IN INDUSTRY LAST UPDATED : 21 FEBRUARY 2017
Three prestigious School of Jewellery alumni recently spoke to the BBC about the business side of the jewellery industry. The sector is currently facing a skills shortage for new business start-ups, which has seen rise to mentorship schemes such as Walpole Crafted initiative.
Birmingham City University has also recognised a need in this area and has created business focused postgraduate courses such as MA Luxury Jewellery Management and MA Luxury Brand Management. These courses address the challenges and opportunities in the market and aim to give students the skills needed to compete in a thoroughly competitive market place.
Speaking to the BBC, alumna Theresa Nguyen said:
Theresa has seen her work exhibited on a national level, with her piece “A Fair Wind” currently on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The work honours her family escaping from Vietnam and the subsequent rescue by the captain and crew of a British oil tanker.
BCU alumni and husband and wife team Craig and Rebecca Struthers make high-end watches and jewellery from their studio in the Jewellery Quarter. Explaining their situation to the BBC, Rebecca (pictured, photo credit: BBC) went on to say:
All three alumni currently work from studios inside the Jewellery Quarter, only a stone throw away from the School of Jewellery’s Vittoria Street home.
You can find out more about the new business courses within the School by joining us at our postgraduate open evening on Wednesday 26 April.