I am Sian Hamilton, a Graphic and Web Designer, Jeweller, Editor and Author, and the inspiration behind Hamilton Jewellery. I’m a passionate designer who graduated in 1991 with a BA (Hons) in 3D Design and I’ve been in the creative design industry ever since. At university I specialised in metals and jewellery design in particular, with a minor study in ceramics. One of the highlights of my career was being a prominent designer at W. Moorcroft PLC for 8 years and my pieces are still widely found online and in the collections of many Moorcroft fans (under the designer name Sian Leeper).

I was the Editor of a magazine called Making Jewellery for 9 years until its close in Spring 2019. I have also authored 9 books in the craft sector. I now design websites as Sapphire Blue Web Design. I still enjoy making pieces with metal clay and I do occasionally sell my work. I teach at private events when asked and I’m the Web & Tech Committee Chair for AMCAW (Alliance for Metal Clay Arts Worldwide), I also built and maintain their website.

Metal clay

I use a lot of silver clay in my own jewellery designs and love to teach others how to use this really versatile material. I do not currently run classes but am available to teach at events and workshops. Please contact me if you would like to enquire about a private class.

Silver clay is very finely ground pure silver mixed with a non-toxic organic binder. Straight out of the packet it looks and feels like putty and has a consistency much like uncooked pastry dough. You can mould it, roll it, texture it and cut out shapes like cookie dough. When it’s completely dry, you can fire it in a kiln or with a handheld torch. The organic binder burns off and the piece becomes solid hallmarkable fine (999) silver. It’s a brilliant material for beginners who want to make silver jewellery as you don’t need to learn traditional silversmithing skills like, piercing and soldering.

The world of metal clay has exploded in the past few years and you can now get a wide range of clays with copper and bronze being very popular due to the much lower price point. Within the bronze clay family is also a really wide range of colours, which makes it a versatile material to work with.