EPONA SMITH

Combining jewellery making with the challenging and rare skill of hand-engraving, Epona Smith creates wondrous, delicate works, says Dominique Corlett

- Dominique Corlett

London-based jeweller and engraver Epona Smith is working on an exciting project.

So exciting that she isn't even allowed to reveal what it is. She has signed a nondisclosure agreement; all she can say is that the client is the Royal Family. More will be revealed in good time, but what's clear is that Epona's rare skills in working precious metals to create exquisite jewellery and art pieces have come to the notice of those in the highest places.

It is no exaggeration to call Epona's skills rare. She specialises in hand engraving, a technique dating to the 14th century in the UK, which is now classified as endangered by the Heritage Crafts Association. Epona first learnt the technique in Florence, Italy, where it had flourished during the Renaissance; she then further developed her skills with stints at Hatton Garden, Tiffany & Co, and with the master engraver Malcolm Appleby MBE. It is a talent that allows her to combine her love of illustration with a passion for silversmithing and jewellery making.

It also allows Epona, who is originally from Taiwan, to combine elements of her east Asian heritage with her Western craft skills, which she started to develop when she arrived in the UK in 2014 as an MA student in Art Jewellery at Birmingham University. For her latest collection, Whisper of Hope, which she showed for the first time at Future Icons Selects at London Craft Week this May, Epona paired her silver making and engraving with another endangered craft: Taiwanese rush grass weaving, which she spent a month in Taiwan learning to do.