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LyonDaw is a jewellery brand created by Sophie Daw, founded in 2018.

Originally from a fine jewellery background Sophie has been Making since 2012. In 2015 she went to The Glasgow School of Art and began experimenting with alternative materials to metal. By her final year at GSA she had discovered the ‘eco resin’ jesmonite and has been experimenting with it ever since.

Sophie’s work is inspired by a personal connection to Glasgow, a city she has lived in for 29 years. She first began exploring the aesthetic in the city through photography and continues to apply this approach, taking photographs that focus primarily on colour, texture and composition. Using jesmonite as a main component, she has applied these three elements to produce a body of work that is tactile, bold and visually appealing. The lightness of the material has allowed them to be created into wearable sculptures, able to move throughout the city, adding to the industrial, colourful and vibrant aesthetics that they were inspired from.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

I describe myself as a jesmonite artist as my work now is primarily based around using jesmonite as my main component. I was initially drawn to the material as it is so versatile and was also pleased to discover it was, somewhat, more environmentally friendly than other resins. After 5 years of working extensively with it I have developed a technique of hand forming my designs, rather than using moulds. I prefer to do this as it means no two pieces are the same. My work combines jesmonite with silver, creating wearable objects and recently I have also been using some found objects as part of my sustainable practice. The overall aesthetic of all my pieces is focused on texture and colour.

Being environmentally friendly in my practice is important to me and I try to take a sustainable approach as much as possible. Jesmonite is considered a low hazard material as the finished composite emits no toxic fumes. The mixing process requires no harmful solvents and although jesmonite is not strictly a bio resin it can be used as an environmentally friendly substitute for polyester GP resin. It is still a plastic/acrylic polymer, it is water based and non toxic to the user making it an eco resin.  All my packaging is 100 % recycled and eco friendly. Where possible I try to buy eco silver and I use a lot of recycled metal, melting and reforming bits of silver scrap. The ‘found’ elements of my work come from metal salvaged from building sites.

                                                                                                                                                                                            picture-  Jesmonite brooches – 2018