Jeweller Sophie on her Off the Bench Peg designs
Off the Bench Peg is an ever evolving jewellery collection where Justin has given the team free rein to explore their own ideas and designs.
Jeweller Sophie shares her insight into some of the pieces she has made for the collection...
"As the most recently trained jeweller in the workshop team, it has been exciting for me to showcase my skill development in experimental styles through Off the Bench Peg.
My first big piece for Off the Bench Peg was a bejewelled sandcast 9ct gold disc pendant that became affectionately known as the ‘disco pendant.’
Cast in sand from Penzance with eight bead-set mixed gems ‘lighting’ the disc pendant up like a disco ball, I took my inspiration from the Northern Soul movement of the early 1970s. Influenced by a mixture of all the things the music scene had to offer, including its prevailing sense of community spirit and weekly “all-nighters”, in which dancers would don a driving glove on one hand to stop from slipping while performing disco moves.
I was largely moved by Northern Soul’s interesting sartorial presence that incorporated patches as emblems to signifying belonging and the dazzling names that honoured its dancing institutions, such as The Golden Torch and The Twisted Wheel. I chose Penzance sand as a nod to my own community (it’s where I live and work) and designed the disco pendant to be its own emblem of luminosity (somewhat becoming its own Golden Torch) while evoking a sense of fun and revelry when worn!"
Sophie's disco pendant featured in a WED magazine - photographed by Leo Sharp
The original 'Disco' Pendant has long since found a home, but keep an eye out for new iterations of it on Off the Bench Peg - or get in touch for a quote on your very own piece.
When making a piece especially for you, there is the opportunity to choose to personalise your jewellery by choosing the sand it's cast in and even have input on the design: you could choose your gemstones, the precious metal it's cast from and even the shape of your piece.
Pieces that have drawn inspiration from the disco pendant
"My next big move on Off the Bench Peg came about during an experiment in mixing metals and evolved into its own micro collection!
Utilising a double-casting method, I have been making two-tone jewellery by separately casting two different metals to make one whole piece - such as the two-tone 9ct rose gold and silver signet ring. The natural fluidity between the two precious metals connotes the meeting of tides, not only a nice homage to our coastal location here at Justin Duance, but a rather poetic way to behold the chosen sand in any two-tone piece."
You can view the two-tone collection in the Off the Bench Peg section on our website.
"Having a creative outlet within an already very creative job role is such a pleasure, and Off the Bench Peg has proven to be a wonderful place to explore a real mix of both personal and off-the-cuff ideas.
Having the opportunity to design and create a finished product that can then be perused and purchased by our customers is an exciting full-circle moment, and I delight in the opportunity to continue doing so."
- Sophie Butcher, Jeweller
