IJL New Designer Kassandra Lauren Gordon embraces the ethical agenda with a Fairtrade Gold extension to her first collection Fly Me to Jupiter.
The Hackney-based designer decided to act on her belief that ‘all enterprise should be ‘social enterprise’’. She has committed herself to Fairtrade and recycled precious materials wherever available.
Kassandra is a registered Fairtrade Goldsmith. The Fairtrade Certified Gold used is traceable from mine to goldsmiths. It means no child labour, nor forced labour was used, health and safety standards were applied, environmental protection policies were followed and the gold does not come from conflict zones.
Through this Gordon hopes to make her jewellery ‘guilt free’.
Gordon will also be increasingly using recycled silver in an ongoing effort to make her company as sustainable as possible.
The Fly Me to Jupiter collection is inspired by space as a symbol for boldness, new experiences and self-acceptance. Initially designed for women who want to make a habit of success and confidence.
Many of the pieces are named after inspirational female scientists. Hypatia is the first known female mathematician. ‘Nobell Burnell’ is named after cosmologist Jocelyn Bell Burnell who discovered pulsars in
1967 as a graduate student but was passed over for the Nobel Prize in favour of her supervisor. Others, like ‘Copernica’, represent the conjecture of what could have been if women were given equality throughout history.
Gordon found she increasingly wants to express her social and ethical views through her work. She realised this means her business decisions and not just her designs.
Gordon says, “It’s important for me to align my business with my beliefs, even though it’s hard. I don’t think I’m alone in this. I think my generation in general believes that ethical matters should be core
considerations in business. It doesn’t make me better than anyone else but it does make me more authentic to myself.”
Gordon will be exhibiting at IJL for the first time in September. It will be her second exhibition having had a solo exhibition at Craft Central’s Cornershop gallery in March 2015. 18ct Gold will be used.
Designer
Kassandra Lauren Gordon moved to London five years ago. She studied jewellery manufacture and design in Hatton Gardens, first through short courses before setting up a home studio. She studied at Holts Academy and is also a performance poet. She has spent 10 years working in the public and charity sector. Her Jamaican heritage is represented by ‘ackee’ in her logo, the Jamaican national fruit.
International Jewellers London (IJL)
For over 60 years, International Jewellery London has connected the worlds’ most influential jewellery designers, brands, gem suppliers, allied services and manufacturers with senior level retailers.Organisers of International Jewellery London – Reed Exhibitions, organise 13 global jewellery events throughout the year. The portfolio is designed to deliver the industry with the business contacts and content needed to achieve success around the globe.
