JORDAN ASKILL – the Alchemist

Posted by Tanja on September 24, 2012 · Leave a Comment

Jordan Askill is an Australian jewellery designer and sculptor who now lives in London. He started his career working as a fashion designer for Ksubi but winning the 1st prize Grand Marnier Design Award for Fashion Excellence saw him move to Paris for 3 years to work for Dior Homme under Hedi Slimane. Discovering his love for accessories Jordan started his own jewellery label that has been a roaring success. This year alone he has won the Elle Style Award for Jewellery Design and was hand picked by the prestigious Palladium board as one of the designers for their new capsule collection .What I love about Jordan’s work is that it encompasses democratic pieces such as the must have heart ring and intricate amethyst jewellery all the way to incredibly beautiful 3D sculptures that wow with their blend of movement and imagination. I caught up with my old friend Jordy in London recently…

TANJA GACIC : How did you come to design jewellery?

JORDAN ASKILL: I was always drawn to it. I wanted to create mini sculptures you could keep on you!

TG: Did you exhibit an attraction to fashion/design from an early age?

JA: I always re created things when I was young. I was drawn to fashion design but it was through this I realized I wanted to create things that were timeless and less seasonal.

TG: Do ideas for pieces come to you mostly through daydreaming or is it through research?

JA: Well a bit of both. Normally I day dream a shape I want to create or motifs I want to use…then I research exactly how this will evolve.

TG: In your work you often use animals – does each one have a special meaning?

JA: Well kind of, each collection I do is like a chapter to my personal mythology , each animal or human figure in it has a character. Rose Bird and Boy, There is no place like home, Migration, The sun shines for you and the chapter I just worked on – Lear’s macaw – this chapter discusses rare endangered spices.
I like to use creatures I see as majestic beings. To me the idea comes from the feeling they are so poetic and should be able to run free.

TG: I love the beautiful precious and semi precious stones you use in your work. You mentioned you use ethically sourced materials- tell me a little bit about it.

JA: Yeah, it’s only just begun. For my more sculptural pieces I have been working with Gemfields, a company that has coloured gem stone mines in Zambia. These mines are socially and environmentally transparent and have an amazingly rich natural colour. I feel it is such a nice company to be involved with and so good to be aware of how this world is being treated when we create and ways it can be looked after while we do.

TG: You were chosen to design the next Palladium collection, taking over from Lara Bohinc. How did the idea for this collection come about?

JA: Well there were three of us that were asked to design capsule collections using palladium.
Hannah Martin, Fernando George and myself. This evolved from taking part in the BFC Rock Vault sponsored by the International Palladium board in February.
I designed 2 pieces based on the Lear’s macaw- a ring with diamonds and a cuff. Both pieces explored the lightness and strength of the palladium and I used hand techniques to enhance the texture.

TG: What do you love about living in London?

JA: It’s just so creative, supportive and there are always things happening. I really miss seeing my friends on a daily or weekly basis tho. This kills me.

TG: If you won a billion dollars on the lotto what 3 things would you do first?

JA: See if my family needed any help , then start up an animal reserve, charity slash studio, maybe in Costa Rica , Mexico and Byron bay.

TG: What is your dream collaboration/ project?

JA: I’d like to work with someone to create a charity and fair trade gold projects that foster awareness whilst creating beautiful objects. This person would ideally be coming from a different background to me therefore our projects would have a wider scope and more reach to implement change.

TG: What do you miss about Sydney?

JA: My friends and family. Hanging out with my friends, their smiley faces, cuddles , getting up to fun stuff!. Oh I could go on about this forever!

TG: What is next for Jordy Askill?

JA: Having a break with my brothers and swimming in the sea!

Jordan Askill Jewellery is exclusively sold by Dover Street Market in London, Rick Owens boutique in Paris , Opening Ceremony in the USA and Land’s End store in Sydney