Treasure

Linnie Mclarty

Award-winning designer and artist-jeweller Linnie Mclarty came to jewellery design with a fine art background, which greatly informs her practice. She works for the most part in precious metals, but is happy to use other materials if she feels they are more sympathetic to the design, or preferable to her client.

Linnie tries to work ethically and responsibly. She is one of the first licensees of certified fair-trade, ecological gold, from which 15% of the bullion price is guaranteed to go towards ensuring a fair wage for the miners as well as funding the development of schools, healthcare, fresh water and mid-wives in the mining dependant villages. No chemicals are used in the extraction of the ore, and no child-labour is involved.

Linnie is happy to work to commission, using 100% recycled silver and gold that is officially certified as fairtrade, and by using fairtrade, fairmined gold she tries to ensure that the story behind her jewellery is equally as lovely as the jewellery itself.

Describe your jewellery design in three words.

Three-dimensional art.

How long does each design take from inception to finished piece?

It's so hard to judge, as each design is different. I never work on just one design at a time, so unless I'm working to deadline on commissions I don't put a time on the work.

Describe the space where you design.

My studio is in a basement. It has French windows leading to a high-walled back yard which I optimistically call my garden. The French windows are covered with thick velvet curtains which stay firmly closed all winter, as it's very draughty, but I throw open the curtains in the spring. At the moment the studio is full to bursting with timber, awaiting a few structural changes and a bit of a re-vamp. There are cinema seats & a fantastic antique sofa hidden under piles of junk which I'm looking forward to re-upholstering.

What is your favourite film?

Night of the Hunter directed by Charles Laughton. Hero and House of Flying Daggers both directed by Zhang Yimou These films have incredible imagery. The Diving Bell & the Butterfly directed by Julian Schnabel, based on the autobiography of French journalist Jean-Dominique Bauby written after had suffered a massive stroke. An amazingly humorous and beautiful film. I love world cinema, but having two children means most of my cinematic viewing involves talking animals. Having said that, I really enjoy taking my kids to the Saturday Morning Picture Club

Where does your inspiration come from, describe the process?

Years of art theory have definitely influenced the way I think, and therefore how I work. I can be influenced by absolutely anything, and not just visuals, it could be a sentence in a book, or a random piece of music. It's possible to abstract a single idea almost indefinitely if you really want to. My problem is having too many ideas in my head and not having the time to physically make them.

Who would be your dream person to design for?

Female - Grace Jones, in her sixties and still looking incredible. Male - Xavier Bardem, the man has presence - and I have a huge crush.

Favourite book and what are you reading right now?

Green Eggs & Ham - it's timeless. I'm a sucker for noir detective stories. I love writers like Raymond Chandler and Walter Mosley.

When did you design your first piece?

Probably aged 4 in primary school, no doubt it involved dried pasta and string..

How would you spend your perfect day off?

Kayaking on a lake.with my partner & our kids - somewhere warm

What led you into jewellery design?

Actually I have a background in fine art. I began as an abstract painter, and then my work evolved in to film and installation. I got in to jewellery quite by accident. After graduating from university I signed up for an evening class in order to access some film equipment. My partner joined a metalwork class to keep me company and when I saw what he was doing it was a light bulb moment for me. The realisation that I could actually make my own jewellery was the best thing ever. I hadn't planned on a career in jewellery design, but my work seemed to be getting a lot of attention so I thought I'd better go back to uni to study silversmithing and take things a bit more seriously.

How do you plan to expand your business?

I've worked on theatre sets & prop making in the past, and currently I'm discussing making some masks for a film shoot. I like the idea of widening the scope of what I do. I'd love to make props and jewellery for theatre and film. It would be great to collaborate in these areas to a much greater extent.

What materials are you designing with?

I love working in silver, it's such a beautiful metal. It has value, but not so much that it stops me from experimenting. Gold or platinum are so expensive that the slightest mistakes can be costly. With silver I feel I can be more intuitive with the piece I'm working on. I have many ideas for designs; often I go in to my workshop and just pick up a sheet of metal & see where I end up. Even if I have a firm idea of what I plan to make I rarely end up with an exact replica of what's in my head, unless I'm working to commission. I like the fact I'm able to let the process of making dictate the direction it takes. Often it's good to have an element of subconscious decision in design. Working on a design is a continual process until the piece feels right.

If you look back in ten years time, what do you hope to have achieved?

WORLD DOMINATION.

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