iapetus.co.uk to become the new home for Silverfish Designs Jewellery
As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade!
LET'S START WITH THE LEMONS
As many of our customers know, Carol James, the incredibly talented maker behind Silverfish Designs jewellery, very sadly lost her long battle with cancer earlier this year. She was our founder Anna's beloved sister and one of Carol’s last wishes was for Anna to be the one to take on Silverfish as ‘she’ll know what to do with it”.
We lost Carol unexpectedly in the midst of announcing the closure of iapetus gallery. Anna and my future plans were to close the business entirely, including iapetus.co.uk. This was to give us a clean break, allowing us to focus on our future endeavours. However, the beautiful and thoughtful gift of Silverfish has meant we had to reevaluate how we move forward with both businesses.
WHAT LEMONS DO WE HAVE?
Carol predominately sold her diverse collection of jewellery at local markets and events. However Anna and I simply do not have the time to give to these intensive events. Carol also sold a little of her work at silverfishdesigns.co.uk, but that website is in need of an overhaul and has a very small customer list.
So, after much soul searching and planning Anna and I have decided the most sensible (and frankly obvious) way for us to continue bringing Carol’s work to the world is by hosting Silverfish Designs on iapetus.co.uk.
Carol’s wonderful work has always been a big part of our jewellery collection here at iapetus. Her work stood proudly and deservedly alongside our other incredibly talented jewellers’ work. Continuing to sell her work here fits perfectly with our near two decades ethos of promoting the very best of British handmade crafts.
MAKING LEMONADE
So, over the next few weeks we will be collating, photographing and writing descriptions for all of Silverfish Designs’ jewellery collections. There will be over 400 unique designs to choose from and we will endeavour to ensure each has the very best representation.
Alongside the jewellery itself we will tell the story of Carol’s jewellery making journey and the diverse and truly fascinating influences that fed into the tactile and meaningful pieces she designed and made.
Our aim is to create a website that truly shines a light on Carol’s amazing work and bring it both to the people who loved her and the jewellery, and to a whole new audience.
YOU MAY HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS
We know you may have a few questions about this new journey for iapetus and Silverfish Designs. We’ve tried to answer a few below...
How can I find out more?
If you already receive our emails you’ll be the first to know when the Silverfish Designs collections are ready to purchase. If you’d like to be added just email info@iapetus.co.uk.
Will there be any other artists work on iapetus.co.uk?
At present we have no plans to offer any further work beyond that of Silverfish Designs. We may well offer Anna’s own jewellery (she’s also a highly talented silversmith), and who knows, maybe we’ll have guest jewellers as time progresses.
Can I order anything that is on iapetus.co.uk now?
Yes, anything that is showing here today can be ordered as normal. That includes the very last few pieces of our previous stock, all at 50% off. [link] Please note that we are now fulfilling orders in between our new lives so delivery timings may be a little longer than before.
I was a Silverfish Designs customer. Will you add me to your mailing list?
Due to data protection regulations (GDPR) we cannot transfer email addresses from Silverfish Designs to iapetus. If you want to be kept in touch email us at info@iapetus.co.uk.
Who will make Silverfish Designs jewellery?
At present almost all the jewellery we have in stock, and will be arriving here soon, has been made by Carol herself. Some pieces may have been finished by Anna or myself - like pendants being added to chains, earrings on to hooks etc.
We have some of Carol's most popular pieces that are not finished (not polished, drilled, connected etc) which we will be working with one of our most trusted jewellers, Fi Mehra, to complete for us, following Carol’s techniques.
Will there be new designs for Silverfish?
We also have Carol’s original moulds for her cast pieces and, as time progresses we may choose to, as she would, order more. However we will never ever make new designs under the Silverfish Designs name.