Maud Traon, jeweller since 2010. United Kingdom

Imagine we don’t’ know anything about it… can you describe your profession?

I am a Jewellery maker and designer working in mixed media. I am mainly inspired by the interaction with life.

What materials do you use? ……

I am working with metal, precious, semi-precious, rough stones, glitter and resin.

Who is you ideal client’s profile?

Independent women and men who carry their style and themselves with joy and confidence.

You chose to be a craftsman. How did this decision appear to be an evidence to you? 

It was no evidence I fall into it after studying literature and art history.

Would you define your job a passion? What is the best moment you had in your job?

Yes, it is a passion.……………The best moments are when I am working on some piece that I know “this will never happen again” and when I do bespoke commissions with and for clients.

What role do “talent”, “know-how” and “creativity” play in your profession? 

This is a very big question, talent and creativity come from hard work and I believe culture play a big role too, alongside resilience ; and the better the technical skills, the stronger is the piece and the message you want to convey.

And what about innovation, what are the changes since you started? Do you use new materials, tools, processes, marketing.  What’s the impact of innovation on your performances? How could your profession be more innovative?

Since I started my work has made a big evolution in the use of material. They also have become more refine by remaining bold. The biggest step was finding the way to combine resin and metal therefore being able to create my personal way of setting stones. The marketing has made an evolution due to the emergence of social media and online marketing currently reshaping the craft market overall. I am therefore active on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest. These new route for market have definitely exposed me to an international audience and brought some commissions from the US mainly where I haven’t exhibited yet.

I am not sure what to understand by innovation but I guess it would be the use of 3D software and CAD. It is definitely a route I would love to investigate while combining it with traditional skills.

Where and how long did you train before you were ready for creating your business? Imagine that you want to invite young generations to choose your profession, what would be your message to them?

I first did my BA at the AFEDAP in Paris before going to London to do My master Degree at the Royal College of Art. I had a studio space straight after graduating in 2007 but opened my company in 2010.

The advantage of the young generation is their natural ability with new technologies and social media which can be a big plus to showing their work. Building a jewellery business or a craft business is not easy. So my message will be to be resilient, to keep learning all the time, to not be afraid of rejections and to not live as a failure the fact that thing don’t work instantly. I would also suggest that it is always good to have several strings to ones bow and to be versatile. 

In conclusion, describe a meaningful experience or a personal reflection that you would like to share with us and explain why.

A woman came to my open studios two years in a row, always trying on the same ring. After months she finally came back to me and ordered it. She was out of work for personal reasons and about to start again. She wanted the ring to empower herself on her first day back at work. One month after receiving the ring she sent me a postcard to thank me again and tell me how much she loved her ring. This really was a meaningful experience to me. I since send images to my clients all the step along a commissions to involve them and make it meaningful to them. 

To know more about this craftsman, see her profile