Artist information
Laura Hounam
New and new from old handmade jewellery.
I have been making jewellery since 1990, originally repairing and restyling pieces donated to the charity shop where I worked, until my interest grew and my techniques developed, requiring more supplies than the shop could provide, around 2003 I started attending craft fairs, as a fundraising tool for Against Breast Cancer, a charity focused on research into the secondary spread of breast cancer.
I combine many techniques such as stringing, knotting, wire work, mixing beads and crochet techniques and I like trying anything new that doesn’t involve specialized equipment. When returning to my native Italy I enjoy seeking out unusual materials and inspirations.
I like the challenge of using broken parts of jewellery and donated materials.
I believe that a piece of jewellery should complement and enhance the wearer’s clothing, not make a statement in its own right and i therefore tend towards simple and classical styles with the use of colour playing an important part. The underlying link in my work is an economy in the use of material, dictated as much by tastes as by necessity as all the takings from my sales go to Against Breast Cancer.