Bite Autumn 2012

bite jewellery

WITH JEWELLERY DESIGNS LIKE NO OTHER, ELEANOR BOLTON HAS REVOLUTIONISED THE ART OF JEWELLERY PRODUCTION,TRANSFORMING COILED COTTON ROPE INTO LIGHTWEIGHTTACTILE STRUCTURESWHICH ARE INTERESTING AND EXCITING. JADA BROOKES FINDS OUT MORE ABOUT ELEANOR BOLTON AND HER STUNNING STATEMENT JEWELLERY. Eleanor Bolton

B ritish jewellery designer, Eleanor Bolton’s unique craft technique of coiling and hand-stitching cotton rope to create large-scale lightweight tactile structures has enabled her to explore and manipulate the boundaries of form and function. The designer, based in London, who started her label two years ago, graduated with a BA in jewellery

course. “Jewellery just seemed to incorporate all my interests. It enabled me to create sculpture for the body.” With the use of coiled (cotton braid) rope jewellery, Eleanor developed

her design signature. Now, an established self-employed jeweller, Eleanor hopes her label will continue to prosper. Eleanor described being her own boss as “a great perk but also, sometimes, a downside when working all hours.” Smiling, she added,

at The Cass (London M e t r o p o l i t a n University) and MA at the Royal College of Art. “Both were great experiences and I learnt a lot about design and craft skills. At the RCA I was really given a chance to develop my practice and experiment both with making processes and new materials.While at the RCA, I developed the technique of coiling and stitching the cotton braid, which has become the basis for the collections I make now.” Eleanor, who has always been passionate about art,was interested in objects and materials as well as fashion throughout her school and design education. Her first article of jewellery was a large sculptural neckpiece made from molded acrylic and wire during her Art & Design Foundation (pre-degree)

“ Getting the opportunity to travel with work both to tradeshows and gallery shows is a great bonus and, of course, being able to spend every day doing what I love!” Eleanor’s greatest accomplishments as a

designer are having pieces from her MA graduate collection featured in Paris Vogue , which she described as “pretty incredible”, and exhibiting her jewellery at prestigious institutions such as the V&A and Saatchi Gallery in London and the Museum of Arts & Design in New York. She was selected for the ‘Talente’ prize in 2011, which is the annual review of the best new designs in Europe, and was commissioned to design