Nina Gilbey is a designer maker who uses traditional techniques to explore and challenge the inherent qualities of metal.
She completed a ND and HND in Jewellery & Silversmithing at The Cass in 1996 and went on to work in the trade for a designer silversmith and a casting company. She then attended a residency at Bishopsland, and later graduated with an MA from the School of Jewellery in Birmingham in 2000.
Nina is passionate about the craft and the process of working with a material that is often considered hard and unyielding, but is in fact extremely responsive and pliable. With a background in Fine Art, she is particularly interested in the relationship between line and form, and how negative spaces create a solid void.
She has been teaching the subject since 2000 at a variety of London institutions, and founded London Jewellery Workshop in 2011 to offer a student led environment, promoting inspiration, skill and creativity.
Nina co-authored Colour and Textures in Jewellery with Bekkie Ora Cheeseman, published by The Crowood Press in May 2019. The book is an exploration of techniques using basic jewellery making tools and household products to add beauty or significance to a piece, and encourages experimentation using simplified processes.
Nina Gilbey