James Powell, TCJ Designs
‘Persephone’ hair piece
James has created a stunning and elaborate interchangeable hair piece in platinum, which comprises of three parts. The main section has a comb on the reverse to pin into the hair. The other two sections, one a summer piece featuring flowers carved from rock crystal and tzavorite and the second representing the sparseness of winter with diamonds, clip on top of the main part to create three individually outstanding and striking looks.
The inspiration for the piece is the ancient Greek Goddess Persephone, who was abducted by the God of the Underworld, Hades, who tricked her into spending a third of the year in the Underworld with him by forcing her to eat six pomegranate seeds. In the time that she was with him, the earth lay barren and nothing would grow. When she was released, life came back to the earth and flourished. This myth is a symbol of the budding and dying of nature and is represented in the piece by the interchangeable sections – one depicting vitality and growth with flowers and foliage and the other using the same shapes but dead, frozen and fruitless.
Since leaving Central St Martins in 2003 James has worked at small independent jewellers TCJ Designs in York designing and making jewellery. James won a rising star award in 2006 for the Tanzanite Foundations Celebration of Life awards and since then he has been focusing his skills at the bench, which has helped him to develop his design capabilities to a high and refined standard.
T 01904 611366
