I was born in Manchester in 1973 and was interested in art from a very early age which lead me to study Art and Design Technology at High school.
I proceeded to do a degree in 3 dimensional design at the University of Wolverhampton that involved the use of wood, metal and plastics. Drawn gradually to the medium of metal, at first experimenting with copper foil, which was pressed between two pieces of carved wood giving a relief pattern. Then I was taught the traditional technique of Chasing into small sheet metal. This involved pitch, a pitch bowl, repoussé hammer, punches and a lot of patience. This process was great but size and time were a big issue.

To replace the pitch I made a very large sandbag out of a secondhand leather jacket. My tutor made small, medium and large wooden bossing hammers to the shape of my templates these were my first set of personal silversmithing tools. Using large pieces of sheet base metals, copper or guilding metal (an alloy of copper and brass) I started to hammer out 3 dimensional forms and my journey in silversmithing had begun.