Phil Barnes – A craftsman's Journey
An inspirational new book by Linda Barnes & Gordon Hamme
Exquisitely made objet and jewellery have captivated people throughout the centuries but the working world behind the creation of these beautiful pieces is for most of us a mystery. This book is a record of Phil Barnes’ working life and career, a master in the art of engraving and enamelling, which is richly illustrated with many of his finest pieces. It gives a unique insight into his own life as an apprentice and master and the jewellery trade from the 1920s when his father first began his own apprenticeship.
Phil had always intended to publish an account of life in the workshop not only as a personal history but as an important social history of the jewellery trade. The text includes his written record and information transcribed from a series of interviews he recorded with Dr Gordon Hamme.
This book will appeal not only to craftsmen, but anyone interested in the jewellery trade in pre- and post- war London. As a social history it documents a world all but forgotten and as a personal journey it provides a fascinating slice of life, describing the everyday aspects of an elite world.
A first edition hard-back book, 130 pages produced in full colour throughout.
£30 plus delivery (order at bottom of page)
Phil Barnes began his enamelling career in 1967, at the age of fifteen, following in his father’s footsteps. He completed his apprenticeship with his father’s company in 1971, winning the coveted Jaques Cartier “Craftsman of the Year” Memorial Award in the same year. He went on to become a working partner in the business and later set up his own workshop in Clapham, London following his father’s retirement in 1983.
Phil’s working life spanned over fifty years as a full-time professional enameller during which time he trained three apprentices, ran workshops, taught at the Sir John Cass School of Art & Design and The Goldsmiths’ Centre in London, lecturing both in the UK and abroad. The passing on of knowledge was important to him and he achieved his ambition to leave a written record of his way of working in 2019 when his book ‘Engraving and Enamelling – the art of champlevé’ was published.
