A rather belated Happy New Year to you! It’s been a really busy start to 2012 for me, so here is just a quick update!

I’ve busy designing two brand new collections, Isis and Grace. They will be added to the website properly very soon, please bear with me, but in the meantime here are a few shots to give you a taste.

All pieces are sterling silver with the addition on 22ct gold vermeil.

So if you are a stockist or would like to be, just let me know and I can send a catalogue out to you, or even better, pop by and see me at The Jewellery Show at the Spring Fair on stand DQ11 but don’t forget to register here first.

Bye for now!

As Christmas zooms closer at an alarming rate, and the nights are getting darker and longer, I thought I should just let you all know about the exhibitions that I am taking part it over the festive season to bring some cheer and sparkle!

‘Alchemy’ is at the Leeds Craft and Design Centre and is their annual showcase of twelve jewellery designers, running from the 5th November to 14th January

At the RBSA in St Paul’s in Birmingham I am taking part in the ‘Electric’ exhibition which runs from now until the 13th January

“The RBSA Craft Gallery’s festive exhibition is guaranteed to be electric! On show are a selection of the nation’s most celebrated designer makers who are exhibiting their latest collections of contemporary silver and gold jewellery, alongside ceramics and silverware. Why not also take the opportunity to find your special someone a unique, hand-made gift this Christmas from the RBSA Craft Gallery…?”

And last but not least I have been chosen to be a ‘star’ in ‘Glitz – a glamorous Christmas showcase’ at Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery Saltaire. which opens on the 17th November and runs to 29th January.  Alongside this there is also an exhibition called Traces : Rust, Dust & Belly Button Fluff - Ten New Graduates Finding Beauty in Hidden Places, so there will be a whole range of exciting and interesting designers.

All of them are fabulous galleries and it’s a great opportunity (not only to get Christmas pressies) but to see some beautiful design and craftsmanship from a whole variety of makers of jewellery and also other crafts. I hope I get chance to visit them myself, but at the moment it’s long hours in the workshop for me!

Don’t forget that there are also stockists of Kokkino Jewellery throughout the country, further afield and online.  So just check here, or contact me for your closest stockist (the list will be updated as regularly as possible) or for any queries.

Phew, so I’m finally ready! I think!

I finished the final pieces of jewellery today, including some special diamond set pieces in the Target and Mandala Collections, and I also have ready Target stud earrings in a whole host of  vitreous enamel colours as they were such an amazing success last year.

All the details of how to get to the show are on the website here along with details of all of the exhibitors

http://www.thegoldsmiths.co.uk/exhibitions-promotions/goldsmiths’-fair/exhibitor-index/week-2/

The show is open Tuesday 4th October – Sunday 9th October from 11am – 7pm

And if you still need convincing there’s a lovely write up on the show here

http://www.thejewelleryeditor.com/2011/09/goldsmiths%E2%80%99-fair-a-golden-opportunity/

with a very nice mention of my Solar Shimmer Neckpiece too!

Here’s hoping for an exciting and successful show.

Hope to see you there!

I’ve been digging through some rather old pieces of jewellery in preparation for an exhibition I’m going to be part of called All Golds at the Jewellery School in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter where I studied for my degree. I’m really pleased to be part of it and it’s going to so interesting to see the variety of work.

Tutor, Terry Hunt who has taught at the School of Jewellery for the last 40 years is retiring, and the exhibition includes just 100 of his students. We have each chosen a piece of work which dates from our time at the school, and a piece of current work, so I’m really intrigued to go and see how each artist’s work has evolved and grown throughout the years, including people such as Nick Hubbard, Martyn Pugh, Teresa Nguyen and Gill Galloway-Whitehead

My piece from my degree course is made from copper and dyed nylon, which was actually strimmer line and fishing wire and was inspired by creatures from deep under the sea.

The exhibition is open from 25th October – 25th November 2011

http://www.allgolds.co.uk/

Just a quick blog as I know I have not been keeping up with posts here as I should have been.

This month started with IJL  trade fair at Earls Court, London, and is really the beginning of the lead up to Christmas (I know, I can’t believe it either!) It was a really enjoyable show and I was really pleased to get orders from quite a few new jewellers and galleries which I am busily working on now. It’s always such a great week for catching up with customers and also other designers and makers, before we’re all locked away for the busiest time of the year!

Any galleries that I didn’t get chance to talk to at the show, I know that Sunday was particularly hectic, or if you didn’t go down to London,  if you need me to send you a current catalogue or want to discuss an order for Christmas, just give me a call in the workshop (01905 728179) at any time or drop me an email at melanie@kokkino.co.uk.

Now my next show is very clearly on the horizon, Goldsmiths’ Fair which is a public retail fair will be very soon. I’m exhibiting in week 2, from 4th – 9th October and will have some pieces that are special just for that show and not available in any of the galleries I stock. I hope that the fair is a busy one, there are always so many talented and inspiring jewellers and silversmiths exhibiting. I’m in the same spot as I was last year, stand number 7 in the foyer if you’d like to pop over and say hi! Also I hope to be able to get time to visit St Paul’s cathedral this time, which is just round the corner, but proved impossible to get to with the busy schedule of Goldsmiths’ week last year.

Back to work for now…

I’m all packed and ready and have some new one-off pieces to show, so if you get chance, come along to Bovey Tracey. It really is a lovely weekend packed full of all the good stuff! Hope to see you there.

http://craftsatboveytracey.co.uk/

A couple of weeks ago I had a photoshoot to get some new fresh photos of the Kokkino ranges. It was a beautiful day at The Rookery in Streatham Common, London, and the team were all such great fun and worked really hard. I’m saving the final finished photos for a while, but there are some snapshots of the day that give an idea of what we got up to!

The photographer I chose to work with was Oscar May – check out his website and find him on facebook, he’s a really talented guy and a pleasure to work with too.  Also in the team was the lovely Carmen Goetz as make-up artist and chief snapshot taker, and the model was the fabulous Rebecca Swinn.

Happily the sun co-operated with our plans and shone for us throughout the day, I even went home with slightly pink shoulders! I’m so pleased with the way the images have turned out, and we’ve already planned to get together and take a few more shots…but you’ll just have to wait a little longer to see them!!

I’ve spent the day preparing for the Spring Gardening Show in Malvern where I’ll be exhibiting along with my fellow members of the Worcestershire Guild of Designer Craftsmen. The stand is all set, the jewellery is ready to go, so I hope to see plenty of people there!

Tickets for Thursday have to be pre-booked but you can buy them on the gate for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Fingers crossed for fair weather….

A few shots of the more dramatic and playful pieces in the shimmer collection that I have been enjoying working on. The full collection will be available at madebyhandonline.com, and at some of the stockists throughout the land.