/// HOW WAS THIS MADE? /// THE TRIPLET JUGS.

First things first, the design process can take quite some time from initial idea to resolved design. This trio of jugs were inspired by a previous design, which was similar but had a flat front on its curved body. 

The design process is not to be underestimated, it is a time consuming process. 

The designs are then made in thick paper, so I can visually test the scale and proportions. This is where a lot of tweaking happens to get each piece spot on before moving onto silver. This is the time to get everything perfect, you don’t want to spend all that time (and cost) with silver only to realise it's not quite right and needs to be remade a different size. 

The recycled silver is bought in a sheet form. The shapes needed are then pierced (sawed) out. 

The spout for each jug is scored, folded, formed and soldered. Scoring is where you remove a small amount of the metal to create the needed to get a nice crisp fold. Think of a mitred edge, this is what you are doing. The folds/internal corners are soldered to give the bends extra stability. 

The body starts flat and is curved using a rubber or nylon mallet, and a cone shaped steel stake. This is a bit by bit process, sometimes the silver gets so hard you can’t move it any further, this is called work hardened. So you anneal it (heat it up with the flame) which allows the molecules to relax and the silver become malleable again. And back you go to bending and hitting. This processes can take many rounds of annealing and work hardening. 

The ends of the body are brought together and soldered. This join is then tidied up, and to get rid of any mallet marks and to make the body the exact shape it needs to be, symmetrical and perfect, you planish the surface on a steel stake which matches the exact curve to the one you are aiming to achieve (this is why silversmiths have so many stakes!). Planishing is gently hitting the surface with a metal planishing hammer, which smooths the surface, getting rid of any lumps and bumps. This process is time consuming (well, actually all the processes are time consuming!).

You need to make sure the base is the exact size required, then you will chamfer the edges of that, and the bottom of the body. This is so when they come together they have that lovely mitred join rather than seeing a base part butted against the body. When both of these are fitting perfectly, they are soldered together. More tidying up after the soldering. 

The spout is then fitted, and soldered on. This needs a lot of prep to get the spout in the correct place, and sitting nice and snug so when you solder it doesn’t move out of position. More tidying. 

All spouts are tested thoroughly to ensure they pour well. My designs are a strong marriage of form and function so there is no point in anything looking good if its not great at its purpose.

Once the piece is finished, its polishing time. There is a lot of pre-polish prep before the actual polishing part, done using a variety of wet and dry paper (a form of abrasive paper) through the grades from rough to fine, then moving on to different cutting and polishing compounds. 

Then it goes off to the London Assay Office for its hallmark, guaranteeing you it is indeed the purity of metal it claims to be. 

So that’s it! A very brief rundown, which doesn’t include all the blood sweat and tears needed but does give you a little insight into just how many steps are involved in a seemingly straightforward piece.