About me
Originally studying Design at Central St Martins (University of the Arts London) I have since undertaken various courses in order to familiarise myself with the tools, materials and processes involved in jewellery design and making and have gone on to hold several positions within reputable luxury goods companies, ranging broadly from order fulfilment, through to Designer.
The exact nature of the roles themselves and the responsibilities involved within each are deceptively diverse, covering everything from stock/inventory management, through to critical path/supply chain management with many duties in between.
As Production Assistant and Website Coordinator, I have successfully managed the global repairs service itself initiated in stores and by direct customer contact. This, at times, involved management of the in-house repair teams and process; at other times involved liaising with local craftsmen in order to ensure that repair jobs were completed successfully.
I have also managed the order fulfilment process for all global orders placed through a company’s website, including picking, QC, packing and dispatch. This role also involved administrative duties, such as the collation and reporting of monthly/annual sales figures. Processing circa £100k of sales in total and providing superior customer service by telephone and email.
Lending myself well to responsibility, I was also made safe key-holder for the company, involving successful inventory keeping for the company’s most precious assets.
Whilst not a primary aspect of my role, I was also given the privilege of founding and maintaining the company’s social media web pages, and providing copy for the company’s wholesale look-books and (at times) website.
As Designer, I had an integral involvement with the company directors in order to develop and finalise designs, liaise with overseas component and product manufacturers and suppliers to obtain quotations and samples, and see the design process through to eventually finished pieces and seasonal collections of luxury goods and jewellery. I was also primarily responsible for managing the company’s premium range of 18k gold and precious gemstone cufflinks, including design, photography and cataloguing of gemstones/articles and contact with their Italian supplier. Other ad-hoc duties such as sample process management and curation as required.
Administration duties have played an important part of most of the positions, with reports, stock management and record keeping all integral features, as have stock control (the raising or purchase/sales orders; creation of product information pages and transferring of stock using in-house stock management software.
While perhaps not the best time to work for the company in question; I have also worked as an Order Fulfilment Assistant for an online fine jewellery retailer based in Hatton Gardens. The role itself primarily involved the sourcing and purchase of precious metals and gemstones; and liaising with local craftsmen to ensure that all jobs were completed on time and to a satisfactory standard. This inevitably involved some Assay and QC duties, as well as key involvement in logistics. A shortly held, but varied, insightful and integral position, I parted from this company on good terms and was even offered a promotion and pay-rise in order to try and keep my skills within the company.
Aside from my professional positions, I have also participated in several unpaid placements with smaller designer-makers in order to gain a better understanding of how their businesses function on a daily basis. These gave me an important insight into how smaller-scale jewellery operations work, and included tasks as varied as stockist research, through to hands-on making; supply runs and trade-show support.
As previously stated, I have also completed various day and evening courses in jewellery design and making at reputable institutions such as Central St Martins, and have a select portfolio of both academic and professional work completed to date, which I would be happy to show you, should you wish to see it.
Having recently taken some time to recover from an exercise related injury (thankfully not too serious), I am now seeking to re-enter the workforce in a suitable position. In the mean time (among other things), I have also completed a certificate in computer literacy in order to refine my existing Microsoft Office skills, and am comfortable working on both Macintosh and Windows computers. Comfortable working on both Windows and Macintosh (Apple) computer systems, I also have some experience using CAD software packages such as Rhino and the Adobe Creative Suite.
My career has involved both shop floor retail experience, as well as a considerable amount of Head Office retail experience, so I am as comfortable in a production suite as I am in a high-end design studio.
While I have not utilised my practical jewellery skills for some time, I am still familiar with the basic production methods such as soldering, piercing and oxidising. I have also gained some experience in micro-welding and basic stone-setting. Through my personal studies, I would like to think that I am familiar with the techniques involved in the hand-production of jewellery, but my professional experience has given me valuable insight into larger scale industrial production methods and the process for managing these.
Please find attached a copy of my resume, noting that there are numerous extra-curricular activities and courses that I may not have included for the sake of conciseness, such as the planning and hosting of entrepreneurial events and participation in running co-working hubs/spaces and contributing to conservation charities and social activism groups.
I believe that my skills and experience within the sector would make me a valuable asset, and would genuinely value this opportunity to make a positive contribution to your company. I feel that my experience to date has given me a comprehensive knowledge of jewellery and luxury goods businesses of varying scales as well as insight and experience into managing the aspects involved in their smooth-running. Please feel free to contact me at your convenience, should you wish to discuss my application further.
Thank you for your time, I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
James
Projects
- Examples of professional & Academic work completed to dateImage 1: Sterling 925 Ballring made by hand, with gold electroplated interior and multiple 925 (and one 18k) balls freely moving inside, set underneath a domed watchglass. Image 2: Sterling 925 Abacus bangle made by hand, with multiple silver rails upon which stacks of 925 (and one 18k) beads freely move up and down.] Image 3: Concept Layout sheet for a leather keyring lanyard, with dimensions and technical production info for manufacturer/supplier Image 4/5: Initial Sketch of 925 Cufflink Design & Photograph of Final Cufflink Post-Production
Work history
Order Fulfilment Assistant
- London, United KingdomFull Time
Primary responsibility for obtaining precious metals and gemstones from stock and local suppliers for all global orders placed through the company’s website, as well as liaising with local craftsmen (Hatton Gardens) in order to ensure that all jewellery jobs were completed on time and to a satisfactory standard. Assay Duties. Quality control of finished jewellery pieces and ensuring all certification was present and accurate prior to dispatch.
While maybe not the best time to work for the company in question, I parted from this company on good terms. A varied, integral and insightful position; and was even offered a promotion and pay-ride to try and keep my skills within the company.
Jewellery Intern
- United Kingdom, LondonInternship
Stockist research; mood board/collection theme research; trade-show support
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Skills
- Jewellery Making
- Jewellery Design
- Product Design
- Administraion
- Critical Path
- Supply Chain
- CAD
- CAD Rhino
- Abobe Creative Suite
- Inventory Management
Education
ECDL Extra
- London, United Kingdom
Certificate in computer literacy covering Word, Excel & PowerPoint modules of Microsoft Office
introduction to Rhino CAD
- London, United Kingdom
Introductory course covering the basics of using Rhino (Rhinoceros) 3D/NURBS CAD software
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