Eve at dawn of a glittering career
A GLITTERING career lies ahead for Eve Burnicle who has landed a rare apprenticeship as a goldsmith.
Eve, 24, of Doxford Park, is only one of six young people who have been placed on goldsmith apprenticeships through the prestigious Holt’s Academy in London, which trains jewellers.
After living in the capital and completing her Level 2 diploma in jewellery manufacture and design, the former St Anthony’s RC School pupil, is back in the North East on her placement with Mobeus Jewellers in Hartlepool.
Eve worked for the clothing company Next for a couple of years after completing her degree in history of art and design at the University of Sunderland, before deciding on a career change.
She said: “When I left university, I felt a bit out of the loop. Some of my friends went on to careers in teaching, but I really wanted to develop my design skills but knew how hard it would be to get a job straightaway in the jewellery trade without particular skills.
“I found out about the courses that had been set up by the Holt’s Academy in London and enrolled.
“I have learned so much at Holt’s Academy, preparing pendants, style set- ting, soldering, designing, finishing and polishing. They try to provide a grounding in everything to prepare you for working in the industry.”
As part of her apprenticeship, Eve travels back to London one day a month for day release at the academy.
Eve said: “There are six apprenticeship students, so it’s good to know I’m part of a very small niche. I’m the oldest at 24 and the youngest is 16. We are the first students on the apprenticeship scheme so I feel very privileged to be doing this.
The young jeweller said she is thoroughly enjoying her time at Mobeus, where they work with a wide variety of products and techniques.
She said: “The goldsmith side of things, which I’m learning with Mobeus is really interesting.
“It’s about taking the metal from its base form right up to the finished product.
“As a goldsmith, you work with all the other metals such as silver and white gold. It’s a far broader discipline.”