Creative Inspiration Workshop: Joyful Exploration – Phil Barnes and Mastery in Enamel

In a career spanning almost five decades, he was sought after by some of the industry’s best-known jewellery houses and designers and was also known as a technical innovator, raising the modern technique of graded enamel to new heights. A winner of 35 Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council awards, in the latter part of his career Phil was celebrated in his own right as a designer, for pieces which incorporated his technical brilliance with inspiration from a wide range of sources.

You will explore the wider context of mastery in enamel, including the houses of Fabergé and Cartier, before being given the chance to understand Phil’s work through a significant collection of design drawings and presentation books gifted to the Goldsmiths’ Company’s Library and Archive by his family. If you are interested in developing your own skills, you can also view books outlining the various techniques of enamelling.

Come along to the Goldsmiths' Company Library and Archive to celebrate the career of this master enameller and engraver.