Goldsmiths Precious Metal Bursary

Back at the beginning of the year, I won a £200 bursary from the Goldsmiths Company. I had to submit a design proposal consisting of three or four pages, detailing how the piece would be made and how much the proposed cost would be. The piece I made was not the one I had originally proposed though.

My idea at the time was to make some shoulder armour and I decided to use my bursary and buy £200 worth of sheet silver.

I would have loved to have made the shoulder parts bigger but I didn't have any extra money to spend at the time. In the future if I were to make something similar, I would use an alternative metal, maybe copper and have it silver plated, or aluminium (which you can't solder but can rivet).

The fur is real rabbit fur (I know some people won't approve) but I like it, it's so bright and soft, and a great contrast to the metal. The chainmail is stainless steel.

I would say to anyone in their final year in a design course that they should apply for the bursary. Even if you're not granted a bursary, it's still a really good experience. If you are chosen, then it's a great thing to add to your CV.