posted 12-11-2005 01:38 PM            

We flew from New York to Los Angeles and met SWARTER and WEV for brunch. It was our first time meeting face to face and the conversation was spirited and informative. We also had the chance for a long phone conversation with DALE who unfortunately could not join us for a meal.

We arrived in Sydney and were completely mesmerized by the harbor. It truly is magnificent. Thank you to OZFRED for his many recommendations on what to do in Sydney. Among the recommendations was a visit to the Sydney Antique Centre. This was our first introduction to the predominance of English silver in the Australian market. We in fact walked away with a charming little baby cup made in London in 1890 by the firm of John Aldwinckle & Thomas Slater. The cup was retailed by Hardy Bros founded in Sydney in 1853.

One of the destinations definitely on our agenda was Telopea Gallery Craft at the Rocks. Scott had done some prior research and found that The Society of Arts & Crafts of New South Wales had some contemporary silversmiths and jewelers represented there. One of those artists was Valerie Aked whom June had taken an interest in after seeing examples of her work in Patricia Anderson's book Contemporary Jewelers in Australia and New Zealand. Unfortunately, we just missed meeting Valerie by only minutes but we did see and admire her work. We did get to meet and lunch with another fascinating silversmith and jeweler named Ksenija Benko who studied with Valerie. Ksenija got serious about her craft later in life after the passing of her husband. She has embraced it with passion and her enthusiasm about her work as well as those of her fellow artisans is irresistible.

Another student of Valerie's whose work we admired is Maret Kalmar. Maret developed an interest in silversmithing in 1991 and her pieces demonstrate a very creative mix of silver and stones.

One other jeweler whose work we were completely captivated by at the gallery was Carolyn Delzoppo. Carolyn does fabulous work with cloisonne enamel. Each piece is a miniature masterpiece. Unfortunately, we don't have photos of any of her work, but we are in touch's book mentioned above.

From Sydney, we flew to Adelaide to which most people replied, "Why Adelaide?" Why Adelaide? Oh so many reasons. Adelaide is smaller than Sydney or Melbourne, but it has an incredible amount to offer. The Art Gallery of South Australia is a wonderful institution and it is where we got our first glimpse of real honest to goodness Australian silversmithing at its best. It was grand to see emus and kangaroos incorporated into the silver. And we enjoyed familiarizing ourselves with the who's who in Australian silversmithing such as J.M. Wendt, H. Steiner and Julius Schomburgk.

On our second night in Adelaide, we had dinner with ADELAPT and his wife at an enchanting spot in the hills overlooking the city. After dinner we had the opportunity to visit their lovely home and see some of their wonderful silver collection. Adelapt is very adept at finding silver treasures in unsuspecting places. He even had some American silver by George Shiebler. He was also quite gracious to act as our tour guide on a trip south of the city to the coast. Along the way we stopped at several antique shops, partook of a bit of wine tasting and had lunch at a delicious cafe overlooking Horseshoe Bay.

posted 12-11-2005 01:38 PM            

As in Sydney, women smiths were well represented in the gallery. Two of our favorite pieces were a daisy chain necklace by Sonja Clark and a sterling and cement bracelet by Emma Wood.

Melbourne was our third and final stop in Australia. We were pleased to be able to meet Patrick Street and his wife with whom we enjoyed a memorable nine course duck dinner in Chinatown. Patrick also gave us a tour of Melbourne and surrounding areas such as Williamstown with a fabulous view of the Melbourne skyline and introduced us to master silversmith Fortunato "Lucky" Rocca. Lucky made the Melbourne cup for many years.

We also got to take home a beautiful sterling napkin ring by the Melbourne firm of Stokes thanks to Patrick.

As luck would have it, the Dutch Masters exhibit was on at the National Gallery of Victoria while we were there. It was fascinating to see pieces of silver included in the paintings and then see the very same silver objects on display as part of the exhibit.

It was an honor to have our trip covered in the October issue of The Silver Society of Australia newsletter. Again, many thanks to our Australian Silver Salon members for welcoming us to their country. It is truly a magical place. We hope to reciprocate the hospitality soon.

June & Scott

posted 12-13-2005 06:11 PM            

So nice to have faces to go with your names. A pleasure to meet you all, and to be able to share (however vicariously), in your wonderful adventures.

Thanks, & lest I forget, or get caught up in the Holiday Hoopla, I'd like you wish you & all the Forum members a Joyful & Blessed Holiday.

Jersey