It was after winning a £7000 Deutsche Bank Pyramid Award that Sarah Raffel, 24, and Marianne Anderson, 26, began to realise that their idea might just work.  They were about to graduate in silversmithing and jewellery from Glasgow School of Art however they both felt something was missing.  Firstly, there were no facilities tailored to help young graduates who needed to access workshop space, tools and somewhere to sell.  Secondly, although there were several well established galleries, there was nowhere solely selling contemporary jewellery outside London.  Their dream was to create a workshop for young jewellers combined with a new exciting retail space to showcase contemporary jewellery.

Until they won the award they had “never seriously contemplated doing it for real” but the confidence it gave them meant it no longer felt out of reach.  They knew they would need funding so they put together a business plan and applied to the Creative Pioneer programme run by NESTA for funding.   They were nervous but knew they had to convince them that their idea would work and that their business was the best.   Sarah Raffel was accepted for the programme and they received £35,000 in start-up funding.  Their dream was a step closer.

The next stage was to gather information and advice.  Marianne attended the “Getting Started” course run by the Goldsmiths’ Company in London in January 2004.  Although the advice was about approaching galleries, pricing your work and producing jewellery she found it a great networking opportunity meeting gallery owners and people in the industry. 

The following month Sarah spent three weeks at the NESTA Creative Pioneer Academy where she says there were “a lot of lightbulb moments”.  The intense training course had her working from 8am to 8pm with no access to telephones or newspapers so she stayed focused on her business idea and created a blueprint.  One of Sarah’s lightbulb moments was the discovery that “You don’t have to do it like this; it doesn’t have to behave in this way, like any other gallery.”  The course helped them to move the business forward.  “It gave us a lot of confidence” says Sarah.  “We felt as if we were playing with big boys toys.  We realised we can do this and we have the ability to introduce ideas into the business.”

Full of assurance and new ideas they then proceeded to make their dream a reality.  It was important that they found the right premises and this was not easy.  After looking at different properties with Glasgow City Council they eventually found a spacious shop on the corner of a listed building in the Merchant City in Glasgow.  Still working from home at this stage, they learned practical business skills through a Glasgow City Council initiative for start-up businesses, successfully applied for a grant to fund the tools for the workshop and progressed other elements such as stationery design. 

In the beginning of October they got the keys to their new premises.  “It was important to change the way retail spaces look” says Sarah.  “We wanted to create a space with a different feel, a bit more exciting, incorporating different elements of graphic design.”  They worked with a designer from the Royal College of Art and Sarah explains “It was important to collaborate, all coming at it with different perceptions and different perceptions of jewellery but the same knowledge of design.”

The finished space – which is neither a traditional gallery nor shop – immediately captures the attention and encourages exploration.  The workshop has 10 benches and is located behind the selling space where the creative use of blinds has shaped an informal area for processing sales or administrative work.  It is a playful space which they plan to constantly change as part of the creative element of the business.

After running an inventive poster campaign using their window space their dream was realised on 3 December 2004 when Brazen opened for business.  Why the name Brazen?  “Our instincts thought it sounded great” says Marianne “and the bold connotation it portrays seems to fit in with what we are about.  Also, the old connections to brazing and braziers was nice as it had a link to brass working, rather than gold and silver, again, asserting our approach.”

Their plan is not to hold exhibitions but to show a diverse range of unique new work and regularly change the displays.  “It’s about a diversity” says Sarah.  “There’s something you can’t quite put your finger on, work of a certain quality that appeals.”   They are also determined to find ways to educate people to appreciate the value of the jewellery. 

Brazen currently sells work by the following graduates from Scottish art colleges:  Alison Macleod, Natalie Ryde, Jemma Sharp, Georgia Wiseman, Gillian Munro, Catherine Stafford, Rona McKee, Aileen Tan, Hannah Louise Lamb, Rona McKee, Donna Barry, Leigh Mulrine, Suilven Plazalska, Caroline Cloughley and Helen Wilson, as well as their own work.   They also sell work by designers from other parts of the UK: Betty Pepper, Mira Leithe, Hannah Bedford, William J Vinnicombe, Astthor Helgason and Lina Peterson.   Prices range from £20/£40 to £1500/£2000.

Brazen Studios is based at 58 Albion Street, Merchant City, Glasgow G1 1LH tel: 0141 552 4551.  Opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday 10.30am to 5.30 pm (open until 7pm Thursdays) and by appointment only on Mondays. 

Any jewellers interested in selling their work at Brazen should send 3/5 jpgs of work, sketches or work in progress.  They are looking for good quality work and are happy for designers to send a CD, slides, jpgs or come in with work.

Benches are available at £150 a month for a minimum of six months.  They are aimed at providing new graduates with “a little stepping stone” where they can access tools, advice and develop a full collection so they can approach shops, buyers and galleries.  Contact sarah@brazenstudios.co.uk or marianne@brazenstudios.co.uk for further information.