Fair Luxury unveils designers for debut exhibition

Industry change group Fair Luxury (formerly FLUX) has announced the jewellery and silverware designers chosen to exhibit as part of its first ever Fair Luxury Presents showcase at the Goldsmiths’ Centre. The exhibition will demonstrate a new view of what it means to offer ‘Fair Luxury’ in a contemporary marketplace, focusing on seven designer-makers whose work reflects three criteria around sustainable futures: design, craftsmanship and ethical provenance. Each jeweller was selected by a panel of industry specialists, with emphasis placed on their approaches to responsible sourcing and business ethics. The selected jewellers participating in Fair Luxury Presents are: Hannah Bedford Jewellery - presenting handcrafted fine jewellery using the ancient art of granulation, made with Fairtrade gold and ethically-sourced gemstones. Julia Thompson Jewellery - this designer creates precious wearable art with narrative and ethics at heart using traditional tools and hand-fabrication techniques. She works with an amalgamation of 18k Fairtrade gold and recycled silver. Harriet Kelsall Bespoke Jewellery - award-winning designer Harriet Kelsall is regularly acknowledged as a trailblazer in the field of responsible sourcing and sustainability. She works with Fairtrade and recycled metals. Jon Dibben Designer Jewellery - is one of the original Fairtrade and Fairmined gold licensees since its launch in 2001. Karen Westland - will feature her silverware which is made with 100% recycled silver and gold, including cast elements from recycled silver offcuts accumulated from hand-fabricated pieces. She also works with Fairtrade gold. Elisavet Messi - Messi discovered artisanal small-scale mining and sought to become thoughtful in her approach to sourcing, which she incorporated into her designs. Ute Decker - uses an innovative method of sculpting, bending and twisting gold and silver into expressive three-dimensional ‘geometric poetry’. She is a pioneer of the ethical jewellery movement and one of the first to work with Fairtrade and Fairmined gold. Decker also uses green practices in the workshop. Visitors to the exhibition will also have the rare opportunity to view a collection of images by renowned photographer Ian Berry of Fairtrade gold mines in Africa. Fair Luxury Presents at the Goldsmiths’ Centre will form part of the London Design Festival (16-24 September).