The Commission Process

Commissioned piece April 2016

Every now and then I get asked to make something extra special for someone and so far everyone I’ve designed a piece for has been really happy with the results. Designing a piece for someone who has something particular in mind can be a bit daunting, I’m always worried that what I make won’t live up to the image they have in their head! The challenge of a commission can be fun and it always pushes me out of my comfort zone which is a good thing, I often end up with a new piece or range to add to my shop because of it.

The latest commissioned piece I made was for a lovely customer who wanted something special to remember a relative by. She had seen my work at a Christmas craft fair and contacted me hoping I could design her a special necklace inspired by her and her Grandads love of birds. As with all my customers who want a custom made piece we emailed back and forth for a while so I could get a clear picture of what she wanted; I then began working on some ideas and doodling in my sketchbook.
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​I always start a piece this way, I find it helps to get ideas onto paper even if they’re just doodles. If I like an idea or image I then begin re-drawing it and perfecting the shape. Here I have re-drawn the birdcage and birds over and over until they are exactly how I want them. As this particular design was for a commission I made up three slightly different versions of a necklace and then emailed the sketches to the customer.

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When making a piece I copy my designs on to magic tape so I can transfer them to the silver sheet I’m using , it’s a really simple technique and means you get an accurate shape to cut out.

Here you can see the birdcage, bird and a back for the birdcage (as the piece is going to have gold leaf details) ready to be cut out. I use a saw to hand cut out each shape, adjusting as I go.
When everything is cut out then comes the hard bit, filing and shaping. If I’m making something for the first time I always cut it out slightly bigger than needed, this does mean I have to spend an extra long time filing it to perfection but while you can take away from a cut out shape you can’t add to it and I’d rather be safe than sorry. After I’ve made something once I have a clearer picture of the finished piece in my head and can be a bit more confident with my sawing. Because this was quite a tricky cut out job I also cut out a spare cage just in case there were any mishaps!

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In this picture you can see what a difference a bit of filing makes. Well hopefully you can :s the birdcage on the right has been shaped and filed using needle files where as the one on the left has just been cut out.
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Once I’m happy with the shape of everything, construction starts. The cage and cage back are soldered together and a loop attached to the top for a chain and the bird it connected to the cage with silver jump rings so it can hang in front.




I used a pendant motor to buff out any marks or scratches and then I put the piece in my barrel polisher to give it a high polish finish.
After all that the piece just needed gold leaf adding, which is done using special adhesive and an agate burnisher.




​And that’s it, from start to finish, it’s pretty much the same process for anything I make, I always start with a few doodles and (most of the time) I end up with something unique and beautiful.One of the best bits of working on a commissioned piece is getting to work closely with a customer and how appreciative people are. Happily my customer loved her special necklace and I’m sure she will treasure it for years to come.

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 I’m currently working on a new range of birdcage designs inspired by this piece so keep an eye out for them in my shop.