In Conversation with Belinda Esperson: Royal Arcade Showcase On Now
Left to Right: Flow Ring, POA Ring & Embrace Ring, Oxidised Double Seed Pod Earrings.
Pieces of Eight is honoured to unveil our first showcase of 2025 featuring works by the exceptionally talented Belinda Esperson.
Inspired by the untamed beauty of the Australian bush, Belinda's unique creative vision and expert craftsmanship has established her as a favourite amongst our discerning clientele. Join us as we delve into Belinda's world and explore the inspirations behind her stunning creations.
From Left: Native Bouquet Stud Earrings, Bespoke Earrings by Belinda Esperson.
PO8: You have degrees in both business and interior design, and you've also pursued jewellery design. How do you feel these fields intersect, and how do you draw inspiration from each of them in your work?
BE: Looking back I realise that there were significant synergies and intersections between what at the time appeared to be very different areas of study.
My degree in Marketing instilled in me a client/customer focus that remains my default approach - thinking about how pieces will be used, ensuring that they will be robust and functional, as well as beautiful. It also taught me how to run a business which has definitely been useful!
By contrast the four year Interior Design degree at RMIT barely mentioned the client, but taught me how to develop a concept and to work through the design process to develop and realise that concept. It also gave me the ability to conceptualise a 3D space or object and this has definitely enabled me to be more fluid and sculptural in my approach to jewellery making - that I can start with a general concept and respond to the materials as I form them.
The two year Advanced Diploma in Jewellery at NMIT in Melbourne was very technical - which was exactly what I was after. I had sketchbooks full of ideas and the course gave me the skills to refine and realise these and to push existing techniques and develop techniques I need to keep moving forward with my work.
PO8: You won the title of 'Best Student' in both years of your Advanced Diploma in Jewellery program. What do you think set your work apart, and what advice would you give to aspiring jewellery designers?
BE: Before starting the Advanced Diploma in Jewellery I had never considered myself a designer. After completing the interior design degree I had worked for many years in brand and project management so had managed design teams rather than doing the actual design. It was only once I started the jewellery diploma that I realised that I approached things very differently from most of the other students and that I was indeed ‘a designer’! In addition to having a sound grounding in design history, I realised that my ability to manipulate 3D objects conceptually was a distinct advantage. My design training had also given me an appreciation of the nuances of form, scale, texture, colour and function which apply as equally to jewellery as they do to interiors. As a result of my design training I have never found it difficult to come up with ideas for new pieces.
My design skills definitely gave me the edge over some very technically skilled other students in winning the ‘Best Student’ awards. I think that in addition to being well made, my work was original and celebrated the inherent nature of the materials I used (mostly silver). My work cannot be easily copied using industrial processes and is always clearly hand-made and one-off.
From Left: Paper Cuff, Assorted Rings by Belinda Esperson.
PO8: Your jewelry designs are known for their unique and striking qualities. Can you walk us through your creative process when designing a new piece?
BE: The idea for a new piece might come from anywhere - the form of a leaf I find whilst out walking or amongst my collection of native pods and leaves in my studio, the arm of a chair seen in an interiors magazine, a shape I noticed in a painting or sometimes a form that appears unexpectedly when I’m making. I am constantly thinking about design (obsessed?) and ideas pop up at any time. I might do a very brief sketch in my diary or sketchbook - as a memory prompt of something to explore at a later time. I also use Pinterest to save images that prompt ideas. The images come from all sorts of sources and are seldom of other jewellery - when they are it is often to think about a possible new mechanism (eg. earring attachment or brooch pin) that I could adapt.
When making a single new piece I might scan through my Pinterest site and sketchbook and do some more very sketchy sketches but more often I move straight into making. If I am working on a collection, I might create a new separate mood board in Pinterest - a collection of the specific images that are influencing this collection (definitely an interior design habit) - that I can reference for inspiration and to ensure that I am staying on track with the concept.
For a new piece I will make the individual elements in silver and see how they work together, gradually refining the piece until I have a prototype. If I’m working on a wax piece for casting I will have it cast in silver - again as a prototype that I can maybe develop and reference again in future. Often cast elements are incorporated with constructed elements to make the final piece. For final pieces that are completely cast (such as my wrap rings), I always make a one-off wax mould specifically for that piece.
I do also have a ‘muse’ of sorts - some images from a 90’s fashion feature on deconstructionist Antwerp designers (Dries van Noten, Anne Demeulemeester, etc.) that I have pinned up in my studio and I ask myself whether the model in the shoot would wear the piece I’m making! I also have a few key criteria that I reference in making and assessing a new piece - such as apparent fragility, simplicity and expression of the making process - to ensure that it reflects my body of work.
Visit us at Pieces of Eight Royal Arcade to discover our exclusive range of Belinda Esperson's stunningly crafted works, including pieces not available online.
