The Crafty Cat Story
Hi I’m Julie and I’m the person behind Crafty Cats Jewellery. When I buy from a maker I like to know a little bit about them, why they do what they do and what inspires them. I’m not a fan of words and I’m certainly not good at selling myself but here goes.
When I left school at 16 I became an apprentice Scientific Instrument Maker and studied mechanical engineering up to an Honours Degree. I learnt so much and enjoyed virtually every minute of my apprenticeship! It gave me a huge range of practical skills as well as so much technical knowledge. I consider myself very fortunate to have been given this opportunity, especially in a time when apprenticeships were no longer seen as very important, university was being pushed as the right way after school.
My engineering work experience has allowed me to work with multinational companies as well as in fledgling start up companies. I have been lucky enough to teach and train new engineers, both as a lecturer and in the workplace, passing on my skills and knowledge to the next generations. I progressed into management and realised I missed practical and creative work. So I looked for something to fill this gap and Crafty Cats Jewellery was born.
I retrained in Hatton Garden, London in 2017. I found that a large amount of the skills I had gained in my apprenticeship were transferable and I was accepted for a level 3 qualification in Jewellery manufacture. Having never been a ‘proper’ student before this was a whole new experience, the commute from Suffolk each day was long and very tiring; despite this I had a great time, learnt so much and my main tutor was fantastic.
Now I have the best of both worlds, I make jewellery and continue to teach both engineering and jewellery skills. I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to expand something, that initially started as a hobby, into a business. You’ll find me working in the studio on ideas, stock or commissions most days. Music playing loudly with a smile on my face! Always under the close supervision of one, sometimes both, of our cats. They are not really keen on my singing (if you hear it you’ll understand) or when I hit anything with a hammer!
I create beautiful designs in a selection of materials including sterling silver, 9ct and 18ct gold, precious and semi-precious stones. My work is unique as each item is created in my studio in the beautiful racing town of Newmarket. Much of my work is influenced by what I personally like, so nature, animals, music and geometric shapes.
