Alex Ramsay silversmith success

The work of award-winning local silversmith Alex Ramsay – who has just moved from a remote workshop in Hackney Wick to the sparkling heart of the diamond and jewellery industry in Hatton Garden – has been selected to launch British Silver Week at Goldsmiths' Hall in June.

Clapton resident Alex took the decision to move her studio soon after winning the silver award in the Goldsmiths' Company Craftsmanship and Design Awards earlier this year.

Many of Hackney’s creative companies are being pushed out of the borough by rising rents and property development, but in this case the relocation of the business is a success story.

“The last few months have been very exciting for me,” says Alex. “I exhibited a new collection of work at the Goldsmiths' Fair and at Somerset House, and I sold out at both shows. I also make bespoke pieces of jewellery and silverware to commission and I’ve recently finished a number of interesting projects, including engagement and eternity rings, wedding presents, candle sticks and pepper pots. So I’ve booked myself into some of the top silver shows taking place this year, and I’ve made the decision to base myself in Hatton Garden, the centre of London’s jewellery market.”

The announcement that her work will feature in British Silver week, the trade’s most prestigious fair, was made last week. “I have to design a new one-off piece to exhibit,” she says. “I’m working on a glass and silver pepper pot which will be a special limited edition with an exclusive hallmark.”

Alex Ramsay specialises in contemporary tableware which combines silver with other materials, including glass and felt. Her latest collection is inspired by the dramatic landscape of the West Coast of Scotland, where she spent a year as a silversmith in residence from 2006-7. Her memories of slate grey rocks and thundery skies threaded with silver sunlight lay behind the design of her glass and silver bowls and dishes. An ethical designer, she only uses diamonds that are certified as coming from zones free of civil war and conflict for her rings and bracelets.

Her rising sales were boosted by a grant from the Hackney Enterprise Network. The money was spent on a new website which has won customers from across the United Kingdom.

There are more than sixty jewellery makers and designers like Alex in Hackney, according to recent research carried out by the Innovatory on Richmond Road. However only one third of these small businesses involve full time employment and a number are not profitable.

“The rise in gold and silver prices and the second thoughts people have about luxury purchases as consumer spending falls may hit the market, but jewellery is still, generally speaking, a booming area of sales,” says Hackney Enterprise Network business advisor Patrick Nicholson. “The strong wedding market, and new forms of body jewellery, are all driving sales. Affluent buyers are still willing to splash out for bespoke engagement and wedding rings and other high ticket jewellery items to mark special anniversaries. While Hackney is getting better at holding on to rising talent in the industry, it’s understandable that Alex wants to get closer to suppliers and buyers the top end of the London trade. In this case, Hackney hasn’t lost a business, it has gained a role model and a trailblazer. Her success lights the way for other creatives in the borough.”

People wanting something extra special for a loved one - or just for the dining table - will be able to view the work of Alex Ramsay during an open event at the Clerkenwell Studios from 15-18 May and at the OXO Tower during British Silver Week from 10-16 June.

film funding and mandrake success

One of Hackney’s large cluster of film companies has found West End success in what is proving to be a difficult year for the funding of independent movies.

Backroads, a hard-hitting film on sex trafficking in the Cambridgeshire Fens, made by Mandrake Films of Dalston, has just been screened to great acclaim at the Curzon Cinema in Soho. The leading role in the film is taken by Ian Puleston Davies, a face well known from Whistleblower, Life on Mars, and Silent Witness.

“We’re following up with "I'll Be Your Mirror", a film about women and body image for Current TV,” says producer Lucy Baxter. “It’s always an uphill struggle when you’re an independent, but we’ve got several documentary, drama and multimedia projects underway, including Israel’s Children, a story about young people in the region today, and another called Memories of a Gold Smuggler, for which we’re raising funding.”

Belfast-born Lucy first got involved with filmmaking at Amnesty International and a number of her documentaries have been nominated for BAFTA awards. A live broadcast of open-heart surgery for the Wellcome Trust is another recent breakthrough for the Kingsland High Street company.

“Mandrake is blazing a trail in cinemas and on the internet that other Hackney film makers can follow, but the credit crunch is making it very difficult to raise finance and credit for new movies,” says Kevin Davey at the Hackney Enterprise Network.

The network has recently been getting advice from film funding experts at the financial services company Grant Thornton, Film London and the UK Film Council to identify a way forward for Hackney’s independent film companies.

“Putting together the funding package for an independent film is a huge and complex exercise,” says Kevin Davey. “Small budget independent films are backed by private individuals and struggling producers, and they often apply to a combination of the UK Film Council, the BBC, Channel Four and regional film funds like Film London for a significant part of their budget. Pre-release sales, partnerships with production houses and DVD and online distributors also figure in the deal. A combination of a special film tax credit, worth 20% of the budget of a movie, along with the Enterprise Incentive Scheme and bank loans – if you can get them - make up the difference.”

The UK Film Council, which invests fifty million pounds a year in new projects, is currently taking applications from film companies. Every year it distributes around £27 million from the National Lottery and £27 million from the government to support script development, film production, short films, export and distribution, cinemas, and festivals. Recent successes backed by the UK Film Council include Control and This is England.

“A tax regulation which encouraged profitable firms to invest in film as a side effect was closed last year, but fortunately two hedge funds in the city have stepped up to replace them as private investors,” says Vince Holden, Film Council’s head of production finance. “This will help a few film makers putting together movies with budgets of two to four million pounds, but small companies are unlikely to feel the benefit. There’s still a real need for a smart lender in the sector, such as a specialist bank.”

“The market for independent film is growing as internet TV channels – which are crying out for good content - grow in number,” says Kevin Davey. “However these pay lower fees than the large distributors and broadcasters, only partly easing the pressure on small firms.”

A new market for film makers is being opened up by Digital Deli, a fair trade online distributor of independent films which is being assisted by the Innovatory on Richmond Road.

“We’re really committed to the growth of the sector” says CEO Richard Ayers. “Our aim is to enable creative producers to exhibit their work in a virtual market place where they can sell movies and chat about their projects with people inside and outside their industry.”

Digital Deli sells hundreds of films online and takes a much smaller cut of revenues than larger initiatives like Joost and Hulu, which retain half of the income raised.