Yunus & Eliza and the Queen's Jubilee Boat!
The Queen will ride on the Royal Barge, The Spirit Of Chartwell during the Diamond Jubilee Pageant on the River Thames on June 3rd. At the prow of the Royal Barge, there is a huge figurehead sculpture called The Spirit Of Chartwell. It was made by Alan Lamb with students from City and Guilds and designed with Joseph Bennet. It includes two enormous Old Father Thames, figures of Britannia riding sea horses and scaly sharp-toothed dolphins.
Two of my favourite jewellery designers Yunus Ascott and Eliza Higginbottom were employed as casting experts to help create a 90 piece mould. This was done using Silicon Rubber and Plaster. The sculpture was then cast in sections using Jesmonite (an acrylic resin) and then reassembled and gilded
'It was an exciting project to work on, something with a real sense of legacy, and we were with a great team. We were asked to be involved through head caster Fionn Rawnsley, a connection from our fine art background. We use this kind of moulding and casting technique on our sculptures, and on a much smaller scale for our jewellery, so are well practiced'. Y&E
Yunus & Eliza are winners of:
- British Fashion Council / ELLE Talent Launch Pad
- Designer Of The Year, Treasure, London Jewellery Week 2011
- Short listed UK Jewellery Awards July 2012: New Designer Of The Year, Catwalk Jewels.
- They are one of the Professional Jeweller HOT 100 2011
- They are currently being filmed as the subject of a Global Creative Network (Toyota) documentary