Silver Everyday
Silver Everyday
Karin Paynter is a creative, collaborative and cultural leader, designer and advocate for British craftsmanship, with over 30 years of national impact.
British silversmiths are some of the best in the world. Against a backdrop of myriad challenges, there are opportunities. It is important to develop a strategy, backed up by research to bring about an ambitious, unified vision and practical action plan for contemporary silver in support of craftspeople. Karin has worked over many years on initiatives to strengthen and raise the profile of the British silversmithing sector, from working with Goldsmiths’ Company apprentices, producing training masterclasses and films and research to working directly with silversmithing individuals and companies to conceiving and directing exhibitions that showcase contemporary silver such as Silver Speaks at the V&A.
She has supported emerging makers through initiatives with Contemporary British Silversmiths, the South House Workshop Trust, Marchmont and programmes such as Bishopsland and the Goldsmiths’ Centre, to working with leading museums and institutions to stage showcases.
“My aim has always been simple: to raise the visibility of our craft to the public and support the professional makers that support the sector.”
That ambition made headlines in the Telegraph in 2018 – ‘Silver is Back in Vogue’, as a result of the silversmithing campaign she conceived and delivered in 2020, Silver Speaks, inviting Corinne Julius to curate the focal show at the V&A and developing 24 events nationally.
Background & Qualifications
MQualifications:
- BTEC HND (Distinction) Silversmithing Medway 1995, trained by trade silversmiths Norman Bassant, Ian Calvert, Bob May, Andy Putland and Brian Hill
- MA (Distinction) Royal College of Art, trained by David Watkins, Michael Rowe, Rebecca de Quin, Bob May, Andy Putland
- Design Assistant and Production Manager, Tateossian London – 4 years
Experience:
Goldsmiths’ Company Technology & Training Department – nine years
- Goldsmiths Company Apprenticeship
- Live Masterclasses and Film Masterclass production
- Editor & Researcher, Technical Journal
- Goldsmiths’ Company (TAC) research papers
- Goldsmiths’ Centre senior management team
- Technology & Training Committee
Key Projects:
- Conceived and delivered Silvers Speaks programme in 2015 negotiating collaboration with the V&A and inviting Corinne Julius to curate the focal exhibition Idea to Object
- Selling exhibition for Contemporary British Silversmiths achieved highest ever sale of contemporary craft at Bonhams with Kevin Grey’s Animus.
- Introduced public silversmithing demonstrations to the V&A for the first time.
- Development of CBS Skills Training Programme and South House Workshop Trust
Current Project
British Silversmithing: Understanding the Sector
Research project to carry out independent, foundational research to help inform the sector’s future and provide evidence for the current challenges – work that will help capture where the sector stands today and how we can shape its future.
Please get in touch if you have any thoughts you would like to contribute.
Silver Everyday
Silver Everyday was conceived in 2020 with the aim of driving the conversation and developing a specialist toolbox of support and a platform for creative collaboration and to bring together professionals across the breadth of the silversmithing industry to explore and communicate needs to support skills and harness opportunities.
Key Projects
