All Outputs (32)

Capturing and cultivating print & book craft practices in the UK (2024)
Journal Article

The type of intensive training previously needed for crafts in the printing trade is now redundant, but as craft practices are added biannually to Heritage Craft’s UK Red List of Endangered Crafts, there is a pressing need to preserve skills whilst a... Read More about Capturing and cultivating print & book craft practices in the UK.

The future is a work in progress (2024)
Exhibition / Performance

A collaborative exhibition as the partners shared the culmination of five years dedicated pursuit of knowledge, funded through a groundbreaking E3 initiative by Research England in 2019. During this time four centres of design-research excellence acr... Read More about The future is a work in progress.

Neo-Gemstones (2024)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Researcher, jeweller and podcastmaker Sofie Boons spoke about her work on Tuesday 5th of March at 19h00, in the Showroom of Sint Lucas Antwerpen, Van Schoonbekestraat 143, Antwerpen.

You may know Sofie Boons as the Alchemical Jeweller. She resear... Read More about Neo-Gemstones.

BBC Free Thinking Episode: Victorian Colour, Jewellery and Metalwork (2023)
Digital Artefact

Man-made gems are the subject of research being undertaken by jeweller Sofie Boons. She joins presenter Nandini Das alongside Matthew Winterbottom, the curator of an exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford which explores the explosion of colour... Read More about BBC Free Thinking Episode: Victorian Colour, Jewellery and Metalwork.

The alchemical dream of man-made gemstones (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

With crystal growing techniques having been around for many years, bespoke man-made crystals now drive innovations in a range of industries. This has however not fully translated to the jewellery industry, where innovations with man-made crystals hav... Read More about The alchemical dream of man-made gemstones.

Intergem Fair display (2023)
Exhibition / Performance

During the Intergem Fair 2023 the pieces created in collaboration with Brevalor were displayed by the stand 'Klein & Becker'.

The alchemical dream and reality of man-made gemstones: A review of 10 stones (2023)
Digital Artefact

Through the exploration of 10 stones, I will reflect on our fascination with gemstones and our attempts at creating them. I will outline some of the techniques used to grow them, what a crystal is and what they are used for; from jewellery to electro... Read More about The alchemical dream and reality of man-made gemstones: A review of 10 stones.

Laboratory grown colour and gems (2023)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

The search for, wearing and collecting of gemstones has been a popular endeavour for many decades. For most gemmologists, jewellers and gemstone collectors, the crushing of a stone would be the greatest sin. For painters or those who create pigments... Read More about Laboratory grown colour and gems.

Testing grounds - The SIM project (2022)
Exhibition / Performance

Exploring how the SIM card shapes a sense of security, identity and community, the project disrupts the automated nature of the smartphone to create unique, wearable artworks, stamped with QR codes. Exhibition of SIM card size glass plate photographs... Read More about Testing grounds - The SIM project.

The SIM Project (2022)
Exhibition / Performance

The installation features SIM artworks created with over 100 participants from countries including Afghanistan, Syria, Turkey, Venezuela, Hong Kong, Senegal and Libya at workshops held in the UK, Greece, Finland and Cyprus.

The SIM artworks are d... Read More about The SIM Project.

Crystal growing design method: An investigation into the growing of crystals for jewellery designs (2022)
Journal Article

Grown crystals are used for a range of novel innovations supporting a wide array of industries such as technology, medicine and electronics. Within the jewellery industry however, grown crystals are only used in a limited capacity and those of gemsto... Read More about Crystal growing design method: An investigation into the growing of crystals for jewellery designs.

The alchemical dream of man-made crystals (2022)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Contemporary jewellers are considered artists of the miniature sentiment and crafters of the wearable statement. Outside the realm of status and commodity, jewellery can be used to visualise the intangible and conceptual, creating objects and adornme... Read More about The alchemical dream of man-made crystals.

Man-made crystals for jewellery (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

With crystal growing techniques having been around for many years, bespoke man-made crystals now drive innovations in a range of industries. This has however not translated into the jewellery industry, where innovations with man-made crystals have re... Read More about Man-made crystals for jewellery.

Man-made crystals: A review of their historic and contemporary context and use (2021)
Journal Article

This paper reports on the history and use of man-made crystals for jewelry in a contemporary context. The cross-disciplinary contextual review traces human fascination with gemstones back centuries, and covers key developments in their "imitation."Th... Read More about Man-made crystals: A review of their historic and contemporary context and use.

Man-made crystals (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

As a self-proclaimed alchemical jeweller Sofie Boons will trace her practice and obsession with scents, substances and science followed by an insight into her current PhD investigation into the design implications, possibilities, and limits of utilis... Read More about Man-made crystals.

Man-made crystals (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Sofie Boons, Research Associate and Craft Council Research Fellow of the UWE Bristol will start our discussions about stones by presenting her PhD research project next Wednesday in our first roundtabel.
Sofie Boons is investigating the design impli... Read More about Man-made crystals.

Touch: Reflections on making - a crafted digital event (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

This paper reports on the online symposium titled Touch: Reflections on Making developed between the Centre for Fine Print Research (CFPR) at the University of the West of England and the UK Crafts Council in December 2020. The event addressed the th... Read More about Touch: Reflections on making - a crafted digital event.

An insight into the problem-solving processes required in the transformation of ideas using novel materials (2021)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

The golden box (2021)
Physical Artefact

Home, four walls, both protecting and isolating from a world outside. A safe domestic haven, for contemplation, reflection and nourishment. A place of clarity, order and love, hidden from turmoil and chaos

Touch for luck, a jeweller's perspective on touch (2020)
Presentation / Conference Contribution

Microscopic interpretations trough touch in the jeweller’s practice. A reflection of touch in our culture today; from ‘touch for luck’ to ‘touch and get Corona’ and how changed perceptions are impacting practice or providing inspiration.