Inga Reed

Inga Reed makes contemporary jewellery in silver and gold. An enduring fascination with nature is at the centre of her work, with a particular interest in the complex organic engineering that underpins animal and plant life. Having moved to the countryside many years ago, Reed takes inspiration from her daily observations in the garden; the vegetable leaves bursting from the earth, the rattle of a drying poppyhead, the repeated pattern of leaf set against leaf, and the yellow wagtail raising its families in a planter. Very aware of the changing seasons and the lifecycle of plants, she notes the tiny burgeoning cotyledon leaves of spring, and the brown, withered seed-heads of winter.

Her workshop window sills are filed with nuts, pods, leaves and seed-heads gathered from the garden and local hedgerows, built up in intricate layers of subtle colour and shape. Reed uses precious metals to interpret these forms, exploiting their strength and their ability to be wrought into flowing curves or hard-edged precision lines.

Her current collection includes a silver forged torc, and a set of rings in silver and gold with embossed leaf and seed motifs.

Inga Reed holds a degree in Silversmithing and Jewellery from Loughborough College of Art and Design.