Lora Leedham Jewellery

Lora Leedham Bio:

I am an independent jewellery designer from the Midlands area. I have always been into design and known that I have wanted to go into the design field. I studied Art and Design, where I did Photography, Fashion and Textile Design, Ceramics and Glass, and many other fields of design. For my specialist subject in my final year, I decided to try jewellery making. My project was ‘Jewellery Made from Found and Recycled Objects’
I really loved making the jewellery and I was able to create to huge, unusual jewellery.
From then, jewellery making became a hobby and friends and family would ask me to create pieces for them. I gradually built up my techniques and approached other designers who invited me to their workshops where I would watch them make and learn new techniques.

I came across The Prince’s Trust (which I didn’t know much about at the time) However, after having a meeting with a business advisor, he told me that I could turn the jewellery making into a business. I had further meetings with him and we built up a business plan together, which I had to take with me to an awards panel. The awards panel consisted of around 8 people who I had to talk to about my plan and they awarded me with money to start up my business and buy tools and equipment with.

After approximately a year of planning the business and setting it up, I finally registered it on the 1st February 2006 and from then on, it is a matter of getting my name known as a designer. I approached galleries across the UK who agreed to display my jewellery. These are in various locations such as Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter, Liverpool, Sheffield, Wales, Scotland, and Milton Keynes. I have also had the jewellery displayed in exhibitions.

After gaining experience with the galleries, I have now moved more into the fashion side of jewellery. I have been trying to get my name known by getting press releases done in newspapers and magazines. I met up with Dolly Jones from Vogue who was fantastic and viewed the jewellery with me. She is doing a feature for the website for me which I am really excited about. Also while I was in London, I was invited to Buckingham Palace to deliver a necklace which I created for Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. This was to commemorate the 30th Birthday of the Prince’s Trust, and she wore it at The Tower of London Concert.

It was fantastic to see The Duchess wearing something I had created and I have also made a piece of jewellery for the News Presenter, Suzanne Virdee.

I find the fashion side of jewellery more interesting and the style of jewellery is much more fun. I try to add colour and textures by using unusual gemstones and fabrics such as Organza ribbons. These give a very feminine feel to the jewellery, which I really love. I am now selling in Mayfair, but I would also love to get into catwalk jewellery, which would allow me to create bigger, bolder pieces of jewellery, more like Haute Couture.

Now, working alongside fashion designers and working independently, I am able to take part in exciting projects and develop new designs.

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