Joel Weekes
After 30+ years in building renovation and carpentry my world turned upside down in late 2019. I spent 3months in hospital and rehab after a nasty brain injury. During this time I gradually started to draw, this was new to me and something I could not have done previously apart from a very rough builders style sketch. This was amazing for me and I drew lots, many of them quite intricate Mandela style designs. Every one of them amazed me!! After I returned home and settled a bit it slowly became obvious that I would not be able to return to my previous work which was something I really enjoyed and was very proud of. Luckily my dear friend Bob Rowberry gave me a bit of a nudge in the direction of silver work. I had spent much time with him in the previous years watching and admiring all the magical things he would make from various metals and his jewellery of course. He also took time to give me a few little tutorials thankfully my brain retained much of this information. And that was that off I went, Learning from my mistakes and there was a fair few in the early days. I discovered a passion and joy for jewellery making, something I never would have dreamt I could do previously. Wow!! It is such a calming and rewarding thing to do and I love every piece that I make. So that's me at a little bench in the corner of the kitchen as and when I can, making beautiful shiny things. A funny old life ain't it!! Ps Thanks Bob
