Niessing - Student Jewellery Design Competition
17 March 2009
The Scottish Goldsmiths’ Trust provided funding in 2002 for two members of staff from the Jewellery Department at Cardonald College Glasgow to visit the Inhorgenta Trade Fair in Munich Germany (the largest trade fair in Europe specializing in Jewellery, Watches, Gems and associated trades).The aim was to develop industrial and educational links in Europe and establish a project with a European Jewellery manufacturing company. Both Eric Smith (Eric Smith Jewellers) and Neil Smith (Orro, Glasgow) provided advice and useful contacts for us.
We made excellent links with Jochen Exner President of Niessing. Niessing is one of the largest German Jewellery manufacturing companies and since 2003 we have been privileged to have a staff/student workshop with the Chief designer in March each year. Niessing have,for several years won the International red dot prize for design excellence. This year Jochen Exner made the decision that the Cardonald College HND staff/student workshop is now firmly in the diary as an annual event . It is sponsored through support from the business sector in Glasgow (see list of sponsors). The funding required for the visit is raised personally by a member of the Jewellery staff and also through student sales of work. Niessing is, of course, the main sponsor.
Six students are selected through the HND Niessing Competition from HND1 and HND2 and visit the company with Anne Graham (Programme Coordinator) & David Hempstead (Senior Lecturer). The competition is open to both HND1 and HND2. The students have to design a piece of jewellery from a set brief. The 10 students that are short listed present their finished ideas to the judges. The judges include subject specialists and also some of our sponsors. Some of our sponsors are so supportive of the Niessing Project that they have funded us on an annual basis since the outset.
Susanne Winckler worked with our students from 2003-2007 and has subsequently left Niessing to teach Jewellery design at the Art Institution in Hong Kong. Iris Weyer is the designer that now leads the workshops with Anne & David.
After an extensive tour of the workshops Susanne explained the role of the designer and the development of her collection from concept to end product. Jochen Exner, President of Niessing, gives the students an overview of the company and its progress from when it was first established in 1873Through discourse we discovered the design philosophy of Niessing, the intellectual demands and emotional needs, the importance of the creative process and the use of materials in contemporary design.
The students are briefed on the practical workshop. They then experiment and produce prototypes and present these and discuss them at various stages to the Chief designer.