The Silver Shop: In the Adelaide City region of South Australia
If you are in search of that distinctive piece of jewellery that's uniquely South Australian you need look no further than the Silver Shop in Hindmarsh Square.
The styles may vary but the ten talented artists, who display their wares in this cosy retail outlet, are all driven by a common goal. Everything you see is local and handmade.
It’s also a great place to see the artists at work. The day the Postcards team was there shop manager, Cassandra Nitschke was refining her designs for chunky rings and bracelets.
She studied for her Bachelor of Design at the University of South Australia in the early nineties and, like many of the other designers at the Silver Shop, she was inspired and tutored by the late Christopher Neave - a well-known design lecturer at the Uni. of SA.
Cassandra showed us a hand beaten sterling silver jug that was made by Christopher. “He founded the Silver Shop back in 1982,” explained Cassandra. “His philosophy was to set up a workshop where South Australian artists could work and sell their work. He also used to teach silver-smithing so a lot of the work you see here was created by people taught by Christopher.”
The jewellers who exhibit their work in the Silver Shop put their own individual stamp on each design - a philosophy that Darren De Lacy has taken very much to heart. Cassandra explained:
“He's used his childhood collection of stamps which he laminated. He then set them in sterling silver to create some great new broaches.”
While jewellery is seen as art, local designer Christine Pyman has taken her craft to another level by creating framed pieces, which incorporate gilded metals like copper and titanium.
“She calls them her Goddess Series,” explained Cassandra. “She makes a series of broaches and she's now branched out into pictures.”
Whether it's works to hang on the wall or anodized pieces to pin on a jacket, the emphasis of the Silver Shop is on fostering local talent like Melissa Puust, who's carved out her own niche with distinctive belt buckles.
Some are aged in minutes using stains of copper nitrate or ingredients from the kitchen pantry.
“You can get an same effect by putting the metal in an enclosed space with vinegar and the bases from the vinegar makes the blue on the metal.”
The Silver Shop is on Hindmarsh Square near the Academy Cinemas. It's open daily except Sunday. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au
The Silver Shop
6 Hindmarsh Square
Adelaide
Open daily except Sunday
