About Amanda Coleman
Amanda grew up with creativity all around her – she lived as a child in a craft centre in a tiny little place called Staunton Harold in Leicestershire where her parents were potters and painters. She was surrounded by blacksmiths, violin and guitar makers, wood turners, wool spinners, soft toy makers, artisan bakers… the list goes on. Amanda had always dabbled at making clay animals to sell for pocket money in the pottery and it’s not surprising that at the age of thirteen Amanda had already started a little business making buttons out of polymer clay and selling them to shops in Derby and Nottingham.
Amanda had always known she would have a career making and chose to study 3D design at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design in Farnham and got completely enthralled by the sight, sound, smells and pure power of the forge. Fortunately they also did jewellery on the same course. Amanda soon discovered it was far too much hard work banging away at iron all day long and she was much more suited to sitting down at the jewellery bench, working on tiny, intricate pieces of precious metals. She then opted for a further one year’s residency at the Bishopsland Workshops in Reading and then was fortunate to gain a place at the prestigious Royal College of Art in London.
Amanda Graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1998 and promptly set up a workshop in Clerkenwell, London with the help from the Crafts Council and the Prince’s Youth Business Trust. Ever since then Amanda has been making and developing her designs into jewellery collections that aim to satisfy her thirst for experimentation and pushing her interest in jewellery construction techniques in a style all of her own. It is important to Amanda that the jewellery not only appeals to herself and her customers but most important of all it is affordable.
Amanda now lives in the beautiful Cathedral City of Lincoln with her husband (who she met whilst studying at the Royal College) and their two young children. Becoming a mother and seeing the world fresh, through the eyes of her children has further influenced her work. It has ignited her interest in fairytales, mystery and magic and developed a fascination of bugs and flowers that might have previously gone unnoticed. Amanda continues to make all of her work (with a little help from some elves) by hand and supplies shops and galleries across the UK, Europe and Japan