The tick of the big green Olympic clock

Team green Great Britain flag

The tick of the clock is getting even louder as the official 1 year countdown to the Olympics has begun. And Opulent Ethics is excited to learn just how green and environmentally friendly the Olympic site is going to be.

One of the poorest areas in London, Stratford, is being cleaned up and renovated in order for it to house the Olympic buildings.

Stratford was an area of industry just 50 years ago and the legacy of those years of disrepute was polluted waterways and soil, unused transport links and large areas or prime real estate remaining unused.

Artists impression of the green Olympic site

Whilst the Olympics has already had a massive impact on the arts as funds are diverted from courses, incubation schemes and funding programmes, having a huge effect on many of us, it is nice to see that what is being done with this money is going to make a positive change for the future.  

Whilst the building work continues there are thousands of jobs, 25% of which are going to people from the local area, and apprenticeship schemes are in place to help improve the education and skill set of the next generation.

The largest park or green area for many generations will be left behind after the temporary structures are removed and the remaining housing will be used partly as low cost accommodation for the poorer sectors of society. And 90% of the materials which are used during the construction of the site will be reused or recycled in the future.

Furthermore, the canal has been dredged and cleaned and both this and the railway line have been improved and repaired and are now in full working order. These are being used to transport 50% of the construction materials in and out of the site and are replacing trucks on the road which ties in with the site's attempts to be constructed with as low a carbon footprint as possible.

For all involved in constructing the Olympic park and running the actual games, the hope is that this will be the greenest Olympics to date. The intention is for 20% of the energy used in the Olympic park to come from renewable sources, energy efficient technology will be used to supply electricity, heat and cool buildings and provide hot water and a biomass boiler will be used to burn recycled woodchip as a power source. And, if that wasn't enough, a wind turbine which will stand on the site will produce enough electricity to power 1000 homes.

So, despite the negative effect on the jewellery and other arts industries with the removal of much needed funding, the Olympics are proving positive for many by providing a sustainable, cleaner site for us all to use in the future, some cheaper, cleaner housing for those in need and the first park to be built within London in 150 years. And that can't be a bad thing!

That's all for now....

Common sense prevails over Governments Hall Marking Red Tape Challenge

UK Governments Red Tape Challenge

You may have read about the Governments recent Red Tape Challenge which aimed to cut down some of the large amount of bureaucracy found in many aspects of UK life. Opulent Ethics reported in April about how the Government was trying to cut some regulations which are in fact necessary. We focused on Hallmarking, the benchmark of UK jewellery industry standards, as we felt that this is something that should remain untouched. You can read that particular blog here.

And, thankfully, over 6000 of you agreed. The Red Tape Challenge put forward numerous topics from a wide range of industries and asked industry members, related companies and members of the public to make their views known. When Assaying was put forward as one of the topics under review the jewellery industry were up in arms and rallied to ensure that enough people's views were conveyed.

After such an amazing response the Government has reviewed the Hallmarking regulations and come to the conclusion that Hallmarking and, by default, the Assay Offices in the United Kingdom shall remain untouched. There was outrage when the Hallmarking part of the Challenge went public resulting in key members of the industry such as BJA chief executive Simon Rainer and NAG chief executive Michael Hoare to write personally to both the Prime Minister David Cameron and the Business Secretary Vince Cable to air their views.

This was also backed up by over 6000 industry members, small designer-makers, retailers and consumers who all commented on the Red Tape Challenge site about the importance of the UK Hallmarking system and how it protects manufacturers, retailers and consumers.

Michael Allchin, who is the chief executive of the Birmingham Assay Office, spoke out to say that the Birmingham Assay office is "extremely pleased that the outcome of the Red Tape Challenge has endorsed our rigorous independent regime". He also thanked all those who had commented for taking the time to voice concerns about the potential impact that scrapping hallmarking could have had.

He went on to say: "When The Birmingham Assay Office began its campaign to alert the trade to the Red Tape Challenge, our prime concern was that hallmarking should not be abolished by default because no one bothered to reply. In the end the level and quality of the response was overwhelming and gratifying.

We are strong believers in the trade working together for its own good and the unprecedented joint response from the trade associations and major buying groups carried significant weight. This was further reinforced by literally thousands of comments from individual retailers, makers, designers, politicians and consumers whose combined views ensured that hallmarking was not abolished. We appreciate the support from all those who took time to submit their views to the Red Tape Challenge.”

It just goes to show that individual voices can make a change for the better and all in the UK jewellery industry, including Opulent Ethics, are greatly relieved that this is over. Without Hallmarking the quality of UK jewellery would have been breached. It is these Assay regulations which help keep UK jewellery at the fore-front of the worldwide jewellery industry. So well done to all who voiced their opinions!

That's all for now....

A preview of the amazing up and coming Goldsmiths Centre

With a planned opening possibly as soon as November this year, the new Goldsmiths Centre is really starting to take shape. Opulent Ethics were lucky enough to be part of a small group being shown around the site by Rebecca van Rooijen, Project Officer for the Goldsmiths Centre and co-founder of Benchpeg, the jewellery industry's weekly digital newsletter.

Made up partly from a Grade II Listed School with a newly built entrance and audio-visually equipped exhibition space the building is going to be the home of the newest jewellery community in London and will boast state of the art facilities and technologies all within an environmentally concious building.



Artists impression of new Goldsmiths Centre



The Goldsmith Centre plans to recycle rainwater in the lavatories and have photo voltaic cells on the roof which will help power the sensory building. It has everything that Opulent Ethics would look for in an eco-concious building.

And who will fill the space? Well, there is definately something for everyone. The public can pop in to use the cafe facilities or view work in the impressive exhibition space. Companies will be able to hire the conference facilities. Up and coming and mature companies can hire workshop space on a rolling contract. And students will have supported access to workshop space and masters of different specialisms in the industry.

And the students won't even have to be in the same room as the experts they are learning from. The Goldsmith Company are looking to spend time recording and preserving the teachings of these experts in order to ensure traditional skill bases do not dye out.

The overall aim of the building is to bring a breath of fresh air to the industry by increasing and supporting learning, knowledge transfer and trade. As the history and traditions of jewellery are weakening with newer, quicker, more precise technologies drawing attention away the Goldsmith Centre is looking to halt this by offering pre-apprenticeship schemes and evening classes in specific skills.

All in all the Goldsmiths company charity, which the Goldsmiths Centre will run under, are aiming to start the biggest revival of the jewellery industry in living memory. Good luck to them!

And if even a fraction of the staff who work in the finished centre have the contagious enthusiasm of Rebecca van Rooijen then the centre can't fail to be one of the most inspirational platforms for jewellers of all levels to work in.

For more information please see the Goldsmiths Centre website.

That's all for now....

New Designers does exactly what it says on the tin!

Opulent Ethics have been so busy over the last 3 weeks that we have been neglecting the blog. We thought you deserved an explanation of why we haven't been around so here goes....

- First off we completed the Precious Pomanders for our final university project. These will be up on the Opulent Ethics website as soon as possible but here is a picture of the final pieces in the meantime.

Cherished mini-pomanders

- Then Opulent Ethics exhibited in the Birmingham City University School of Jewellery final show alongside Emily Richard, Annie Li and Susie Alexander to name but a few.

- And finally we arrived in London for New Designers....and boy what a treat that was! Not only was it a great opportunity to show Opulent Ethics off to the public but there were also a few other ethical students exhibiting that we got to meet and swap and share ideas with.

Ali Bartlett was in the Applied Craft section of New Designers but we met up and talked about the future of working with sustainable and recycled materials in our work.

Ali Bartlett sandblasted bead

Craig Owen was with the Duncan of Jordanstone University of Dundee stand and had spent his time researching sustainability as a design feature. There were a few interesting conversations and discussions had here!

Lynsey Pluck was exhibiting under the One Year On section of New Designers and was showing off some of her recycled sari material pieces. All the materials used by Lynsey are ethically sourced and the result is beautiful.

Lynsey Pluck recycled sari material brooch

It was a fantastic chance to get feedback and share ideas with new people and, more importantly, new people who share Opulent Ethics' ideals. It was a great chance to share and learn from other sources.

So, thank you to Birmingham City University's School of Jewellery for 3 years of inspiring, tiring, challenging work. Thanks to New Designers for hosting Opulent Ethics and all the other amazing exhibitors. And thank you to the new friends that we made there...Ali Bartlett and Craig Owen.

That's all for now....

Birmingham meets its most precious visitors; the Oro Verde gold team

This week has seen a Fairtrade gold competition taking place at Birmingham City University’s School of Jewellery in collaboration between the school and the Oro Verde green gold programme. And today has been the most illusionary, informative and amazing day for the competition and for Opulent Ethics.

On Monday the brief was given out to students at the School of Jewellery along with presentations about Fair Trade, the impact of mining, the Oro Verde programme and industry developments and tomorrow is the deadline for designs. So we will be waiting with baited breath to see what fantastic designs we receive.

But back to today; as part of London Jewellery Week’s Essence section three esteemed guests have been invited to visit the UK from Colombia and we were lucky enough to convince them to visit Birmingham as part of their whirlwind tour.

Claudia Vallejo, Sandra Hernandez Garrido and Americo Masquero viewing an
Assay Punch at the Birmingham Assay Office

 

Luis Americo Mosquera is an artisanal miner from the Choco Bioregion of Colombia. He is the head of one of seven families which work a mine in the region and share the profits between them. He has been mining the area for 45 years and works the mine with his son, daughter and extended family. The mine is one of the biggest involved in the Oro Verde programme and is on land which was owned by Americo’s parents and grandparents.

Sandra Hernandez Garrido works for Amichoco and heads up the Oro Verde Commercial Unit. As well as working for the Non-Government Organisation which has helped develop and promote the Oro Verde programme she was also our very talented and fluent translator for the day.

Claudia Vallejo is also from Colombia and is a traditionally trained jeweller who runs her business, Biojoy from Bogota. She spent time studying artistic design at Massana in Barcelona before taking this home and translating it into designs which would work in Colombia.

The first stop for our group was the Birmingham Assay Office where we were given background information on the history and standing of the assay office today. Assay Office representatives met with and listened to Americo as he explained how he and his fellow workers mine the land using traditional methods to supply the UK with the world’s only ecologically mined Fairtrade gold.

We then went on a tour of the impressive facilities of the Assay Office. We were shown the stamp room and were given demonstrations of the different types of punches used by jewellers, silversmiths, retailers and manufacturers throughout the UK. But the best bit of the tour happened in the laser room at the Assay Office where our guests were shown and presented with personalised cards of the stamps which are available at the Assay Office including the Fairtrade / Fairmined gold mark and its ecological Fairtrade / Fairmined gold counterpart.

Claudia tries her hand at assay marking some jewellery

Americo with his personalised card of Assay Office punches including the
new Fairtrade / Fairmined and Ecological Fairtrade / Fairmined gold marks 

Close up of one of the assay cards with the Fairtrade marks at the bottom

After this wonderful tour we then rushed across the Jewellery Quarter to the Museum where we were, very kindly, given a private tour of the old Smith and Pepper factory which makes up the museum. It was really inspiring to watch Claudia here as she was fascinated to see pieces of machinery that she uses in her studio at home stuck in the factory time warp. The group also learnt something of the British class system which didn’t allow staff to mix with customers of female workers to operate any of the heavy machinery.

Next we moved onto the School of Jewellery where students who wish to enter the competition were invited to meet and question the Colombian guests in order to help inspire them further. And this time it was not just questions about Americo’s work but also Claudia was asked about how she designs and creates her pieces.

Much to the amazement of us spoilt UK jewellers (and we include ourselves here) we learnt how Claudia alloys and forms her own metal from pure gold. This is something which is not really considered in the UK jewellery industry as we are able to purchase materials as sheet, wire, tube or casting grain quickly and easily. Claudia also spoke of how her designs are influenced by her work at the bench and how she lets her hands influence the outcome of her pieces. This is definitely a very different way of designing when compared with how many of us sit down with a sketch book or computer design software and draw our ideas rather than letting the materials we work with inform us.

After this Q & A session in amongst the hustle and bustle of the School, which is preparing for the students final show next week, we then took a quick tour of the School facilities in order to convey to our guests how the students work and study and the exciting machinery and technologies which are available to them. Hopefully this provided a more comprehensive insight into the processes many of us use when manufacturing our jewellery and silversmithing pieces.

And finally, we visited Weston Beamor, one of the few companies in the UK who are licensed to cast using the Fairtrade / Fairmined gold. Here we discussed both sides’ experiences of the supply chain so far and hopes for the future.

All in all it was a very informative and full day which was, hopefully, as enjoyable for our guests as it was for those of us who took part in showing them round.

So thank you to all who were involved; the School of Jewellery, the Birmingham Assay Office, the Jewellery Quarter Museum and Weston Beamor. But most of all thank you to three very inspirational people. Americo; thank you for believing that the region where you live is special and diverse and did not deserve to be destroyed by large scale mining companies but that it should be cherished and preserved for your families to come. Thank you also to Sandra for working so tirelessly and hard to help ensure that what started as a small operation has now grown into a sector of the industry which provides an acceptable alternative to dirtier materials. And finally, thank you to Claudia who was so inspirational and positive about working with this new and exciting material. We think that her passion is so contagious that not one person who met her today would deny that Oro Verde gold is anything but an amazing material: the most loved gold in the world!

If you want any more information about Oro Verde gold see the Oro Verde website by clicking here. There is also information on the Fair Labelling Organisations involvement here.

So, after a very informative day; that’s all for now….

Opulent Ethics’ pomanders get the golden touch

Over the past few months Opulent Ethics have been designing, manufacturing and marketing our precious pomander range. And the final one will be the first to be constructed over 90% in Oro Verde gold.

Oro Verde gold pomander

Having worked with Oro Verde gold previously during our Eveoire range where we loved the outcome, we decided it was time to expand our use of this beautiful material. So, our most precious pomander will be constructed almost entirely from Oro Verde gold.

And so far, all looks well for this most exquisite piece. Opulent Ethics are looking forward to seeing the final outcome. Hopefully it’ll be ready in the next few days!

That’s all for now….

Oro Verde gold competition coming to Birmingham School of Jewellery

Students at Birmingham City University’s School of Jewellery will have a golden opportunity to take part in an exciting competition next week. The collaborative competition is being run jointly by the University and Oro Verde as a way of increasing knowledge of and interest in Fair Trade gold.

BCU School of Jewellery

Ami Choco region

The competition winners will have their designs promoted through Oro Verde and there is a chance that the pieces may be produced by artisanal crafts people from the Oro Verde community in Columbia.

Included in the competition briefing, which takes part next week, will be a visit by representatives from the Choco Bioregion who are in the UK for London Jewellery Week. As part of their trip they will visit Birmingham for a tour of the jewellery quarter and the School of Jewellery as well as meeting the students who are taking part.

And if that wasn’t exciting enough, there will be some well known names on the judging panel too!

Keep an eye out here for information on how the competition is running throughout next week.

That’s all for now….