Meet Jeweller and Silversmith Megan Falconer

Megan runs a jewellery and silversmithing business from her workshop at Deemouth Artist Studios in Torry, Aberdeen.

Hi Megan, can you please introduce yourself and what you do to our readers?

Hi everyone! I’m Megan and I run a jewellery and silversmithing business from my workshop at Deemouth Artist Studios in Torry. As you will see from some of the images, my work is heavily inspired by nature, specifically the Scottish landscape and coastlines. Most of my designs start off by using found objects from the beach and I develop the designs from there.

Alongside making collections of silver and gold jewellery that sell online and in craft stores around Scotland, I also do commissions for wedding/engagement rings, remodelling old/unworn jewellery and run jewellery making workshops.

Take us back to the start: how did it all begin, and did you always want to be a jeweller and silversmith?

I usually say it began at Art School where I was first introduced to the Jewellery Workshop, but when I look back, I think I was always going to end up doing something creative and entrepreneurial. I remember at High School I would use my sister’s old/broken costume jewellery and repurpose it into different accessories I would then sell (or try to sell) to my friends in class.

I was always interested in making things with my hands, and I think when I saw the jewellery workshop at DJCAD in my first year of Art School I realised I wanted to go down the path of making jewellery, working with precious metals, and getting to use all of the fascinating tools. The idea of me being able to create something from nothing, or from these basic raw materials seemed so satisfying.

You have a unique approach to your jewellery making, can you tell us about this?

The technique I’ve been using since graduating really just started as I wanted to be able to make surfaces/patterns on silver that were completely unique. The process was developed during my final year when I was studying rocks and their properties, forms and structure. At first I was casting the rocks directly to try to make pieces of jewellery, but after some time being a little unsatisfied with the aesthetic of it, I started using the rocks directly onto the metal. To begin with, I would just hammer the metal with rocks, but as some were soft sandstone I found them breaking/crumbling so needed a solution to get the beautiful texture they gave but in a more substantial way.

The idea of turning the rock into a hammer then grew from there, and I experimented with different materials until I found a love of bronze due to its soft properties. The idea that the cast rock would change over time, as I used it, much like a rock on the beach alters due to erosion really resonated with me.