Crafts | University for the Creative Arts (2024)

Emily Smith

Metalsmith wins Bronze Award for Polishing at the GC&DC Awards

Ben Pearey

The UCA graduate being featured alongside the greats of UK ceramicists

Stephen Webster

From MBE to MGK

Metalsmith wins polishing honour at

Goldsmith’s Craft and Design Council (GC&DC) Awards

There are many stages to go through to get to an effective finish. It can make a big difference to how impactful the piece is and how well the craftsmanship quality is perceived... The satisfaction of achieving a good polish is incredible.

Emily was inspired to come to UCA to study jewellery after looking around the crafts school’s workshops, studios, and facilities and seeing the possibilities for working with different materials.

Her practice has always been about humanity – taking issues and finding a silver lining.

I may not have the ability to be a doctor or politician, but I can use my platform to help inform folks and give them a handy talking point, to make them smile and to raise money for worthy causes along the way with the skills that I do have.

More work by Emily Smith created during her time at UCA

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Former UCA student and researching ceramicist Ben Pearey has become the latest in a long line of acclaimed UCA makers to reach the very top.

Ben has been featured in a new book and exhibition about the future of the craft alongside UK greats such as Alison Britton, Martin Smith, Ken Eastman and Carol McNicol.

[I was sent] a photo during the installation of the exhibition and my work on the wall was next to some vessels by Ken Eastman, whose work I have coveted for years and years! There are so many artists I have looked up to for inspiration in the show... It’s been a great thing to be part of, and I’ll be forever grateful to Ashley for everything he’s done.

I always felt like I was a ceramics rebel at UCA - ignoring typical ‘rules’ of ceramics - but I gained the foundational skills and modes of thinking there that were so important in shaping how I think about my practice today... This was in a large part thanks to the influence of the faculty and visiting artists there, who both challenged me and supported me.

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Stephen Webster:

One of greatest jewellers of modern times

Stephen graduated from the Medway College of Design, one of the foundations of UCA.

His fine jewellery has been seen adorning the likes of Cher, Olly Alexander, Emilia Clarke, Jennifer Lopez,, Taylor Swift, Sandra Bullock, Lizzo and Robbie Williams.

My fondest memories really are the excitement of being in a workshop, with the noises, the smells, the flames...That excitement stayed with me all through my studies and beyond into my career. When I walk into a workshop it still feels like that. Everything is a bit grubby and yet what comes out is so precise and beautiful and what people treasure forever.

[When I joined the industry] if you did want to be creative and design driven, you had to face the fact that it was a niche market. If we were to start Stephen Webster today, I think we would probably find a lot more places that our jewellery could go than I could 30 years ago.

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