SILVERSMITHING
The South House Workshop Trust
We started our partnership with the South House Workshop Trust in 2020. Since 2021, a scholarship award has supported students each year to hone their skills with a master silversmith in an intensive learning environment
Image © Rod Kelly / South House Workshop Trust
Support for Students at The South House Workshop Trust
The Silver South House Trust is a registered charity based in the Shetland Islands.
A Graduate Apprenticeship Scheme was founded in 2020. The aim is to train and support young silversmiths, giving them the opportunity to learn and develop important heritage skills in an intensive residential workshop placement, under the guidance of master craftsmen including Rod Kelly, Brett Payne, Angus McFadyen and Christopher Perry.
In addition to running its own core scheme, the workshop also works to support the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) and Bishopsland Educational Trust, providing their scholars and postgraduate students with specialist training and residential workshop opportunities.
“I feel I have filled gaps in my silversmithing knowledge and gained so many valuable new skills – from hot forging to raising. Without the South House Trust Scholarship I would not have had the opportunity to be taught one-to-one like this in such a great environment. I can’t thank Rod, Brett and the support of the Trust enough for this experience!”
“My training in Shetland with Rod Kelly has been an incredible experience. There were a few crucial silversmithing techniques that I have always been slightly nervous about, but after practising with Rod and learning how to approach these skills step by step, I now feel a lot more confident about using them in my work and I’m sure these skills will add a whole new dynamic to my work.”
Images below: Rod Kelly and Manasi Depala, Ellys May Woods, River Sculpture by Jessica Jue and work in progress by Megan Falconer
