to look at the lovely designs which make such a pleasant change from the same old stuff you see on the High Street. And it’s art!

Dazzle London is on between 7th November and 8th January. It also appears in Manchester.