ATTENTION LONDON TRIP PARTICIPANTS! London Trip Itinerary Available click here.
 

This year’s trip has been planned with a keen eye on three goals: giving each participant a solid introduction to European jewelry, doing so at a cost that is as kind as possible to your wallet and having fun.

Our whirlwind of a trip over three days with plenty of free time (for all that sightseeing, getting over jet lag, just hanging out in the parks, museums, etc.), is priced in segments which allows you to “buy” just as much of the trip as you want.

Descriptions of these segments are included here along with their prices.  A more detailed itinerary will be available closer to our departure date with more information about our guests, the addresses of our destinations and restaurant recommendations. Our itinerary enables us to easily move from one destination to another by either easy walking or short tube rides and so no transportation costs have been included.

For now, please click click here to review the descriptions and add to your shopping cart each one you want and how many people will be with you.  Each price is per person so if you want to include someone with you for a dinner, it will be times two. Then proceed to checkout to complete your transaction.  Travel itinerary orders must be placed no later than April 15th, click here make your trip selections and payments.

DAY ONE:  Getting to know each other, European jewelry and COLLECT.  Thursday, May 13.

For many of us this will be our first introduction to the European jewelry scene and we are so fortunate to have as our guide today an expert to clue us into what’s happening.

We begin our trip at 3:00 with that quintessential English delight: afternoon tea at the Draycott Hotel where many of you are staying.  Over scones, tea, clotted cream and the like, we’ll have an opportunity to meet one another and get an overview of our London adventure. 

Liesbeth den Besten, a preeminent curator and writer in Europe, will start our education with an introduction to the European jewelry scene and the galleries we can expect to see at COLLECT.

Then it is three short blocks to the Saatchi Gallery where COLLECT is held. We will be among the first to enter at 5:30. (And, we all know it’s best to be in the doors first for easiest viewing and early shopping if so inclined.)   We will have about two hours to digest everything before dinner.

Day One Price =  $55

Dinner this evening is at Tom’s Kitchen in a private room where we can share our experiences of the day while continuing to get to know one another.
Tom’s Kitchen is situated in the heart of Chelsea in close proximity to the King's Road. They boast that their food is fresh, local and seasonal wherever possible. Familiar and comforting dishes make up the menu including classic British fish and chips to one of Tom Aikens' more signature dishes, the 7-hour braised shoulder of lamb - all of which are long-standing favorites with locals and regulars. The brasserie, situated on the ground floor embodies rustic and informal style dining.
Dinner Price =  $125

DAY TWO: Getting to know the collections, the artists and students Friday May 14.

This is a full day so wear your most comfortable walking shoes as we meet at 9 am at the Saatchi Gallery for a Breakfast Preview hosted by the British Craft Council.  We will also be joined by groups from the Renwick and Penland, giving us a chance to meet and talk with more collectors, see the show again and perhaps purchase that one piece of jewelry that has haunted us since yesterday.

By 11 we will be ready to move on to Orsini, an Italian restaurant, for lunch before diving into the Victoria and Albert Museum.  The V&A (as it is commonly referred to) is the largest museum of applied and decorative arts in the world.  And, we couldn’t be in better hands than those of
Beatriz Chadour-Sampson, an international and established jewelry historian, curator of exhibitions and scholarly author. Her extensive publications range from Antiquity to the present day. From 2004 – 2008 Chadour-Sampson was involved as a consultant curator in the re-designing of the William and Judith Bollinger Jewellery Gallery at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London.

Following our tour of the jewelry collection, we will be joined by David Watkins. We are fortunate to be here when the V&A is presenting the work of this internationally collected jeweler. He began his career as a jazz pianist and sculptor; and then developed concepts for jewelry that vary from a minimalist approach to vibrant compositions in form, rhythm and colour. Recently he has been investigating abstract symbols and metaphors. The concept of art for the body is deeply embedded in his work. Watkins represents a driving force in British design.  Beatriz, who has written a book on David, and the artist himself will talk about his show currently up at the V&A. Dame Wendy Ramshaw, David’s wife and a major jeweler in her own right, will join us too.

Next we will have some time in the V&A’s ceramic collection with a guided tour by Glenn Adamson, Head of Graduate Studies and Deputy Head of Research at the V&A, a pre-eminent author of numerous books on craft theory and editor of the Journal of Modern Craft. Those of you who travelled to Houston will remember him as an entertaining and thoughtful speaker.

Hans Stofer will join us for the very short walk to the Royal College of Art at 4. He is the Head of the Department of Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork, and Jewellery at the Royal College of Art. He has a special interest in the application of high and low tech materials and manufacturing methods to creative design. We will talk about the program there and will have a chance to view a show of student work, meeting some of the students as well.  We wrap up the day at 5 when we head back to the Draycott.

Still craving more?  There is an optional event back at the Saatchi Gallery from 6-7:30. THINK TANK, a group of 9 leading thinkers, writers, theorists, curators and makers representing a broad range of European countries will present a discussion called “The Speed of Craft- rapid fire presentation”. This group is dedicated to bringing vigor and imagination to bear on the theorizing of the applied arts in Europe. It will be a thoughtful evening.

Dinner tonight is on your own.  You will receive some restaurant suggestions from AJF members who frequent London in your detailed itinerary.  We strongly recommend making dinner reservations in advance.  You may wish to form a group with other AJF trip participants to dine together.  The choice is yours.

Day Two Price = $57

DAY THREE:  Getting to know the London galleries specializing in jewelry, Saturday, May 15.

We have a leisurely morning today to sleep in, stroll around the charming neighbourhoods of London, or just sit in a wonderful park reading the paper.  Whatever you do, join us as Electrum Gallery at 1 pm for an afternoon of gallery hopping.

We begin at Electrum Gallery with a brief talk about this historical jewelry gallery by the manager. The exhibit "Natural Beauty" will be up with artists Jane Adam and Dorothy Hogg among the artists participating. There will also be a wide range of work from our other jewelers including Wendy Ramshaw and Gerda Flockinger.and then it is on to the Contemporary Applied Arts space.

Founded in 1948 in the spirit of the turn-of-the-century Arts and Crafts movement, CAA is the largest private gallery in Britain for contemporary crafts, with a large amount of regular stock and special exhibitions of all media.  Works can be bought on site or commissioned from the hundreds of makers on their books. The exhibition on at that time is "Drawing with Objects", curated by Amanda Game who is the director and curator of the newly established IC: Innovative Craft. The exhibit includes artists Jacqueline Mina and Susan Cross with a focus show by David Watkins amongst many other artists across other fields.

We wrap up the afternoon at Galerie So, located on Brick Lane, where we are joined by a new friend from yesterday, Hans Stofer, to tell us about his show at this gallery. Gallery So was founded in 2003 by Felix Flury in Solothurn, Switzerland. The new Gallery So London continues in the tradition of the first by aiming to stimulate the public's perception of, and curiosity about, contemporary art objects and jewelry. Felix will host pre-dinner cocktails to send us off on our final dinner.

Day Three Price = $25

We hope to see everyone at the Whitechapel Gallery Dining Room at 6:30 for our last group event. The Whitechapel Gallery Dining Room offers a stylish and intimate dining experience, championing British ingredients using local seasonal produce in an eclectic and interesting way.  This will be a wonderful way to share trip experiences and compare notes about what to do next in London for those staying on.

Dinner Price = $70 

Remember travel itinerary orders must be placed no later than April 15th. The Travel "Registration & Payment" section is the place to go to place your orders click here.