Gem of a project
Jeweller gives pupils glittering insight into the world of work
Creative kids have been imagining the jewellery shop of the future as part of an innovative school project.
Primar y six pupils from Kirklandneuk Primary, in Renfrew, have been working with jeweller Jodie Pope to come up with designs for items to sell in the Future Shop 2050.
Jodie, who is an ex-pupil of the school, took part in their World of Work week and offered to work on an enterprise project with the youngsters.
The 55 children were asked to create a wearable item to sell to people in 2050. They used the natural world as inspiration and designed their ideas on a sketchpad.
Jodie said: “There was a real assortment of what kids think we’ll be wearing in the future.
“Some were a bit bizarre, like a helicopter with laser beams, so I had to get them to reign it in a bit.
“I’ve also spoken to the children about the boring side of business – how to make a profit, what counts as an expense, the difference between footfall and a customer, advertising and marketing, things like that.
“A lot of them said they watched Dragon’s Den and The Apprentice, so perhaps they’ll understand these programmes a bit more when they watch them next time.”
The pupils welcomed their parents to a special afternoon at the Renfrew school to show off the work they’ve done. And Jodie surprised everyone with a real- life version of one of the designs created through the workshop.
She said: “It was the one I thought showed the best concept through sketchpad and design.
“I wasn’t sure how the children would respond to the project, so it was nice to see how their minds work.
“One asked me what a franchise was and another asked me to explain tax – those were interesting questions I wasn’t expecting.
“Working with children is something I’ve wanted to do for a while. I’d like to come up with a business plan and get funding to do more of this in schools.”
Jodie went to Glasgow School of Art and set up her own business, Jodie Pope Jewellery, when she graduated 12 years ago. She still lives in Renfrew and has a workshop there and displays at craft fairs most weekends.
Kirklandneuks’ primary six class teacher Gillian Fulton said: “It’s been fab. The children have really bought into it and enjoyed it. They’ve produced some really amazing pieces.
“The children have shown great creativity and imagination.
“Jodie has been absolutely brilliant, working with the staff and the children.
“We’d like to do something like this again, but not every year. One of the children said this isn’t something everyone gets the chance to do. They liked it. It’s not a topic we usually cover in school.”