a box project

HEIDI
MINSHALL
“Terrazzo is a set of five interchangeable earrings in sterling silver and pigmented
epoxy resin, inspired by a printed fabric produced in 1944 by Vienna-born modernist
designer Josef Frank as a fiftieth birthday present to his creative partner
Estrid Ericson. Frank was one of many creative artists who fled Vienna as Europe
descended into war, but went on to contribute to a resurgence of new cultural ideas
after the war. His story is a reminder, at a time of terrible violence in the Middle
East, of the creative dynamism that refugees can bring to societies ready to welcome
and be enriched by them.“
Following a degree in Classics and Modern Languages at Oxford University, Heidi
Minshall has worked at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, studying Arabic and
specialising as an analyst of Middle East politics. Since 2004 she has studied at
Morley College and attended courses in jewellery and silversmithing at City Lit,
West Dean, Making Space, Mid Cornwall School of Jewellery, and London Jewellery
School. In addition to undertaking private commissions, she has exhibited at
Morley Gallery and Pullens Yards. In 2013 she developed Alhambra Acrylics, a
collection using traditional Islamic motifs in laser-cut acrylic, available for sale on
Etsy. In 2014 her work was shortlisted for the Victoria & Albert Museum‘s Inspired
By competition. In 2016 she won the jewellery prize with a necklace inspired by a
textile produced in 1952 by another Viennese emigrée, Jacqueline Groag.
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