How did you get into the industry?
Abruptly and with no prior experience! I had been working in the commercial art world for some years, but increasingly daydreaming about starting a new career in the creative design industry.
Winter approached, Christmas came and went, and then on New Year’s Day (in true cliched fashion) I announced to my family – completely out of the blue - that I was going to quit my job and start my own business as a jewellery designer.
A few days later I relayed this news to my boss, worked out my notice period, took a month off to recalibrate and then started designing. I’m not sure I would recommend this approach to any budding jewellery designer, but it thankfully worked out for me.
Where are you based now and who do you work for?
I’m based in London, and I work for my own brand, Tessa Packard London
If you weren’t in your current industry, what would you be doing?
If I wasn’t a jewellery designer, I would definitely be an interior designer. From time to time, I do take on small interior projects and I find them to be thrilling. Playing around with shape, form, colour and line in big scale is a really nice change from designing jewellery, where everything is created on a miniature scale.
Can you explain your creative process? What makes it unique?
I believe that we tackle collection ‘curation’ and ‘theme’ better than anyone else in the industry. In my opinion, jewellery should be much more than just metal and stone put together. It should have heart, soul and real narrative integrity behind it.
Every jewellery collection that we produce prioritises storytelling first and foremost. The collection must have a unique and distinct narrative, different to anything else that we have created prior to that point. We spend a lot of time researching a theme before committing to it. It’s important to understand the source you are drawing inspiration from, otherwise you run the risk of producing pieces that are creatively vacant.
Once a theme is decided upon, we then create beautiful working sketchbooks illustrating our design ideas and design process – what has inspired what. The pieces of jewellery themselves are given names and stories that evoke the collection theme; and the campaign shoot that we do for each collection is again carefully curated to reinforce the story.
This reinforcement continues to inform every decision we make about the collection, right down to the launch party invitation designs, the table setting at the launch, and even the food we serve itself. I want our collections to be immersive and fun, so that when you wear the jewellery, you feel transported into the little world of make believe we have created.
How would you describe your style?
Eclectic, brave, fun, timeless.
Which individuals do you gain inspiration from? Do you have any heroes in the industry?
For craftsmanship I salute Hemmerle; for colour play I adore Taffin; for creative event ingenuity I love the artist CJ Hendry.
What tips would you give to aspiring creatives looking for work?
Don’t rely on the lucky break.
What tips would you give to other professionals to get more clients?
Don’t be afraid of trying out new marketing avenues – especially those that you wouldn’t naturally associate with your sector. The old rules that everyone played by ten or twenty years ago no longer exists. If it feels right for your brand, then give it a go and don’t worry so much about failure.
What kind of tools/kit/software could you not do without?
Photoshop and my iPhone.
What’s your secret to staying inspired and motivated?
Playing with my ponies. It’s important to take breaks and do something completely different. The luxury sector isn’t the real world and it’s important to always remember that.
What’s the work achievement you’re most proud of?
My Chelsea showroom. I really loved that space.
What is the one thing that you would change about the industry?
Market saturation – there are just way too many jewellers now.
Any websites, books or resources you would recommend?
Anything written by Malcolm Gladwell.
