Student’s unicycle inspired design wins bursary

De Montfort University Design Crafts student Olivia McAuley has been awarded a bursary by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths to make her innovative bowl design from precious metal.

Olivia was among 123 entries from 19 different institutions competing for the bursary and has been given £250 to create her stunning design in silver. The design for the bowl was created using the patterns made by the shadows from a unicycle which she had photographed during her BA(Hons) Design Craft degree at De Montfort University, Leicester.

The Goldsmiths’ Company ‘Precious Metal Bursary’ is a national competition for final year students at UK colleges and universities studying on a goldsmithing, jewellery, silverware or related products HND, Foundation or BA degree courses. The Goldsmiths Company is one of 12 livery companies of the City of London. It has been responsible for hallmarking since 1300and supports the craft and industry of silversmithing and precious metal jewellery.

Olivia, who will graduate this summer, said: “I’m really excited about winning the bursary and getting the chance to recreate my design in a precious metal.

“My love of life drawing inspires me to use photography to capture everyday life scenes and develop these into three-dimensional pieces of wearable jewellery, decorative accessories, and interior pieces such as lighting and bowls.

“People and their surroundings have influenced me and I feel my designs are unique and innovative. In this case, I took a unicycle and its shadows, then re-created and repeated them for the design for this bowl.

“I like to take something that’s not necessarily perceived as beautiful but has caught my eye, and recreate it into three dimensional pieces. The same design can be scaled up and down to be used for any of these things from jewellery to lighting,” said Olivia.