Six Months into the Business Catalyst (Large) Grant with Ellis Mhairi Cameron

One of the recent grant recipients is Ellis Mhairi Cameron, a gifted fine jeweller based at the Goldsmiths' Centre. Her work is deeply intertwined with her Scottish heritage and the rugged beauty of the Highlands. Growing up amidst dramatic landscapes, Ellis has developed a distinctive aesthetic that celebrates the charm of imperfections and the raw essence of nature.

She is using her grant - up to £7,000 (including VAT) - to push the boundaries of her craft. By incorporating both hand and pneumatic engraving techniques into her sculptural fine jewellery, and collaborating with the skilled team at Sam James Engraving, she is refining her skills, taking her artistry to new heights and enriching the contemporary jewellery scene.

Six months into her grant journey, we caught up with Ellis to discuss her progress. She shared insights into her experiments with new techniques and how the grant has given her both the time and resources to delve deeper into her artistic vision.

I'm a Scottish fine jeweller inspired by my heritage. I studied silversmithing and jewellery at the Glasgow School of Art, graduating in 2014 with a BA. Afterward, I spent a year as an artist in residence at the Glasgow School of Art while preparing for masters courses. In 2015, I began a masters in design, specialising in jewellery, at Central Saint Martins, which I completed in 2017. Following that, I participated in the business training programme, Setting Out, at the Goldsmiths’ Centre for a year between 2017 and 2018 before launching my business in the summer of 2018. So, we're now six years in.

Over the last few years, I've explored various avenues for my work, including wholesale, bespoke, and retail. Currently, I have around 20 stockists worldwide, predominantly in the US, with some in the UK. We attend trade shows in the US a couple of times a year. Retail-wise, I take appointments at the Goldsmiths' Centre for bespoke work, and I'm showcasing at Goldsmiths' Fair this year, as well as Trove in November.

I’ve spent the last couple of years establishing myself with wholesale suppliers and working in a slightly more commercial way through bespoke commissions, while also trying to secure the right stockists around the world. A lot of people reach out to me on Instagram asking where they can buy my work, so that’s where I initially focused my efforts when I started, alongside retail appointments. The aim was to explore what we could do with wholesale, so I could direct people to various locations, predominantly in America, as that’s where most people seemed to be purchasing the work, but also to explore all those possibilities.

Focusing on creating collections for stockists and wholesale has taken up much of the last couple of years. It’s been really good, but that was just one aspect of what I wanted to do. I didn’t exactly want to try something completely new. I’ve done engraving before and had some experience with it - obviously, a lot more now that I’ve received the grant. Engraving was something I initially wanted to explore last year, and I received a small grant of around £2,000 from GEMEX, a scholarship fund, which allowed me to do a taster version of a larger grant.

It was over a two-month period, working a couple of hours a week with Sam James Engraving, where I expressed my desire to do something a bit more experimental. I wanted to see if I could play with scale in my work, as I’ve predominantly focused on jewellery. However, there's nothing to say I couldn't return to making larger or more object-based silversmithing pieces.

That was something I did quite a bit when I was at the Glasgow School of Art during my bachelor's degree, but when I went to Central Saint Martins, it became much more jewellery-focused and slightly more commercially driven. I suppose it’s about revisiting previous passions, but now that I feel more confident in my aesthetic, it’s about striking that important balance between staying true to the values of my brand while also pushing boundaries. I want to ensure that my work remains recognisable, but at the same time, I don’t want it to be like, “Oh yes, here she is again, and I’ve seen all these pieces before!”. I’m really trying to push myself to create something a little different.

I completed the GEMEX grant, which was great as it gave me a nice little taster of everything. I then used some of the work I created during that time to apply for a much larger grant. I also wanted to explore the idea of using pneumatic engraving - so using machines rather than relying solely on hand tools.

I spent those two months working entirely with hand engraving, which was great and definitely the best place to start. However, I wanted to explore other methods, particularly because hand engraving is quite labour-intensive and time-consuming. I was struggling to see how it could work long-term, especially if I wanted to bring it into a wholesale market. While it’s experimental at the moment, I would need to speed up production for certain pieces, which is why pneumatic engraving could be really beneficial.

There are several reasons why it feels like the right time for more in-depth exploration through the Business Catalyst (Large) Grant. After six years, you tend to establish your aesthetic identity and where you want to go, but then you start thinking, "Okay, what else can I do?"

I think time is just as important as anything. Even though I’m running my own business and technically in control of my schedule, having set appointments really helps. For example, on Wednesdays from 12pm until 4pm, I go to the studio, put my phone on Do Not Disturb, and let my team know they can only call if it’s urgent. Otherwise, I’m unreachable, and that time feels incredibly therapeutic and indulgent in a positive way.

When you’re experimenting, it’s easy to feel the pressure of needing to prioritise wholesale orders or bespoke enquiries. While it’s great to be busy, it’s equally important to make time to explore new ideas. I usually set aside some free time, and Friday afternoons work well for this. Depending on my appointments, I try to spend at least an hour on experimentation. While that doesn’t sound like much, it’s the maximum time I can realistically devote to it.

I find that having that external accountability is really beneficial as it encourages me to take that time. This grant has provided a fantastic opportunity to explore while also improving my skills. It’s been refreshing to experiment without the pressure of immediate outcomes. I've been looking into pneumatic engraving, which is machine-operated and similar to using a pendant drill, but foot-operated, helping to speed up the engraving process.

While I initially worked with hand engraving, I want to see how I can incorporate both methods for different projects. The pneumatic engraving allows me to lay the groundwork for my designs, much like creating an initial sketch before adding more detail.

The humbling experience of learning new techniques has been incredibly rewarding. I feel confident in my studio about the work I produce, but it’s also nice to feel a bit unsure again, which I view as a positive challenge. Being back in that place of uncertainty encourages me to make the techniques my own. The things that James Neville teaches me are his ways of working, which are brilliant, and I’ve learned so much from him. However, interpreting what I learn for my own practice is something I always strive to do.

This creates an ongoing dialogue between teaching myself and exploring what I want to achieve. I’ve been creating pieces that fit into my existing collections alongside those that will be completely separate. Instead of declaring, "This is a new collection," I see this as a playful period to see where my explorations take me.

The pneumatic engraving allows for intricate designs on both small and larger scales, and I want to experiment with this in terms of jewellery and objects I could create. This exploration will focus on scale as well as the concept of utilitarian and functional pieces, considering how different elements can work together and coexist.

The new collection will feature a mix of pieces, combining my existing work with what I’ve learned during this time. The aim is to create a cohesive yet diverse collection that showcases the different techniques and processes I've explored.